Maghen Abraham - Thoughts From Mayer Sasson

"In the end the Children of Israel will repent." (Rambam)

In the Parsha of Pinchas when the Torah enumerates the family of Levy it also notes the "Korachi" family.

We can ask, how did the Korach family remain? Korach and his sons and all that they had were swallowed up in the earth when they made a dispute with Moshe Rabeinu.

The Torah answers (Bamidbar 26) "And the sons of Korach did not die" and Rashi explains, "They (Korach's sons) were part of the idea at the beginning but at the time of the dispute they had thoughts of repentance in their hearts and therefore a high place was barricaded for them (in the earth) and they sat there."(And thereafter they came out and brought up families.)

Dear brothers, please note! The sons of Korach who were partners in the dispute and even gave the idea to begin it – when the dispute broke out they felt remorse and "thought of repentance in their hearts"; indeed they were swallowed in the earth but since they felt remorse and had thoughts of repentance, a high place was barricaded for them in the earth and they were saved.

This expresses the essential power of repentance: Korach's sons, the initiators of the dispute who caused the entire nation to sin – when they repented, and even it was only "thoughts of repentance in the heart", and no one knew about it except for the Creator – nevertheless, in the merit of the thoughts of repentance were saved from a punishment of death that was decreed on Korach's group, and they merited to have a special miracle happen to them that "a high place was barricaded for them" and they came out alive – and from them descended Shmuel Hanavi and twenty four shifts of priests, and psalms were even included in Tehillim that they had said.

We can learn from this: If Korach's sons who sinned so badly merited to be saved and reached wonderful heights in the merit of a thought of repentance – how much more so when we speak of our generation, a generation that comes after many Jews who sacrificed themselves for G-d and were full of Torah and good deeds – certainly in the merit of those generations and by our repenting – we can be saved on the Day of Judgment and may we merit to be written and inscribed for a good, long, happy life, Amen.

May the words of the Rambam be fulfilled in us: "In the end Israel will repent… and they will immediately be redeemed."

SHABBAT SHALOM!!