Parashat Korach speaks of machloket, the struggle of dispute. According to the Sages of Pirkei Avot (5:17), the dispute of Korach and his assembly represents a machloket shelo leshem Shamayim — a dispute not for the sake of Heaven — and therefore it will not endure. By contrast, the dispute between Hillel and Shammai was for the sake of Heaven, and therefore it will endure. How can we distinguish between a dispute that is for the sake of Heaven and one that is not? And what is the meaning of sofa lehitkayem, that such a dispute “endures”? Why should we want disputes to endure? The Gemara in Berachot (27b) suggests an approach by referring to the students of the Talmudic study hall as baalei trisin, bearers of shields. The study hall is a place of struggle, where Torah scholars wage the war of Torah ideas and truth. Yet the battles are fought not with swords, but with shields. Each student defends his position fiercely, yet without any desire to destroy the position of the other. It is not personal. It is all about the pursuit of truth. When battles are fought with shields, for the sake of Heavenly truth rather than personal pride or gain, the dispute endures. This means that both sides endure, for both sides, valiantly defended, contain kernels of a larger truth. Of course, practical halacha can follow only one opinion. But the other opinion is preserved, too. It remains meaningful. When battles are fought with swords, by contrast, with the uncompromising violence of personal pride, nothing is left to endure. Such, indeed, was the sad fate of Korach and his assembly. We Jews — and perhaps most especially we Jews in Israel — are no strangers to battles of ideas, struggles of policy, and even wars between our different sectors. These are legitimate, and even desirable, provided they are fought with shields, in pursuit of the greater good. But as soon as we exchange our shields for swords, fighting for the private dominion of one group or sector over another, the d
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