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"TOO JEWISH" RADIO SHOW

Korach

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon

This week our portion features drama and tragedy, rebellion and punishment. To recap last week's events, the people of Israel have come to borders of the Promised Land just two years after leaving Egyptian slavery. But a team of spies comes back with a poor report: we aren't strong enough to conquer the land. Shocked, the Israelites rebel against the leadership of Moses and Aaron; the rebellion fails, and a verdict is proclaimed. A lack of faith in God lies at the heart of the problem, and God decides that this generation can never come into the Holy Land, and will have to live in the Sinai for 38 more years, until they are all gone and a new generation, fresh with the optimism of youth and untainted by slavery and its mentality, can come forward.

Stung by this sentence of death in the desert, at the start of this week's portion a group of rebels under the leadership of a priest, a kohein named Korach challenges the control of Moses and Aaron. He accuses them of hubris, of overweening pride and egotism. Born into the same tribe, Korach is an insider rebelling against his own kin: "Who are these guys, Moses and Aaron, to take on the authority of ruling over us?" he asks. His rebellion threatens the very foundations of the Israelites' leadership. For if the God of liberation is not at the heart of this enterprise, if it's all a matter of personal ego and self-aggrandizement, then they might as well go back to Egypt and live in slavery, as some propose now to do.

But Korach dissembles-that is, he lies. For Moses clearly has had no great desire for his high office, but he has held it as a sacred trust given to him by God. Korach threatens God's authority, not Moses'.

Our Torah portion tells us that in order to determine the ongoing leadership of Israel a great outdoor contest is held, a kind of religious challenge match, and the net result is that Korach and his followers are completely destroyed and Moses and Aaron are fully vindicated. It's always nice when God has your back on these deals…

One lesson of Korach is that before we accuse of others of arrogance we need to look in the mirror. But the even more abiding lesson is that a Judaism that doesn't base itself in humility and reverence for God, and which is focused on personal aggrandizement, will fail. Only through faith and devotion can we reach our own Promised Land.