How Hanna's prayer redeems Korah — and the hidden secret of peace.
A weekly shiur by M. Yéhouda Himi · 27 Sivan 5786
Today is the 27th of Sivan, the very day the spies departed. From the Torah's own reckoning: on the 20th of Iyar the cloud lifted, Israel travelled a three-day journey, then Miriam spoke and was confined for seven days. The spies departed on the 27th of Sivan — and from there, forty days bring us to Tisha b'Av. Since we still stand at the beginning of that road, we turn back to gather what is left of Parashat Korah.
In the Song of Hanna it is written that Hashem brings down to She'ol and raises up. Our Sages asked: of whom did Hanna speak this verse? Of Korah. Just as our parasha says they went down alive into She'ol, Hanna prays that the One who brings down to She'ol should also raise up. The wonder is sharp: how could Hanna pray such a prayer for Korah?
Korah was a clever man. How then did he enter such a dispute? The Sages answered: his own eye deceived him. With ruach hakodesh he saw that a great man would descend from him — Shmuel the prophet, weighed as the equal of Moshe and Aharon ("Moshe and Aharon among His priests, and Shmuel among those who call His name"). Korah reasoned: if such a son is to come from me, then I am shielded, I am secure.
On what did he lean? On Avraham our father, cast into the fiery furnace and saved in the merit of Yaakov, who was not yet born. For since the Holy One knew that from Avraham would come Yitzchak, and from Yitzchak Yaakov, He did everything for Avraham's sake — the root from which all begins. So too Korah thought: in the merit of the Shmuel yet to come, I shall be spared.
Yet one thing he missed: in Hanna there was barrenness. Not only was she barren — she lacked even the vessels to bear a child. The verse hints it: "that I asked" — she'ela without its alef reads shela, that even her vessels were absent. And a miracle was wrought for her, against every odd, to bring Shmuel into the world.
In whose merit was Shmuel born? In the merit of her prayer. For she prayed and "wrestled" with her Maker: if You do not grant me a son, I shall seclude myself until I am suspected as a sotah, they will bring me to the Mishkan, and the bitter waters will test me — and by Your own Torah an innocent woman is cleared and bears seed. It follows that Shmuel came not in Korah's merit but in the merit of Hanna's prayer — and therefore she is the one who feels the responsibility to redeem him, with her prayer that brings down to She'ol and raises up.
The Arizal taught: the final letters of "a righteous one shall flourish like a date palm" spell Korah. At the end of the road, once he has received his sentence, he will be justified — and at the resurrection of the dead Korah shall rise. How does he merit this gift? Because there are two kinds of righteous men: a positive tzaddik, from whom we learn what to do, and a negative tzaddik, from whom we learn what not to do. Korah taught us a great lesson — the ruin of strife.
Korah inherited from Esav the trait of the hater of peace ("Esav" equals "shalom" in gematria — but in the minus). And Rabbenu HaKadosh, a spark of Yaakov, unveiled the secret of peace: the six orders of the Mishnah open with "me'eimatai" — an open mem, where one can multiply dispute — and seal with "shalom" — a closed mem, the end, where nothing is left to contest. Avraham is kindness, Yitzchak is severity, and Yaakov who fuses them is tiferet — he is peace, and his bed was whole. Tomorrow we enter Parashat Chukat, where the Torah leaps thirty-eight years into the fortieth year.
1. On which day, and around what event, does the shiur open?
2. Which verse does Hanna apply to Korah, and what does it ask?
3. What did Korah's eye show him that misled him?
4. In whose merit was Shmuel truly born?
5. What word do the final letters of "tzaddik katamar yifrach" spell, and what is the lesson?
The most dangerous plots are the ones you never see coming. A buried truth, powers that want it silenced — and one man standing against the nations.
📕 Read the Book · $9.90Every day — clear ruling: MOUTTAR or ASSOUR. Sephardic halakha, Yalkout Yossef / Hazon Ovadia.
⚖️ Daily Halakha
20 floors. One question per card. No answers — only mirrors.
Want to dive deeper into Parashat Bamidbar? Our Beit Midrash offers extensive shiurim.
📝 Beit Midrash
Torah wisdom hidden inside gripping thrillers. The first book is free.
Every shiur, every translation, every page — love of Torah and generosity. You become a partner in the Redemption.
💛 I want to be a partnerOne email a week — the new shiur, straight to your inbox. Own your seat in the Beith Haknesset of study.
Sponsor this learning — for a refua, a zivoug, a soul, a simha. A certificate is issued in your honour.