The heinous and horrific terrorist murders this past week of Hallel Ariel Hy”d and Rav Micky Marc Hy”d have caused us all to pause and reflect, as we do when tragedy strikes. We put life in perspective, and realize that the bickering we at times have among us is silly in the face of the “big picture.” Moments like these remind us of the achdut we need to sustain regularly as a people.

Datan and Aviram were the second and third people, respectively, who were mentioned as joining Korach in his rebellion against Moshe and Aharon. The Torah tells us that there were 250 people in Korach’s group. Why were Datan and Aviram singled out and named from among all of the others in Korach’s camp? The Mincha Belula explains that Datan and Aviram are named by the Torah because they joined the rebellion even though they had no legitimate reason to do so, since they were not from the tribe of Levi. Conflict is distressing to the parties involved. In certain situations, the matter becomes even more complicated when others involve themselves, even though the basis of the conflict is not connected to them. While a third party is always a wonderful option when trying to promote a peaceful resolution, one has to make sure when getting involved that their intentions remain pure and that their involvement will have a positive effect. We have all experienced situations where people have imposed themselves into a conflict between others even though they had no business being there. Before we make a decision to engage in a tenuous situation, we should be careful to evaluate our intentions and how we will be viewed by both parties in the conflict.

By Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler

Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler is rabbi of Congregation AABJ&D in West Orange, NJ, and is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice. Rabbi Zwickler can be reached at [email protected].