Torah of Recovery: Korah 5784/2024

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Bamidbar Rabbah 18:5

(5) 5 (Numb. 16:1) “[Korah who is] the son of Izhar [who is] the son of Kohath [who is] the son of Levi betook himself”: But why is it not written "the son of Jacob" [or] "the son of Israel?" This text is related (to Gen. 49:6), “Let not my soul come into their council,” i.e., that of the spies; “and let not my glory be joined with their congregation,” i.e., that of Korah. Jacob said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, with reference to the spies and with reference to the dissension of Korah, let not my name be mentioned [in connection with] those evil men, who are going to cause provocation.

Numbers Rabbah 18:3

(3) 3 (Numb. 16:1) “Now Korah […] took”: What is written above the matter (in Numb. 15:38)? “Speak unto the Children of Israel and tell them to make tassels (zizit) for themselves.’” Korah quickly said to Moses, “In the case of a prayer shawl (tallit) which is all blue, what is the rule about it being exempt from [having] the tassel?” Moses said to him, “[Such a prayer shawl] is required to have the tassels.” Korah said to him, “Would not a prayer shawl which is all blue exempt itself, when four [blue] threads exempt it? In the case of a house which is full of [scriptural] books, what is the rule about it being exempt it from [having] the mezuzah (which contains only two passages of scripture)?” [Moses] said to him, “[Such a house] is required to have the mezuzah.” [Korah] said to him, “Since the whole Torah has two hundred and seventy-five parashiot in it and they do not exempt the house [from having the mezuzah], would the one parasha which is in the mezuzah exempt the house?” [He also] said to him, “These are things about which you have not been commanded. Rather you are inventing them [by taking them] out of your own heart.” Here is what is written (in Numb. 16:1), “Now Korah […] took.” (Numb. 16:1) “Now Korah […] took”: Now “took (rt.: lqh)” can only be a word of discord, in that his heart carried him away (rt.: lqh). Thus is [the word] used (in Job 15:12), “How your heart has carried you away (rt.: lqh) […].” This explains what Moses said to them (in Numb. 16:9), “Is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated [you from the congregation to draw you near unto Himself, to perform the service of the Lord's tabernacle …]?” The sages have said, “Korah was a great sage and was one of the bearers of the ark, as stated (in Numb. 7:9), ‘But to the children of Kohath He gave no [wagons], because they had the service of the holy objects, which they carried on their shoulders.’” Now Korah was the son of Izhar, [who was] the son of Kohath. When Moses said (in Numb. 15:38), “And put on the tassel of each corner a thread of blue,” what did Korah do? He immediately ordered them to make two hundred and fifty blue shawls for those two hundred and fifty heads of sanhedraot who rose up against Moses to wrap themselves in, just as it is stated (in Numb. 16:2), “And they rose up against Moses, together with two hundred and fifty men from the children of Israel, princes of the congregation, chosen in the assembly.”

RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 861

The Torah's position is that all the community is challenged to 'become' holy. It is a future goal, not a present boast.

Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Bamidbar, p. 183

Note that they do not say: 'All the congregation is holy' - as a unit, but: 'all the congregation are holy,' 'every one of them' - each one taken, individually. The assertion of individual, selfish ambitions outweighs their group feeling as a 'kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' They interpreted the mission of holiness, the role of 'chosen people' with which they had been charged by God, in the sense of conferring on them superiority and privilege, rather than as constituting a call to shoulder extra duties and responsibilities.

Mei Ha-Shilo'ach, vol. 2, Korach, cited in Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, Bewilderments, p. 184-185

A similar reading of Korach is to be found in Mei Ha-Shilo’ach. He characterizes Korach as apparently impeccable. What is missing in him is precisely any sense of his incompleteness (chissaron). He lacks all awareness of his own lack, of the void within him. Most pitiable of all human beings, he cannot access his own void. Engulfed in an illusion of self-possession, he is entirely “lost.” (The word oved [lost] is the one used to describe the disappearance of the rebels into the earth: “va-yovdu—they vanished from the midst of the community.”) Korach emerges as a nonperson even in his life: the apparently successful man with an internal void that is unrecognized by himself. This hollowness is a constitutive aspect of being human; ignorant of this, Korach has no access to his life’s spiritual project, which relates precisely to that potential space.26 The Korach syndrome, then, consists both of a blindness to difference, to gaps, between people and of a similar blindness to internal gaps, places of difference with one’s conscious self. These inner blind spots make growth impossible.

Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah, p. 2178

16:6. Do this. Why does Korah go along with the test? Do he and his followers really believe that God would support them? Answer: they have no choice. Moses does not propose a test. He commands Korah and his group. His verbs are four imperatives in a row: do, take, put, set! And Korah cannot refuse. The whole point, after all, is that Korah is seeking priesthood (Num 16:10). What Moses challenges him to do is to perform one of the acts that he would commonly have to do if he were to become a priest: burn incense. Korah’s claim on the priesthood would evaporate if he were to decline the opportunity he has been offered to do a priestly task.

