Post by Rabbi Neil on Jun 26, 2020 20:31:18 GMT
I have always been a fan of Korach, especially as he is represented in midrash (in creative Rabbinic commentary). This year, I like him even more. I know that our tradition is very hard on Korach, to the point that the Mishnah (Avot 5:17) differentiates between two differing kinds of controversy – between that of Hillel and Shammai which is seen as a controversy for the sake of heaven, and that of Korach which is seen as not being for the sake of heaven. I know the critiques of Korach, particularly that he was only looking for glory for himself and was acting out of jealousy for Moses’ leadership. However, I would like to provide a more sympathetic reading of Korach, while acknowledging taking some liberty with how our tradition views the man who rebelled against Moses.
In this week’s Torah portion, we read that Korach, Datan, Aviram and On, along with 250 community leaders, “massed against Moses and Aaron and said to them, 'You have gone too far, for all the community is holy, all of them and the Eternal is in their midst. Why do you raise yourselves above the Eternal’s congregation?'" (Num. 16:3) Their concern is clear from the very beginning – that there is no equality in Israelite worship. Moses’ response is actually quite shocking. In it, he says that the next day God will make known who belongs near him and who does not and then adds “Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Eternal’s Tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? God has brought you and all your fellow Levites near, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too! It is against God that you and all your followers have banded together. Moreover, who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?” (v.5-11) Why is this response shocking? What Korach wants to do is break down the authority structures that have been established in the camp because they speak of inequality. The response is to highlight the inequality which Korach himself enjoys. Why would you complain about privilege, Moses seems to be asking, when you yourself enjoy some of that privilege? Moses then speaks on God’s behalf, despite the fact that God has not spoken at all on this matter, and then Moses tries to rebuff Korach’s claim by suggesting it’s a personal attack on Aaron, the High Priest, when it clearly isn’t. It’s important to be really clear here – Korach complains that Moses has elevated himself above the people because everyone is holy. Moses’ response is that Korach enjoys some of that elevated status as a priest and that Korach’s complaint is against God and against Aaron.
Of course, complaining about Divine injustice is not a problem in Judaism. Abraham complains about God’s apparent injustice regarding Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18). The daughters of Zelophehad complain about the unjust laws of inheritance later in the book of Numbers (ch. 27). In both cases, God responds positively. Here, God is not allowed to respond – Moses forces God’s hand by making the issue personal. Moses doesn’t consult with God and ask how to respond, he tells the so-called rebels how God will respond. He then later turns to God specifically and says, “Do not accept their offering!” (v.15). By making the complaint about him and Aaron personally, Moses is able to ignore their concern about inequality.
After the first rejection of Korach’s complaint, Moses summons Datan and Aviram but they refuse to come, sending the message to Moses “Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you want to lord it over us? You haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come!” (v. 12-14)
The complaint of the rebels is not just that inequality is unjust but that it has not been successful. It has brought suffering upon the people. There was a promise made to the people, the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey, and that promise has just been squashed for that generation. Only two chapters beforehand, it is made clear to the people that as a result of the spies bringing back false reports of the land, essentially the entire generation of people who left Egypt will now die in the desert, never going into the Promised Land (Num. 14:35). Everyone is punished for the actions of a few. Yes, they had been released from slavery, but was this really living? Of course, they had regularly delivered food from heaven, but it was the same food every single day. And, most importantly, they were passive recipients in their own fate – they couldn’t grow the food, take care of it, be involved in it. They existed and were taken care of but they didn’t have their own autonomy. The complaint by Korach and his band as expressed in Torah is simple, profound and utterly relevant for today – inequality has not made our society any better for the masses.
In Midrash, Korach’s complaint is worded very differently. For example, Midrash Tanhuma sees that the mitzvah of tzitzit immediately precedes Korach’s complaint, and thus connects the two. There (Num. 15:34) it says that we should place a blue tassel (t’cheilet) on the corner of our clothing. Midrash has Korach ask what happens if the entire garment is blue – do you still need a blue thread? Similarly, does a room filled with Torah scrolls need a mezuzah on the doorpost? When Moses replies yes to both questions, Korach mocks him – how is it that all the blue in a garment isn’t sufficient but the blue on a thread is? How is it that all the Torah scrolls aren’t sufficient but two small excerpts from a scroll are? He concludes with the phrase, “Moses, you must be making this up.”
I actually think this makes Korach’s claim even more appealing, especially in a modern context. His objection to t’cheilet on a garment totally dyed with t’cheilet is a way of demonstrating how laws that we assume to be normative can become nonsensical when we push them to extreme. Midrash sees him as mocking our tradition but I don’t think that’s what he’s doing at all – he’s pointing out its absurdity.
