This week’s Torah portion, at least in Israel, is Numbers 16:1-18:42, named for the leader of a group who seemed to come to usurp the role of Aaron and his sons. Korach (backed up by Dotan, Abiram and some 250 leaders) call Moses and Aaron to task in verse 3 of chap. 16 and declare “…the entire community are holy people, and the Eternal is within them, why, therefore do you aggrandize yourselves [as if putting yourselves] above the congregation of the Eternal?” Quite the challenge to a man who has experienced repeated communication with God – Moses at least had some good reason to claim a “higher ground” for himself. Yet he decides to let God be the decision maker – “wait until tomorrow and we’ll see” is what Korach hears…and he departs confident that he will be the one chosen as “holy”. Perhaps he was, but neither he nor his family survived the next day and this portion, as well as the name Korach, or ‘Korach and his ban’ has long been held up as an example of how pluralism is dangerous.
I was raised in a home with pluralist Jewish values. We understood the Orthodox named themselves and Reform is a verb, requiring continuing reassessment. The last fifty years have seen great changes in Reform Judaism, not all of which are easy to accept. The basis for change however is constant: only what is relevant will be retained. Whether we study the Torah portion read in Israel or the one read in the US this week we are asked to grapple with the question of “how can we disagree and still respect each other”? We could adopt an understanding of the universe as being outside my control and simply let the chips fall where they may, which while it sounds attractive at first, over time leads to a society of indifference. This is not the path we are shown in this Torah portion. Korach is understood to be a man of passion, and Jewish culture has real difficulty with religious passion, possibly because so much was directed at justifying persecution of Jews. This week I would ask us to look at the story of a passionate leader who had a very different idea of how people relate to God and to ask “what gave him the idea that God is always accessible”? You can’t find what you don’t look for, and to me it has always appeared that Korach wasn’t an anarchist, looking to topple systems of oppression, he was a revolutionary, hoping to inspire people, to try to awaken an awareness of the Divine in their lives. He wants what we all want – a sure fire way to experience enlightenment, but he chose a direct challenge to leadership as his approach, which simply failed.
I am willing to take on the task of rehabilitating Korach’s reputation. I’m not afraid of dissent, nor am I interested in even appearing to have a monopoly on access to God. As Interim Rabbi I came on the scene with little prior knowledge of how things work at TBD. I guessed what might sound familiar, and I wasn’t always right! I did not gather like minded people to me, but kind-hearted people reached out to me at every turn. Whereas Korach went for a “go big or go home” gesture and it didn’t pay off, both he and I want to inspire members of our community to explore their own religious boundaries. Korach was convinced that God would recognize his intention, even if his actions were inscrutable. I believe God not only recognizes our intentions, I am sure God’s judgment of us at the end of our time on earth is not something to fear. This week’s Torah portion has God almost wipe out the entirety of the Israelite people until Moses intervenes and averts the plan. Only Korach and all those who sided with him die. Oh, and the generation of those who didn’t side with him, well they now know they are not ever to enter the Promised Land, only their children.
Like Korach, I won’t be here to see how the rest of the story plays out now that the dynamic has so dramatically shifted. We know that the Israelites make it to Canaan, what is the parallel here? My prayer for the Temple Beth David community is that, on the way to discovering where your Promised Land is, you will look not only ahead of you, but also around you, at the human landscape which is this community. Please, get to know at least one new member you haven’t spoken to before, come to an event and reconnect with older acquaintances, try joining a Torah Study session. Charting a course for TBD involves seeing where each of you is going and guiding those paths so they not only cross but actually reinforce each individual’s search for connection. Join in, it will be an adventure!
ה' עז לעמו יתן, ה' יברך את עמו בשלום (תהילים כט:יא)
May God give strength to our people, blessing us with wholeness (Psalm 29:11)
Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Leah Benamy
