korach

The posuk states ותפתח הארץ את פיה ותבלע אתם ואת בתיהם ואת כל האדם אשר לקרח ; And the ground opened its mouth & swallowed them, their homes and all the people that were with Korach. The Mishnah in Avos mentions ten things that were created on Erev Shabbos at sundown. One of them is the mouth of the Earth that was needed to swallow up Korach. The בן איש חי asks,” what was so singular about this incident with Korach that the punishment for him needed to be prepared at the onset of creation?” He answers that it’s to make us understand the magnitude of the sin of unwarranted hatred & strife. Hashem already prepared the punishment at the time of creation & didn't wait until the crime was done, to instill in us the severity of the crime to encourage us to stay as far away from strife as we would a raging fire. The אוצרות התורה brings from the writings of 'ר חיים פלאגי who says that from the time he can remember there wasn't a man, woman, family or country who was involved in strife that didn't get hurt both physically & monetarily. Anyone who has any wisdom would stand far away & be willing to forgo monetary pleasure or honor just not to be involved in מחלוקת. He furthers this thought by saying that he personally saw that any house that had מחלוקת on Friday coming into Shabbos wouldn't get through the week without something bad happening to them during the coming week. One Friday night he heard an argument between his neighbor and his wife over the food she made. ר' חיים פלאגי left his own table, went to the neighbors, & sat down at their table. When the neighbor saw the rabbi, he was taken aback & quickly made peace with his wife. After that, whenever he saw ר' חיים פלאגי, he would profusely thank him saying he always remembers that night & has been at peace with his wife ever since. The בן איש חי asks, “what's the significance of Erev Shabbos that the mouth of the ground was created then? Also, why does ר חיים פלאגי give that time as the most auspicious time not to fight as it’s an omen for the week? The בן איש חי explains that each day of creation represents one millennium. Therefore, Shabbos, the day that Hashem rested, is parallel to the seventh millennium which will come after Moshiach, when the world will be in its perfect state. Accordingly, Erev Shabbos, the sixth day, is parallel to the sixth millennium and בין השמשות , close to evening, is the end of the sixth millennium heralding the arrival of the seventh, Moshiach, millennium. Chazal tell us that the reason for the destruction of the second בית המקדש was unwarranted hatred & strife. Since a בית המקדש that was in existence was destroyed for these reasons, surly it can not be rebuilt as long as there is still מחלוקת. Therefore, continues the בן איש חי, at a time when the redemption is imminent, by selecting Friday close to sundown for the creation of the Earth’s mouth, Hashem is hinting to us to stay away from strife so that we can ensure that the geula will come in our lifetime. Maybe that's why the omen for the week is Friday night; for at the time when we are supposed to realize the severity of strife & staying away from it could ultimately lead to our redemption, then by resisting the urge to fight , argue or criticize, we will be granted that the upcoming week will have no downfalls, both on a personal level and communal level and we will be one step closer to the bringing of Moshiach!