Parshat Korach
Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
This Shabbat is also Rosh Chodesh and, as such, we eschew the usual prophetic selection read for Parshat Korach and read, instead, the last perek in Sefer Yeshayahu, which closes with mention of both special days: “Midei chodesh b’chodsho umidei Shabbat b’Shabbato, On every Rosh Chodesh and every Shabbat, ” hence its choice as haftarah. It is important to note that Rosh Chodesh is not a holiday as the Torah defines one. There is no biblical requirement to limit work, there is no special mitzvah that is tied to the day nor is the day included in Vayikra perek 23, the chapter that discusses all of the holidays. The only uniqueness of the day was to be found in the special Korban Musaf that had to be offered on that day. Nonetheless, since biblical times, our people have taken upon ourselves to mark this day by having a festive meal (see Shmuel A; 20) by requiring the recitation of Hallel (the only minhag, custom, before which we recite the bracha “asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tvivanu,” thanking Hashem for commanding us to recite the Hallel!), and even adopting the custom of having women refrain from work on Rosh Chodesh night. How beautiful is the comment of R. Ovadiah Sforno who states that, for this reason, the Torah refers to this day as “Roshei Chodshechem”—your Rosh Chodesh.
Given this introduction, we might wonder, as Rav Yissachar Yaakovson does, whether the choice of this chapter for Rosh Chodesh is indeed appropriate, given the fact that it begins with the navi’s statement that Hashem has little need for our sacrifices, the only way that the Torah makes Rosh Chodesh unique. “Eizeh bayit asher tivnu li…?” No physical structure can contain God; no one place is His home, proclaims Yeshayahu. He goes on to condemn those who offer regular sacrifices to God but continue to oppress others. The clarion call of the prophet is one that repeats itself throughout the books of nevi’im acharonim, i.e., that sacrifice accompanied by immoral behavior is not worship of God.
Yet, perhaps it is precisely this message that makes the haftarah so fitting for Rosh Chodesh. After the visions of a rebirth of Jewish life in Yerushalayim, the ingathering of the exiles and the celebration of the redemption, the navi predicts of a time when “yavo chol basar l’hishtachavot l’fanai,” all people will come to Yerushalayim—each Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh—to worship God and recognize the punishment that was meted out to the wicked. It is this very message, that worship of God is not simple sacrificial rite but, rather, is the elimination of evil and immorality, that would have the entire world gather in Jerusalem to serve Hashem.
Rosh Chodesh, the holiday only of sacrifice, comes to remind the entire world that ritual offerings have meaning only when they are accompanied by moral living. They are meant to serve as reminders to behave morally and are not replacements for moral behavior.
A fitting choice for a haftarah; a fitting choice for the closing to Sefer Yeshayahu.
By Rabbi Neil N. Winkler
Rabbi Neil Winkler is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Fort Lee and now lives in Israel.
