א vort from the Rebbe on this week's פרשה, פרשת קרח, and its connection to ג׳ תמוז, the יום ההילולא of the Rebbe. One of the things that Moshe Rabbeinu said to Hashem was, concerning קרח and his people, אל תפן אל מנחתם, do not turn to their minchah, to their present, to their sacrifice. What does that mean? So Rashi says two peshatim. One peshat is the simple peshat, Moshe Rabbeinu had told them, in order to verify who's really the Kohen Gadol, let them all, קרח and all the 250 people that went along with them, let them bring a korban of ketoret, and they should know only one will survive, and that one will be the one that proves that he's the Kohen Gadol. But then there's an So Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hashem, do not turn to their, do not accept their ketoret. And then Rashi says a midrash. The midrash says that this is what Moshe Rabbeinu said to השם, יודע אני שיש להם חלק בתמידי ציבור, I know that they have a share in the communal korbanot that you bring every day, אף חלקם לא יקובל לפניך לרצון, their share should not be accepted by You. Which means like this: they used to bring a korban, many different korbanot every day, which is korban tzibur, a korban that belongs to the whole community. And the korban was paid for by the money that all the Yidden gave in the beginning of the year, month of ניסן, מחצית השקל, half a shekel, and from that money they used to bring the korbanot tzibur. So that means that the korban tzibur that they bring every day, every Yid has a share in the korban tzibur. So Moshe Rabbeinu said to Hashem that the korban tzibur that they're going to bring tomorrow, please don't accept their part. Their part should remain not accepted by Hashem.

But the Rebbe asks the question, why does Rashi say that he said the לשון יודע אני, I know that they have a chelek, a share in the קרבן ציבור, don't accept it. Why add this introduction, I know? It doesn't say it by anywhere else. Rashi should have started Moshe Rabbeinu said each one, they have a chelek in the קרבן ציבור, please don't accept that part. What is the hakdamah, the introduction, the I know? And the Rebbe says that by doing this Rashi answers a kashya. How could you say that Moshe said don't accept the piece, the share of the קרבן that belongs to them? When you give the מחצית השקל and all the Yidden give and from that you bring the קרבן ציבור, the individual loses his individual connection. He becomes part of the group. He becomes part, puts it into the pot, becomes part of the tzibbur, the community, and actually when you give the מחצית השקל, you have to give it away that you should give up your personal rights over it, now it's all one. So it would seem that you can't say this individual has a small share, this one has another small share, etc. It's all together as one. So what did Moshe Rabbeinu mean when he said, I know that they have each one of them has a share in the קרבן ציבור, don't accept their share?

And the Rebbe explains that in truth, even if you are part of the tzibbur, each Yid is individually a Yid and has his share. The thing is that most people can't see it. When you see you become part of the community, then, and it becomes a communal thing, and you don't see the individuality of each individual. But Moshe Rabbeinu, as the leader of the Yidden, he could see that as much as you are part of the tzibbur, nevertheless, he sees the individuality of every person and deals with that too. And therefore, he was able to say, don't accept their share, because as far as he was concerned, he saw that they have takeh as a chelek of the tzibbur, but they are also individual and they still remain individual. And that's why Moshe Rabbeinu said יודע אני, I know. In other words, even though most people don't know it, I know, as far as I'm concerned, they're still individual, and mimela he said, don't accept their individual share. But vaiter we take out from here a lesson what a נשיא בישראל is. A נשיא בישראל means that not only he is the נשיא, the leader of the klal, of the tzibbur, of Klal Yisrael, but he's also connected to every single Yid as an individual. Same thing with the people who he is a נשיא over, that they should feel connected to him not only because they're part of the group that he's the leader, mimela, automatically, since the group is connected to him, each individual is connected to him. But not only that, that's one thing. But you also have to feel as an individual, as a יחיד who you are, that you should feel connected to him. And that we see from here, from this Rashi, where Rashi said that Moshe Rabbeinu said, יודע אני, I as a nasi could see that there's still individuality in each individual, and expecting that they should be from the same way from their side, and obviously they didn't, etc., so Moshe Rabbeinu said, don't accept their share. But to us, לגבי ג׳ תמוז, which is a day that we remember the Rebbe and our התקשרות and we strengthen our התקשרות to the Rebbe, we have to remember the התקשרות has to be twofold. One is that you as part of the group of chasidim, you're connected to the Rebbe, and also you as an individual, also connected connected to the Rebbe, and the Rebbe from his side certainly does it that he connects himself to the whole tzibur as one unit, and also connects himself to every single one as an individual.