New You: Better Jew - Public and Private Holiness - 29 Sivan
In this week’s parsha, Korach, we are introduced to someone who is, in many ways, the foil of Moshe. Where Moshe is literally called “the humblest man on Earth” by Hashem, Korach is punished for his desire to be a public-facing power in the Israelite community. Where Moshe struggles with his role as a leader, making it clear time and time again that he doesn’t desire the glory of leadership, but only to be of service to the Israelite people however Hashem deemed necessary, Korach simply desired a leadership position for the sake of power, importance, and influence.
Korach argued that the reason he should be given a leadership position was because all Jews are equally holy, and he believed that gave him the authority to challenge Moshe’s place at the top of the Jewish totem pole. Although Korach was correct, all Jews are imbued with a special holiness directly from Hashem - no matter what, which can never be taken away - there are certainly some Jews that are holier than others, and there are certainly different types of holiness. One of the most important distinctions of different types of holiness is public versus private holiness. Although both Moshe and Korach were holy, Moshe had humble, private holiness - even when no one but Hashem was watching - whereas Korach only behaved in a holy way to keep up outward appearances, and to gain power.
How many times has this exact same scenario played out in your Jewish community? Anyone who’s part of a shul (and a lot of people who aren’t) knows that there’s a certain subgroup of people who are extremely performatively holy. They might constantly be giving shiurim, davening brutally long amidahs, finishing a new sefer every day - whether it’s the 9 days or not, and doing all sorts of public facing mitzvot. Sometimes, these people really are as righteous as they appear on the outside, just like Moshe, which is absolutely amazing! However, sometimes with people like this, the way they behave in public isn’t the way they behave when they think no one is watching (although, any vigilant Jew knows there’s no such thing. Hashem is always watching). They might gossip, judge others, or do all sorts of other sins in that time.
There’s also another side to that coin. Sometimes, you might encounter someone who keeps to themself. They don’t seem to engage in many public facing endeavors. They don’t have any leadership positions, they don’t brag about their accomplishments, and you’d never see their name on a list of people being honored for anything. Then, you get to know them, and find out they do more chesed, perform more mitzvot, and act with more kindness and generosity than you ever thought possible! These people are like Moshe. The others are like Korach. The difference? Private versus public holiness.
Have you ever heard the phrase “do the right thing even when no one is watching”? This means that even if you know your actions will go unrecognized, even if you know there will be no reward for the good deeds you’re doing - social, financial, or otherwise - you should still perform them, because the reward for performing a good deed - if you are truly humble - is simply the fact that you were able to perform it.
In the talmud, there is a concept that in every generation, there are 36 tzaddikim, righteous individuals, who do world-changing work, perform countless mitzvot, and might even have enough merit to be the mashiach - assuming the rest of their generation was worthy of that holiness. However, the unique aspect of these righteous individuals is that they are never given any recognition for their work. Everything they do is completely hidden from the public eye, sometimes even after their deaths. These people - who are currently alive at this very moment - are the absolute pinnacle of the type of humble, private holiness that Moshe exuded, and Korach lacked. This is the type of holiness required of any Jewish leader, or simply any righteous Jew, and therefore it is absolutely worth emulating.
So, put these lessons into practice! If you ever find yourself being performatively holy, performing mitzvot only if you know someone will be watching, or you will be recognized for it, or you can add it to your resume, remember Moshe and the 36 tzaddikim. Try to emulate them in how they approached performing mitzvot and being a holy person. Don’t forget: do the right thing even if you think nobody is watching, because Someone always is!
Tell me in the tags: Have you ever done a mitzvah because you knew you’d be rewarded? How could you do the same mitzvah in a humbler way?
Jew Joke: It’s hard to find a time to perform a mitzvah when there’s truly nobody watching, especially in a community full of yentas with their eyes on everyone's business!
