What's the comparison, the story of Korach with the sinkholes that occurred today in Florida?
ANSWER:
Now you have to understand, there is a statement of our chachomim, that some things were created from the beginning of the world, and that's pi ha'aretz, the mouth of the earth that swallowed up Korach.
Now listen carefully to the following, and don't repeat me in the wrong way. When it states that pi ha'aretz was prepared, it was a sinkhole; now this doesn't mean that it wasn't a miracle. If something natural happened in a remarkably fortuitous place, it's a nes. It was prepared. That's what our sages say, pi ha'aretz was prepared. There was a hollow, it was a certain weakness in the substance of the soil, it had been worn away by the removal of the water, and therefore the rock was soft and had been compacted, there was a lot of empty space down below, but it never could've happened just there, and it happened at the moment when it was necessary. That's what the gemara says.
Pi ha'aretz was prepared from the beginning of the world, but they came to that spot al pi Hashem, Hakadosh Baruch Hu guided them there. It was just at that spot where Korach and his company had put their tents, and when Moshe Rabbeinu gave them the ultimatum and they persisted in their insolence against him, at that time Hakadosh Baruch Hu's timetable commanded the sinkhole to open itself up.
Now don't go and tell people that I said it wasn't a nes; it was one of the greatest miracles. But when such a thing happens in the right time, in the right manner, it's a nes.
Good Shabbos To All
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures. To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
Important Numbers
