#20 April 26 - Korah Rebels

In Parashat Korah, an Israelite named Korah, who is a Levite, gangs up with Dathan and Aviram, Reubenites, and 250 other Israelites, and rebels against Moses and Aaron. Together they come to Moses and Aaron and say, "You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and God is among them. Why then do you make yourself higher than God's people?" When Moses hears this, he does not answer them but turns to God for an answer.

Then Moses says to Korah and his band, "Tomorrow morning, God will say who is His leader and who is holy, who gets to be close to God. This is your homework, Korah: You and your whole band of rebels take metal bowls and tomorrow burn incense in them in front of God's tent. Aaron and his sons, the priests, will also burn incense. Then God will tell us which man God chooses -- that man will be the holy one. You have gone too far, you Levites!"

Moses continued, "Listen up, Levites. Isn't it enough that God already made you special by letting you work for God in God's tent? (While Aaron and his sons are priests who make sacrifices to God, the Levite tribe is assigned to take care of God's tent, the Mishkan. They make sure everything is clean and tidy. They make sure all the tools and furniture are in the right place.) God has already made you and all the Levites special and now you want to be priests too?! By doing this, you are not rebelling against me but against God."

Take a look at the diagram above. This was how the 12 tribes camped and traveled together. At the center is God's tent (called the "tabernacle" in English or mishkan in Hebrew). Closest to the tent is the Tribe of Levi, which includes Moses, the leader, Aaron and his sons, the priests, and three other groups of Levites, led by Korah, Gershon and Merar. Surrounding the Levites are the rest of the 12 tribes, three tribes for each direction (North, South, East and West). So when Moses says to Korah, "Isn't it enough...?" he is talking about the fact that Korah is already very special - he gets to take care of God's own tent! So why is he complaining?!

So Korah and his crew show up the next morning at the tent with their metal bowls and and burn incense on them. God becomes so angry that He says to Moses and Aaron, "Stand back! I'm going to kill them all right this instant!!!" But Moses and Aaron bow to God and say, "No, God. Calm down. If only one man sins, is it right to kill everyone?" So God says to Moses, "Okay, tell the whole community to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Aviram." 

So the people move away from those men and their tents. As Dathan and Aviram stand by their tents, Moses says, "Now you will know that it was God that sent me to lead the people -- I did not choose to be your leader, God did." Right as he finished speaking, the ground opened up like a mouth beneath Korah, Dathan, Aviram and their families and swallowed them up!! Then the earth closed up and they vanished!  And God sent a fire that killed the rest of the 250 rebels. 

Questions for Refection

1. What does Korah accuse Moses of doing? What does Korah want?

2. Korah was actually right when he said that the whole Israelite community is holy. God said earlier, "You shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Korah is also right when he says that "God is among them" because God lives with and guides all the Israelites as they wander in the wilderness. So what is wrong with what Korah says and does? 

3. Korah accuses Moses, saying "Why then do you make yourself higher than God's people?" Moses says, "I did not choose to be your leader, God did." What is the difference between how Korah and Moses understand leadership?

Let's Ask a Rabbi

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks says that Korah and Moses understand leadership in opposite ways. Korah understands it like a pyramid whereas Moses understands it like a Menorah. First, he tells us to imagine the pyramids: 

These were more than just buildings. They were statements in stone of a hierarchical social order. They were wide at the base and narrow at the top. At the top was the king or pharaoh – at the point, so it was believed, where heaven and earth met. Beneath was a series of elites, and beneath them the laboring masses. This was believed to be not just one way of organizing a society but the only way. The very universe was organized on this principle, as was the rest of life. The sun ruled the heavens. The lion ruled the animal kingdom. The king ruled the nation. That is how it was in nature. That is how it must be. Some are born to rule, others to be ruled.

Judaism is a protest against this kind of hierarchy. Every human being, not just the king, is in the image and likeness of G‑d. Therefore no one is entitled to rule over any other without their assent. There is still a need for leadership, because without a conductor an orchestra would lapse into discord. Without a captain a team might have brilliant players and yet not be a team. In a social order in which everyone has equal dignity in the eyes of heaven, a leader does not stand above the people. He serves the people, and he serves G‑d. The great symbol of biblical Israel, the menorah, is an inverted pyramid, broad at the top, narrow at the base. The greatest leader is therefore the most humble."

According to Rabbi Lord Sacks, Moses is like the stem of a menorah - as the leader, he supports the people. Can you think of other ways that the menorah is a symbol for the Jewish people?

Can you think of people today, in your own life, who lead like Moses? Share your answer below in the Comments box.