רפואה מן התורה
Healing from the Torah
Parashat Shelach
Numbers 13:1-15:41
By Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
Calling Out Generational Privilege
Last week I said perhaps the generation
that has been seeking to right the wrongs that face our nation may have generational
reluctance and therefore need to move over so that fresh voices can take the
stage to address issues of social equality and injustice before us. Well, let me be clear, there is another side,
and that other side is a sense of perceived generational privilege. As such I want to call upon Rabbi Rachel
Cowan who writes about what she calls an “inner-Moses” and an “inner-Korach,” humility
as opposed to arrogance, selflessness as opposed to selfishness. But make no mistake, Korach wanted justice
for what he viewed as one of their generations issues about equality, thus
according to Rabbi Michael Shekel, Korach like Moses contained the middah
of being zealous or z’rizut (זריזות). If so, what happened? What happened that one would don humility and
selflessness and the other would don arrogance and selfishness?
Let’s therefore begin with the word ויקח (va’ikach), “and he took,” which is found right at the beginning of this parsha. As such we read in Numbers 16:1-3; “Now Korach, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took (ויקח) men, and they rose up before Moses, with certain others of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty men; they were princes of the congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them: 'You take too much upon you, seeing that all of the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them; why then do you lift yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” A little background first. Korach is the great-grandson of Levi, Levi being the father of Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Thus Korach’s grandfather is Kohath and his father is Izhar (see. Exodus 6:18 and 21). Back in Parashat Nasso we read that the Kohathites, the family of Korach, had an especially important job as part of the Levitical families regarding the Mishkan. The Kohathites had the job to safeguard the holy objects in the Mishkan such as the Menorah, the Shulchan, the table for the show bread, the Aron, the ark that held the tablets and the Mizbe’ach, the alter. Maimonides argued that although the Kohathites practically did the jobs of Cohanim, Priests, they had their own function and needed to recognize the sacredness of their duties, not comparing, or seeking the roles of others. Within the people of Israel the Levitical families were privileged to maintain the scared Mishkan and in turn were not subject to various obligations of the greater community. This was Korach’s place in Israel, he served as part of the Kohathite family as the caretakers to safeguard the holy objects in the Mishkan. A particularly important and privileged call of duty.
So why did Korach take men to overthrow Moses and Aaron and the apparatus of Israel’s polity What was his beef since he already was privileged? What then did Korach need to take? The word ויקח (va’ikach), is generally read as reflexive, therefore translated, Korach, “betook himself” (JPS, Etz Chaim) or “separated himself” (Midrash Tanchuma, ArtScroll). In fact, the Targum Onkelos (the Aramaic translation of Torah) uses the word ואתפלג (v’it’p’layg), which is a reflexive form of פלג (p’lag) that means to “divide.” Korach “divided himself” from the community and took 250 other leaders and their families with him to act upon his grievance. It was in Numbers 16:3 above that Korach gives reason to rebel against Moses and Aaron, hence, “why do you exalt yourselves (lit. ‘raise yourselves up’) over the congregation of the Lord.” In so doing the Midrash Tanchuma teaches that Korach separated himself from the community after raising objections to the fact that he believed that he (and the people) did not have the same notability of Moses or the Priesthood of Aaron. There is no indication that Moses and Aaron lorded themselves over others or were heavy-handed as they subjugated others under their authority. The Midrash further teaches that Korach’s complaint stemmed from the fact that everyone at Mt Sinai heard from God on that day, so Korach is asking why are Moses and Aaron so special? Rashi explains that this had to do with intermediaries, thus if all the people are holy because they all heard from God collectively then Moses and Aaron are not needed. How did Moses and Aaron deal with this? In this case they took a completely different posture, they were not combative, only falling on their face’s in order to seek the mercy of God as this misguided insurrection began, a rebellion by other leaders in Israel.
In the end, I think that this was much more than Korach raising an objection over the role of Moses and Aaron, I think it was about perceived privilege. If Korach wanted to fix what he thought was broken then why did he just not sit down with them and speak about the issues and seek possible resolutions? Remember, Moses and Aaron were not selfish authoritarians (see Num. 11:29). Answer: don’t know if they talked, and therefore who knows what might have happened if they did. What we do know, however, was there was a rebellion to up-root Moses and Aaron, leaders mind you who did not kneel on the necks of others. In fact, what we are really seeing here, is that for the sake of the people those leaders who joined the rebellion of Korach in the end are removed from power because of the misuse of their office.
Along the way, Korach, this man of influence who was charged to care of the holy things stood up for the people precisely because he had the privilege to protest. But instead, he made it about himself, thinking that his privilege gave him the right for a justified rebellion that ended with the loss of life because it had to be his way. I am grateful that I live in a country that stands up to our leaders to demand change. There are many out there who are zealous to spearhead the cry, God bless you for your work! Yet when the “inner-Korach” of arrogance and selfishness gives in to destructive privileges, well that is another matter. Rabbi Rachel Cowan would also say that we have “descendants” of Korach, people who are cynical politically and religiously, cynical of community leaders, democracy and Nationalism, in the end producing what she calls “modern day rebels,” rebels in my view who wrongly think that their privilege gives them the right to destroy, spew hate and steal for a misplaced cause. Please join me in celebrating those who stand up in protest to fix a system that needs repair. Yet, I also cannot condone words of hate and justified destruction. Our apparatus needs to be fixed, but so do the perceived privileged voices of dissent that cause harm.