Korach is a figure for our times. He’s able to turn to the leadership of the people and challenge their notion of success. Moses holds the people together through a patriarchal system of privilege in which some people are closer to God than others. Had that been a successful strategy, had the people actually gone into the Promised Land, I think people would have tolerated that inequality. But immediately after they fail to enter that land in last week’s portion, they realize that the system is not working. When they voice their concerns, the leadership make it personal, they make it about themselves to try to deflect away from the underlying social frustration. They make it personal. Korach of yesterday is Colin Kaepernick of today, pointing out injustice in society and suffering personally, being attacked personally, as a result. The priestly rebels of yesterday are the Black Lives Matter activists of today. They will no longer tolerate indiscriminate violence against the people because of the way their society is structured. They are tired of continually suffering in the wilderness while the elite few are able to draw close to God. They protest peacefully, they make their case vigorously, and are met with distortions of their message and then extreme violence. The earth swallows up Korach and his men, and then God sends a plague into the camp. Just as current protests against police brutality have been met with more police brutality, thereby totally proving the point of the protesters, the response from the Divine authorities in Torah is exactly the same. The injustice in the structure of the people is not addressed, which is why the people continue to complain throughout the rest of Torah, why God and Moses continue to describe them as a stiff-necked people, as opposed to people with a valid complaint. People tolerate some degree of inequality if there is benefit to everyone, but when the people cannot see that benefit, they rebel. The indiscriminate violence of the plague at the end exists to reinforce the inequality – Aaron comes off as a hero after stopping the plague despite the fact that nearly fifteen thousand people die from the plague! Had it not been for Aaron, more people would have died, implies the Torah, trying to turn this into something positive. It’s like this administration’s response to the current pandemic – yes, lots of people have died but had it not been for us more would have died, so therefore we deserve credit!
I get that one could read the text totally differently – that Moses is saying “Priestly lives matter” while Korach is responding with that terrible line “All lives matter,” but that’s absolutely not what’s going on here. When “All lives matter” is said by particular individuals today it’s because they’re trying to ignore the suffering of particular groups of people, they’re trying to say that no-one is in special need of attention. Korach is the opposite – he sees the people suffering and he’s trying to do something about it. A better analogy would be Korach saying “Non-priests matter” while Moses responds with “Aren’t you enjoying being a priest? And why would you attack priests like Aaron?” Moses represents the status quo here – he has no need to protest anything. Korach, on the other hand, knows that something has to change. Our tradition’s response has been to ridicule him, to call him pedantic and self-serving, to claim that he just wants to be in charge. But he never says that. Not once. He just wants his society to be fair. He sees the people suffering and tries to envisage a totally new society where all can flourish. For thousands of years, we tolerated the violent response that was doled out upon those in this Torah portion when they tried to create a more equitable society. When we hear that vision re-expressed today, will we tolerate the violence that tries to suppress it? Or will we stand on the side of change, of challenging injustice, of fighting indiscriminate violence against people just because they are not born into privilege? This week’s Torah portion asks us to truly consider, are we Moses or are we Korach? The world desperately needs an answer from us.
In this week’s Torah portion, we read that Korach, Datan, Aviram and On, along with 250 community leaders, “massed against Moses and Aaron and said to them, 'You have gone too far, for all the community is holy, all of them and the Eternal is in their midst. Why do you raise yourselves above the Eternal’s congregation?'" (Num. 16:3) Their concern is clear from the very beginning – that there is no equality in Israelite worship. Moses’ response is actually quite shocking. In it, he says that the next day God will make known who belongs near him and who does not and then adds “Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Eternal’s Tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? God has brought you and all your fellow Levites near, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too! It is against God that you and all your followers have banded together. Moreover, who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?” (v.5-11) Why is this response shocking? What Korach wants to do is break down the authority structures that have been established in the camp because they speak of inequality. The response is to highlight the inequality which Korach himself enjoys. Why would you complain about privilege, Moses seems to be asking, when you yourself enjoy some of that privilege? Moses then speaks on God’s behalf, despite the fact that God has not spoken at all on this matter, and then Moses tries to rebuff Korach’s claim by suggesting it’s a personal attack on Aaron, the High Priest, when it clearly isn’t. It’s important to be really clear here – Korach complains that Moses has elevated himself above the people because everyone is holy. Moses’ response is that Korach enjoys some of that elevated status as a priest and that Korach’s complaint is against God and against Aaron.
Of course, complaining about Divine injustice is not a problem in Judaism. Abraham complains about God’s apparent injustice regarding Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18). The daughters of Zelophehad complain about the unjust laws of inheritance later in the book of Numbers (ch. 27). In both cases, God responds positively. Here, God is not allowed to respond – Moses forces God’s hand by making the issue personal. Moses doesn’t consult with God and ask how to respond, he tells the so-called rebels how God will respond. He then later turns to God specifically and says, “Do not accept their offering!” (v.15). By making the complaint about him and Aaron personally, Moses is able to ignore their concern about inequality.
