Timeless Torah

A showdown was brewing as the clock struck high noon at the Sinai sanctuary. Once-and-for-all, G-d had decided to show those doubting cynics that He alone had chosen the High Priest. In truth, the aspersions cast on Brother Aaron were nothing more than a smokescreen to denounce the authority of Moses. But if sudden earthquakes and a spiritual fire that burnt out people’s insides had failed to quell the murmuring masses, G-d could be expected to pull out from His million gallon hat a spectacle that would convince all.
“Take from them...twelve staffs...You shall lay them in the Tent of the Meeting...The man whom I shall choose, his staff will blossom…The next day...the staff of Aaron...had blossomed. It brought forth a blossom, sprouted a bud, and had grown ripened almonds.” I know this sounds pretty tame when compared to seismic earth shifts and soul eating fires. But this side show of Heavenly power proved more than the others that it was Hashem Who had chosen Aaron as Kohen Gadol. More importantly, it buttressed Moses’ superiority over any of the other would be leaders. The question is how.
Normally a plant buds, flowers, and eventually produces fruit. When the fruit begins to grow, the flower falls off the plant. But if Aaron’s staff had already produced fully ripened almonds, how did they know it had budded and flowered? The Talmud explains that in this case the flower remained on the staff even after it had already produced the ripened almonds. The commentary, Moshav Zekeinim, adds that even the buds remained.
We may ask: Why was it so important that the Jews bear witness to the staff’s budding and flowering? What did it signify or add to the miracle of a fruit-bearing stick? Rabbi Moshe Feinstein says an amazing thought: Hashem wanted us to realize that though the fruit may be the final result of tilling, sowing, watering, and harvesting, there is value not only in the end product, but even in the flowers and buds which precede it.
Generally, we judge the success of our work by the fruit it bears while the process is of minor importance. In the context of actual fruits this is true. If farmers were to come up with a method of growing produce without first having to till the land, we would shower them with praise.
This is not so, however, with regard to Torah and mitzvos. The buds and flowers, meaning the effort we put into the mitzvah; the time, preparation, energy and enthusiasm are just as important as the final fruit (mitzvah) itself. At times one may expend great effort to learn Torah or do a mitzvah, and in the end fail to achieve one’s goal. Nonetheless this is not a failure, as G-d desires not only the the results but even the effort itself.
Why did the Torah choose to teach us the value of the “flowers and buds” here, in the aftermath of Korach’s rebellion? Perhaps part of Korach’s fatal miscalculation was that he too focused on the end result, as seen from his argument, “The entire assembly is holy; so why do you elevate yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?” Rashi explains Korach’s objection: “We all witnessed the Revelation at Sinai!” In a narrow sense Korach was right; there was no essential difference between the experience of Moses at Sinai and that of the Jews. They all heard Hashem’s word directly, without any intermediary. The end result - the fruit - was the same for all.
Yet for the Jews this was a gift. They had done little to deserve Revelation. Just seven weeks before, they were at a spiritual nadir, but demanded that if they were going to accept the Torah then, “We want to see the King Himself!” Their wish was granted, and they experienced direct Revelation.
Conversely, Moses’ experience at the Mountain, although externally similar to that of the Jews, was in fact very different. Moses had been working up to this moment his entire life. As a prince in Egypt he had defended the Jewish slaves. He had spoken to G-d at the bush and defied the Pharoah. He wielded the stick that delivered the plagues and split the sea. All of these were preparations for the giving of the Torah. In a sense, Moses’ “Sinai fruits” were fully budded and blossomed; while those of the nation were just “fruits on a stick.” So yes, Korach, “You all witnessed the Revelation at Sinai” - the “fruits” all looked the same, but in fact they were incomparable.
How relevant is this lesson today where all that matters is the “fruit.” Even our chickens are given hormones and grown in coops that are lit 24 hours a day in order to achieve a quicker result. We must be on guard that this attitude does not trickle into our Torah and mitzvos. It’s easy to focus on the end product, and lose sight of the inestimable value of what it takes to get there.
Remember, a world without flowers and buds would be a world without fragrance and color. A universe without spiritual toil and effort would be a universe without the likes of Moses and Aaron.