Let’s therefore begin with the word ויקח (va’ikach), “and he took,” which is found right at the beginning of this parsha. As such we read in Numbers 16:1-3; “Now Korach, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took (ויקח) men, and they rose up before Moses, with certain others of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty men; they were princes of the congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them: 'You take too much upon you, seeing that all of the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them; why then do you lift yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” A little background first. Korach is the great-grandson of Levi, Levi being the father of Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Thus Korach’s grandfather is Kohath and his father is Izhar (see. Exodus 6:18 and 21). Back in Parashat Nasso we read that the Kohathites, the family of Korach, had an especially important job as part of the Levitical families regarding the Mishkan. The Kohathites had the job to safeguard the holy objects in the Mishkan such as the Menorah, the Shulchan, the table for the show bread, the Aron, the ark that held the tablets and the Mizbe’ach, the alter. Maimonides argued that although the Kohathites practically did the jobs of Cohanim, Priests, they had their own function and needed to recognize the sacredness of their duties, not comparing, or seeking the roles of others. Within the people of Israel the Levitical families were privileged to maintain the scared Mishkan and in turn were not subject to various obligations of the greater community. This was Korach’s place in Israel, he served as part of the Kohathite family as the caretakers to safeguard the holy objects in the Mishkan. A particularly important and privileged call of duty.
So why did Korach take men to overthrow Moses and Aaron and the apparatus of Israel’s polity What was his beef since he already was privileged? What then did Korach need to take? The word ויקח (va’ikach), is generally read as reflexive, therefore translated, Korach, “betook himself” (JPS, Etz Chaim) or “separated himself” (Midrash Tanchuma, ArtScroll). In fact, the Targum Onkelos (the Aramaic translation of Torah) uses the word ואתפלג (v’it’p’layg), which is a reflexive form of פלג (p’lag) that means to “divide.” Korach “divided himself” from the community and took 250 other leaders and their families with him to act upon his grievance. It was in Numbers 16:3 above that Korach gives reason to rebel against Moses and Aaron, hence, “why do you exalt yourselves (lit. ‘raise yourselves up’) over the congregation of the Lord.” In so doing the Midrash Tanchuma teaches that Korach separated himself from the community after raising objections to the fact that he believed that he (and the people) did not have the same notability of Moses or the Priesthood of Aaron. There is no indication that Moses and Aaron lorded themselves over others or were heavy-handed as they subjugated others under their authority. The Midrash further teaches that Korach’s complaint stemmed from the fact that everyone at Mt Sinai heard from God on that day, so Korach is asking why are Moses and Aaron so special? Rashi explains that this had to do with intermediaries, thus if all the people are holy because they all heard from God collectively then Moses and Aaron are not needed. How did Moses and Aaron deal with this? In this case they took a completely different posture, they were not combative, only falling on their face’s in order to seek the mercy of God as this misguided insurrection began, a rebellion by other leaders in Israel.
In the end, I think that this was much more than Korach raising an objection over the role of Moses and Aaron, I think it was about perceived privilege. If Korach wanted to fix what he thought was broken then why did he just not sit down with them and speak about the issues and seek possible resolutions? Remember, Moses and Aaron were not selfish authoritarians (see Num. 11:29). Answer: don’t know if they talked, and therefore who knows what might have happened if they did. What we do know, however, was there was a rebellion to up-root Moses and Aaron, leaders mind you who did not kneel on the necks of others. In fact, what we are really seeing here, is that for the sake of the people those leaders who joined the rebellion of Korach in the end are removed from power because of the misuse of their office.
Along the way, Korach, this man of influence who was charged to care of the holy things stood up for the people precisely because he had the privilege to protest. But instead, he made it about himself, thinking that his privilege gave him the right for a justified rebellion that ended with the loss of life because it had to be his way. I am grateful that I live in a country that stands up to our leaders to demand change. There are many out there who are zealous to spearhead the cry, God bless you for your work! Yet when the “inner-Korach” of arrogance and selfishness gives in to destructive privileges, well that is another matter. Rabbi Rachel Cowan would also say that we have “descendants” of Korach, people who are cynical politically and religiously, cynical of community leaders, democracy and Nationalism, in the end producing what she calls “modern day rebels,” rebels in my view who wrongly think that their privilege gives them the right to destroy, spew hate and steal for a misplaced cause. Please join me in celebrating those who stand up in protest to fix a system that needs repair. Yet, I also cannot condone words of hate and justified destruction. Our apparatus needs to be fixed, but so do the perceived privileged voices of dissent that cause harm.
Shabbat
Shalom.
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