After the first rejection of Korach’s complaint, Moses summons Datan and Aviram but they refuse to come, sending the message to Moses “Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you want to lord it over us? You haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come!” (v. 12-14)
The complaint of the rebels is not just that inequality is unjust but that it has not been successful. It has brought suffering upon the people. There was a promise made to the people, the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey, and that promise has just been squashed for that generation. Only two chapters beforehand, it is made clear to the people that as a result of the spies bringing back false reports of the land, essentially the entire generation of people who left Egypt will now die in the desert, never going into the Promised Land (Num. 14:35). Everyone is punished for the actions of a few. Yes, they had been released from slavery, but was this really living? Of course, they had regularly delivered food from heaven, but it was the same food every single day. And, most importantly, they were passive recipients in their own fate – they couldn’t grow the food, take care of it, be involved in it. They existed and were taken care of but they didn’t have their own autonomy. The complaint by Korach and his band as expressed in Torah is simple, profound and utterly relevant for today – inequality has not made our society any better for the masses.
In Midrash, Korach’s complaint is worded very differently. For example, Midrash Tanhuma sees that the mitzvah of tzitzit immediately precedes Korach’s complaint, and thus connects the two. There (Num. 15:34) it says that we should place a blue tassel (t’cheilet) on the corner of our clothing. Midrash has Korach ask what happens if the entire garment is blue – do you still need a blue thread? Similarly, does a room filled with Torah scrolls need a mezuzah on the doorpost? When Moses replies yes to both questions, Korach mocks him – how is it that all the blue in a garment isn’t sufficient but the blue on a thread is? How is it that all the Torah scrolls aren’t sufficient but two small excerpts from a scroll are? He concludes with the phrase, “Moses, you must be making this up.”
I actually think this makes Korach’s claim even more appealing, especially in a modern context. His objection to t’cheilet on a garment totally dyed with t’cheilet is a way of demonstrating how laws that we assume to be normative can become nonsensical when we push them to extreme. Midrash sees him as mocking our tradition but I don’t think that’s what he’s doing at all – he’s pointing out its absurdity.
Korach is a figure for our times. He’s able to turn to the leadership of the people and challenge their notion of success. Moses holds the people together through a patriarchal system of privilege in which some people are closer to God than others. Had that been a successful strategy, had the people actually gone into the Promised Land, I think people would have tolerated that inequality. But immediately after they fail to enter that land in last week’s portion, they realize that the system is not working. When they voice their concerns, the leadership make it personal, they make it about themselves to try to deflect away from the underlying social frustration. They make it personal. Korach of yesterday is Colin Kaepernick of today, pointing out injustice in society and suffering personally, being attacked personally, as a result. The priestly rebels of yesterday are the Black Lives Matter activists of today. They will no longer tolerate indiscriminate violence against the people because of the way their society is structured. They are tired of continually suffering in the wilderness while the elite few are able to draw close to God. They protest peacefully, they make their case vigorously, and are met with distortions of their message and then extreme violence. The earth swallows up Korach and his men, and then God sends a plague into the camp. Just as current protests against police brutality have been met with more police brutality, thereby totally proving the point of the protesters, the response from the Divine authorities in Torah is exactly the same. The injustice in the structure of the people is not addressed, which is why the people continue to complain throughout the rest of Torah, why God and Moses continue to describe them as a stiff-necked people, as opposed to people with a valid complaint. People tolerate some degree of inequality if there is benefit to everyone, but when the people cannot see that benefit, they rebel. The indiscriminate violence of the plague at the end exists to reinforce the inequality – Aaron comes off as a hero after stopping the plague despite the fact that nearly fifteen thousand people die from the plague! Had it not been for Aaron, more people would have died, implies the Torah, trying to turn this into something positive. It’s like this administration’s response to the current pandemic – yes, lots of people have died but had it not been for us more would have died, so therefore we deserve credit!
I get that one could read the text totally differently – that Moses is saying “Priestly lives matter” while Korach is responding with that terrible line “All lives matter,” but that’s absolutely not what’s going on here. When “All lives matter” is said by particular individuals today it’s because they’re trying to ignore the suffering of particular groups of people, they’re trying to say that no-one is in special need of attention. Korach is the opposite – he sees the people suffering and he’s trying to do something about it. A better analogy would be Korach saying “Non-priests matter” while Moses responds with “Aren’t you enjoying being a priest? And why would you attack priests like Aaron?” Moses represents the status quo here – he has no need to protest anything. Korach, on the other hand, knows that something has to change. Our tradition’s response has been to ridicule him, to call him pedantic and self-serving, to claim that he just wants to be in charge. But he never says that. Not once. He just wants his society to be fair. He sees the people suffering and tries to envisage a totally new society where all can flourish. For thousands of years, we tolerated the violent response that was doled out upon those in this Torah portion when they tried to create a more equitable society. When we hear that vision re-expressed today, will we tolerate the violence that tries to suppress it? Or will we stand on the side of change, of challenging injustice, of fighting indiscriminate violence against people just because they are not born into privilege? This week’s Torah portion asks us to truly consider, are we Moses or are we Korach? The world desperately needs an answer from us.