In this week’s Parsha, the Torah starts, “Va’ikach Korach ben Yitzhar ben Kehas ben Levi – Korach, the son of Yitzhar, the son of Kehas, the son of Levi took.” There is a question here – what did Korach take? The Torah doesn’t specify that Korach took anything! The Meforshim say, Lukach es atzmo – Korach took himself. What does this mean? How does this explain what ensued?
I would like to share with you something incredible that I heard from my father, Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlita: Rav Simcha Bunim says that Lukach es atzmo means that Korach got taken by himself. Korach had grandiosity – he suffered from arrogance. He suffered from being bombastic and conceited. Korach wanted fame and glory so much that he got taken by himself and he ruined his entire life. He eventually got swallowed up by the earth and died.
The lesson to us is that we must never get taken by ourselves. So many people unfortunately ruin their lives, relationships, or careers because they get taken by themselves. We must make sure that we have the right priorities and advisors and surround ourselves with mentors who keep us balanced, centered, and humble.
Every night, when no one was around, the Chofetz Chaim would secretly enter the Beis Medrash. No one knew what the great Tzaddik did at that time. One day, a student of the Chafetz Chaim decided to sneak into the Beis Medrash and see what went on. The next night, the student quietly entered the Beis Medrash and hid in the women’s section. The room was dark and quiet.
A few minutes later, the Chafetz Chaim entered the room and walked toward the front of the Beis Medrash. The Chofetz Chaim opened the Aron Kodesh (ark) and started pleading to Hashem. He said: “Hashem, Master of the World, Yisroel Meir (referring to himself) is a Kohen and the Gemara says that Kohanim may have a propensity for anger. Please Hashem help me – give me the courage to not lose my temper.” The Chofetz Chaim was afraid of being taken by himself. How much more so should we work on ourselves and pray to Hashem to help us in our pursuit of not getting taken by ourselves.