Rabbi Mark Borovitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 261

This jealousy, and I believe most jealousy, comes because Korach and his cohorts are not able to accept their place and purpose in life. Accepting one’s place and purpose in life does not mean settling. Acceptance means that I want what I actually have. In wanting what I have, I am able to find ways to grow my soul and improve myself and my actions to better fulfill my purpose each day. Too many of us are stuck in the fantasy of “if only, if only I had …” This fantasy does at least two things: one is that we do not fulfill our actual purpose—staying dissatisfied with life, ourselves, and everything around us— nothing is ever good enough, including us; the second is that it leads us to destroy the souls of others around us. We get stuck in the cycle of constantly making someone else bad so that we can look good. We forget a basic principle of Torah: we are all created in the image of God. When we engage in destroying another soul and forfeiting our rightful place, we are going against this principle.

Rabbi Mark Borovitz, Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah, p. 262

It is true that Egypt was a fertile land; the lie is that the Israelites were not enjoying any of the milk and honey of Egypt because they were slaves. They use the truth about Egypt to make it seem as if Moses and Aaron harmed everyone by taking them out of Egypt.

Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, Bewilderments, p. 181

In his struggle for integrity in language, Moses is now faced with the silence of Korach, on the one hand, and with the verbal sneer of Dathan and Aviram, on the other. Both represent a radical rejection of the world of dibbur. Indeed, the drama of this confrontation rises partly from Moses’ own history of refusal to speak. But Moses’ history indicates a struggle with that refusal. Perhaps from the moment when he describes himself as “of uncircumcised lips,” there is born in him an awareness of an impediment, a block to be overcome.

Rabbi Benay Lappe, Founder of Svara (see Eli talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBWIEAR_GQY)

If donkeys read the Torah, we would know all the donkey stories in the Torah.

Nehama Leibowitz, Studies in Bamidbar, p. 210

13. you brought us from a land flowing with milk and honey But here is something new and unprecedented - a complete reversal of values, calling black white and white black. What was slavery is termed freedom, the land of uncleanness is given the title exclusively applied to the holy land.

Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah, p. 2181

16:13. you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey. They are referring to Egypt! They use the rhetorical device of reversing their opponent’s position: they say that Moses has taken them out of a land flowing with milk and honey. It is a clever device (common in political debate). And it is outrageous: accusing the liberator of being the source of their problems, picturing the land of slavery as the land of milk and honey, and, as usual, focusing on Moses rather than on God. And then they say, “Will you put out those people’s eyes?”—accusing Moses of being the one who is deceiving the people, when it is they who are the deceivers.

Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Covenant and Conversation: Numbers, location 3445, Kindle edition

To be accused of failure is one thing; to be accused of seeking your own aggrandisement is another; to be accused of seeking to intimidate or deceive your opponents is something else again. To Moses, it is unbearable. He responds in ways that are troubling. He says to God: “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them” (Num. 16:15). There are problems with this response.3 First, no one had yet said that he had “taken a donkey” from them or harmed them. Second, Moses, as Israel’s leader, had always prayed on behalf of the people, even for his sister Miriam when she was struck with leprosy for speaking badly about him. Abraham had prayed for the people of Sodom even though he knew that most of them were wicked. It is an extraordinary thing to pray to God not to accept someone’s offering.

Rabbi Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys, p. 150

Korach forces the hand of Truth. Without Korach, we grumble along, swallowing our bitter questions and doubt, and gradually lose our vision and power. Korach represents a stage of development that is crucial to finding our voice. Korach's fate is ambiguous; it is lot clear whether this quintessential rebel is punished or dies. In our tradition, Korach, the apparent villain of the story, is nevertheless tendered the great honor of having his name associated with twelve of our most beautiful psalms. Clearly, the one who found his voice passed this facility on to his children who became great singers in the Temple.

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, The Everyday Torah, p. 248-249

Parashat Korah uses an unusual phrase to describe God—El Elohei Ruhot (Source of the Breath of All Flesh). What a powerful metaphor! God is the source of breath, that reliable, cyclical in-and-out of air on which our lives depend. Nothing makes us feel quite so refreshed as a deep, clear breath of air, and nothing can make us miserable quite so quickly as troubled breathing. Beyond the air itself is the way our bodies feel while breathing; the filling up as our lungs expand conveys a sense of health and well-being. When we're angry or frightened, a few deep breaths can fortify us and calm our mood. God is the potent source of that ethereal energy. As we breathe in and out, we rely on the divine inspiration (and exhalation) that connects us with God as the source of breath. But we can take this image of God one step further. The four- letter name of God, the one that is never pronounced, is made of four Hebrew letters, corresponding to Y and H and W and H. Those four letters are all vowels in biblical Hebrew. So the most potent name of God, the one revealed to Moses at the burning bush, is simply vowels, the sound of breathing itself. God is not only the source of breath, but breath itself. Our breath—like our God—is something we cannot see or touch, but it is our very essence. Our connection to life is through this intangible but constant presence. With breath, we can run, learn, love, and live. Without it, we cannot live.

