D’var Torah Korach

Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come up." (Numbers 16:12)
Ibn Ezra explains Dathan and Abiram's response "We will not come up" by suggesting that the Tent of Meeting was located on a high point within the Israelite camp, and therefore, the intention is Dathan and Abiram's refusal to physically ascend.
In his second suggestion, ibn Ezra comments that one who approaches Divine service, or to the place chosen for such service, is considered as ascending. According to this suggestion, the reference is to spiritual, rather than physical ascent.
We may note that ibn Ezra's second suggestion explains the Holy Tongue's use of the word "aliya" (ascent) in reference to coming to the Land of Israel. The Holy Land is the choicest place on earth, as Midrash Tanḥuma teaches [Parashat Re'eh, 8]: "Dear is the Land which the Holy One, blessed be He chose." Indeed, for this reason, the early and later Torah authorities refer to the Land as the "Chosen Land."



The Land of Israel is also the choicest place for serving God, as our Sages taught:
Anyone who dwells within the Land of Israel is considered as one who has a God, while one who dwells outside the Land is considered as one who worships idolatry. (Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 110b)



Based upon the above, one who ascends to the Land merits a double ascent. (David Magence)
Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov

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