Am Yisrael arrives in Kadesh, near the end of their 40-year journey. The final stretch before entering Eretz Yisrael.

וַתָּ֤מׇת שָׁם֙ מִרְיָ֔ם וַתִּקָּבֵ֖ר שָֽׁם׃

“Miryam died there and was buried there.”

(Bemidbar 20:1)

The Torah gives no hesped, no tears, no mourning.

Just a silence.

Then:

וְלֹא־הָיָ֥ה מַ֖יִם לָעֵדָ֑ה

“There was no water for the congregation.”

(20:2)

Chazal make the connection instantly.

📖 Ta’anit 9a teaches:

Three gifts sustained Israel in the midbar — the man, the ananei ha-kavod, and the well — in the merit of Moshe, Aharon, and Miryam.

When she died, the well stopped.

But why did water flow in her merit?

Hashem doesn’t just answer Korach once.

He responds three times, with three miracles:

1. The earth opens its mouth and swallows Korach and his household.

2. Fire from Heaven consumes the 250 men who bring unauthorized incense.

3. Aharon’s staff—a dry stick—miraculously buds, blossoms, and grows almonds.

Why three?

The Maharal explains:

Each punishment addressed a different level of rebellion—

—Against order,

—Against holiness,

—And against truth itself.

The Ari z”l adds something incredible.

He writes in Sha’ar HaGilgulim that Korach is a reincarnation of Kayin.

Just as Kayin couldn’t handle being surpassed by Hevel,

Korach couldn’t handle being surpassed by Aharon.

So this time, the ground doesn’t just swallow blood.

It opens its mouth, and swallows the man himself.

Blessing in the Home: The Role of the Wife

The Gemara in Bava Metzia 59a makes a bold statement:

“A person should always be careful to honor his wife, because blessing is only found in a man’s home on account of his wife.”

This is not mere sentiment—it’s Torah truth. The Gemara cites Avraham in Egypt: “And Avram was enriched… because of her,” referring to Sarah (Bereishit 12:16). From the outset, the Torah teaches that material blessing, like spiritual strength, flows through the woman of the home.

The Zohar (I:49b) goes further: The Shechinah itself rests upon a home only when there is harmony between husband and wife. She is called akeiret habayit—not just the “homemaker” in the modern sense, but the ikar, the essence of the Jewish home. She holds the key to its spiritual DNA.

But just as she can build, she can also destroy. And this week’s parashah, Korach, provides us with both extremes.

Last April, I was walking down the street in Tel Aviv with my granddaughter Orly Adele. She was three years old at the time. Playful. Curious. Holding my hand.

Suddenly she stopped and pointed at a corner and said: 'Grandpa, if the siren goes off while we are walking, we can go there… or there… but not there or there.'

Three years old — and already calculating survival options.

Cute? Yes. But chilling.

You see, in Israel, childhood comes wrapped in barbed wire. In bunkers. In red alerts. It’s not just ma’aseh hayom — it’s the air they breathe.

And now, a year later, the sirens haven’t stopped. If anything, they’ve multiplied. And the missiles? They’re not coming from Gaza anymore. They’re coming from Persia. From Iran.

This week… we read a parashah that cuts deep. Parashat Shelach. The tragedy of the meraglim—the spies—echoes through every generation.

But maybe… just maybe… we’ve misunderstood the ending.

Maybe the story didn’t end in punishment… but in promise.

Because hidden in the rebuke, in the decree, in the wandering… is the whisper of eternity.

The Torah tells us:

“And the
children of Israel were in the wilderness, and they found a man gathering
sticks on the Sabbath day…”

וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּמִּדְבָּר, וַיִּמְצְאוּ אִישׁ
מְקֹשֵׁשׁ עֵצִים, בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת (במדבר ט״ו:ל״ב)

He is brought before Moshe. He is warned. And when he
refuses to stop, he is judged — and ultimately executed.

“And the
entire assembly removed him to the outside of the camp and stoned him with
stones, and he died, as Hashem had commanded Moshe.”

וַיּוֹצִיאוּ אֹתוֹ כָּל־הָעֵדָה אֶל־מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה, וַיִּרְגְּמוּ
אֹתוֹ בָאֲבָנִים וַיָּמֹת, כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה׳ אֶת־מֹשֶׁה (שם ט״ו:ל״ו)

Immediately following this episode comes the mitzvah of
tzitzit:

“Speak to
the Children of Israel and say to them that they shall make for themselves
fringes on the corners of their garments…”

דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם, וְעָשׂוּ לָהֶם
צִיצִת עַל־כַּנְפֵי בִגְדֵיהֶם לְדֹרֹתָם… (שם ט״ו:ל״ח)

Why this juxtaposition?