Sanhedrin 110a, 17

With regard to the verse: “And the sons of Korah did not die” (Numbers 26:11), it is taught in a baraita that in the name of our teacher, the Sages said: A place was fortified for them in Gehenna and they sat upon it and recited songs of praise.

Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, p. 727

When the earth yawned to swallow Korah and his company, these cried, ‘Help us Moses!’ The Shekinah hereupon said: “If these men were to repent, they should be saved...”… in the sight of all Israel, for their salvation, a pillar arose in hell, upon which they seated themselves. There did they sit and sing praises and songs to the Lord sweeter than ever mortal ear had heard, so that Moses and all Israel hearkened to them eagerly.

Psalm 85: 6-7, 10-12 (attributed, like around 10% of the Psalms, to the Sons of Korah)

(6) Will You be angry with us forever,

prolong Your wrath for all generations?

(7) Surely You will revive us again,
so that Your people may rejoice in You...

(10) His help is very near those who fear Him,

to make His glory dwell in our land.

(11) Faithfulness and truth meet;

justice and well-being kiss.

(12) Truth springs up from the earth;

justice looks down from heaven.

Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, p. 684

The highest chief of the Levites, however, was Eleazar, who was ‘to have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.’ But despite his high position, Eleazar was modest enough to participate in the service in person. During their marches from place to place, he himself would carry all needful things for the daily offering. In his right hand he carried the oil for the candlestick, in his left hand the incense, on his arm the things that were made in the pans, and, attached to his girdle, the phial with the oil for the ointment.

RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 866

The firepans used by the rebels to offer incense have become sacred and are to be used as plating for the altar. To some commentators, they have become holy simply because they had been consecrated by use in a ceremony. For Arama, they have become holy as mementos of the victory of truth over falsehood, like the trophies of a victorious army. For another commentator (Ha-amek Davar), they are holy because the men who offered incense in them were not really rebels and sinners, but people with a yearning for the opportunity to be close to God, to be of special service to God, a yearning that cost them their lives. Kook taught that the holiness of the firepans symbolizes the necessary role played by skeptics and agnostics in keeping religion honest and healthy. Challenges to tradition, he taught, are necessary because they stand as perpetual reminders of the danger that religion can sink into corruption and complacency. Platin the altar with the firepans of the rebels is meant to remind us of the legitimacy, indeed the potential holiness, of the impulse within each of us to rebel against the stagnation and complacency that can infect religion.

Rabbi Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys, p. 151

The firepans, used for offering by those who joined Korach and who died in the fire of rebellion, were later hammered into plating for the altar of sacrifice. Gathered from the charred remains of confrontation, the firepans had become holy. Searching through the rubble of my own rebellions, I find that a great deal of my arrogance has been burned up in the fires of experience, but there in the ruins I also find treasures: my passion for truth, my holy questions.

George Robinson, Essential Torah, location 8618, Kindle edition

It is proverbial that a Torah portion is never named for a wicked person (although we will run up against this problem again with Balak). There are five parashiyot that are named for individuals—Khayei Sarah, Yitro, Korakh, Balak, and Pinkhas. The first two cases are pretty obvious ones, but the latter three are troubling to varying degrees, and to draw the conclusion that Korakh is not without goodness from this slender thread may seem extreme, but there are other readings of his character possible. (Of course, his descendants are allowed to serve in the Temple and are, in fact, credited as the authors of several of the Psalms.)

Rabbi Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys, p. 151

Our challenge is to allow our Korach voice to emerge in its time and to listen carefully to its nascent power. Be aware of what danger you unleash, as well as the potential for refinement and maturity. Listen to the sound of your impatience, your ambition, your jealousy, your greed. Also hear its passionate life-force.

Rabbi Shefa Gold, Torah Journeys, p. 152

The final test of power is whether it is life-giving. In the story of Korach, God devises a test to discern the face of mature power. Each of the twelve tribes places its own staff, a symbol of its power, into the holy center of the community. The next day it is revealed that Aaron's staff has sprouted, blossomed, and produced almonds. This is how we know when our own power has matured. We look for the sprout, the blossom, and the fruit. What have we grown by our power? What beauty have we brought into the world? And how, with our power, have we nurtured ourselves and others?

RA & USCJ, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, p. 869

28. so much as ventures near Hebrew: ha-karev, ha-karev; the verb karev can mean 'encroach.' Its doubling tells us that the Israelites now fear to enter the tabernacle even to offer proper sacrifices. Like their chieftains who offered incense, they might encroach and be struck down, that is, at the hands of God. The people fear that even unintentional encroachment on the sanctuary may be fatal.