Against All Odds

So 250 followers from the tribe of Reuven think they can be Kohanim Gedolim ? ( For background see Parashas Korach. ) Forget that they aren't even Levi'im - there are 250 of them !!! And what way do they choose to determine who will be the new Kohen Gadol - they sacrifice Ketores ?!?!?

That's CRAZY !!

They are totally nuts ! We all saw the consequences of bringing Ketores when it wasn't called for - Death ! ( Aharon's two sons - brought it and died - and they WERE kohanim AND they were holy - see Rashi there. ) So what were they thinking ?!

I would like to pose another question - even if they were right and Aharon should not be Kohen Gadol - and the real Kohen Gadol was one of them, what would the other 249 hopefuls do ? Die ? Die.

So this is what their mission statement must have sounded like:
"I, Rabbi so and so from the tribe of Reuven, do solemnly state, being of sound mind and sound body, that I will compete in a holy contest - to the death - against 249 other men. Even though my chances of death are 249/250 or 99.6 % I am still doing it - for the honor and glory of Hashem."

Why would they do it ?

Chazal teach us in Pirkei Avos - "Jealousy, Desire [of pleasures] and [the desire for] Honor remove a Person from this world."

They weren't talking about the fact that sins will make you lose your Olam Haba; this world, they said, this world. If a person is motivated by any of these three things, they can easily slip into a situation that will even force them to dedicate his or her life (to the wrong cause).

This is especially poignant to those of you making life decisions now.

So how do we avoid their pitfall ? Isn't dedication and mesirus nefesh a good thing ?!? Yes, it is - but you have to gauge your motives. If there is any trace of the bad three ( Jealousy, Desire of pleasures and the desire for Honor ), your "dedication" may just be the yetzer hara's doing. If, however, you have no motive for jealousy, no derivation of pleasure and no receipt of honor from your actions then you may be sure they are for the sake of Hashem.

Keep fighting the good fight,
R' Druyan