Reflections from Rabbi Ellis

Korach is a well known Parsha due to its rich characters and dramatic events. On a literary level it is an absolutely essential part of the Torah, so much so that the Mishna places the pit that swallowed Korach and his conspirators on the list of the ten things that were created at sundown just before the end of creation. When viewed in context with the surrounding Parshiot however it seems superfluous. That is while the story of Korach and the rebellions he inspired is a wonderful subject for students of the Torah, it is about a time period which is meaningless to us as a nation. The sin of the spies happened in the previous Parsha and with it our condemnation to spend thirty-eight years dying in the desert. Next week’s Parsha starts at the end of those thirty-eight years. Our Parsha takes place during these thirty-eight years where all we are really doing is dying.

The first answer I propose is that this week’s Parsha comes to teach us that even dying men need to live. Meaning that though Moshe no longer had the responsibility to lead this generation into the land of Israel, he still needed to lead them and to help them find meaning in their lives. While all the physical needs of Israel were already taken care of, their spiritual needs were completely forgotten. The day after Israel turned away from the border of Israel they should have started forming an army and studying the laws incumbent on entering the land of Israel to give this generation some way of connecting to the future and not leaving them alone with their past failures. In fact, the thirty-eight-year sentence of death set the perfect deadline for completion of our preparation to conquer and settle Israel.

 Secondly this week's Parsha is about the power of leaders and missed potential. It doesn’t seem reasonable that Parsha Korach was the only time that the Children of Israel became agitated and rebellious during our thirty-eight years in the desert. If the previous two years are to be seen as an example, then we started complaining and rebelling every third journey. Why then are the two rebellions in our Parsha recorded for posterity?

Korach inspires a rebellion within the tribe of Levi, after it is put down the whole nation becomes agitated at all the death and destruction emanating from the Mishkan and challenges the leadership of all of Israel. The Children of Israel were in a highly excitable state after being condemned to die in the desert, Korach recognized this and exploited their emotion towards personal gain. In doing so he failed twice, he failed to gain anything and, in the end, suffered one of the worst deaths recorded in the Torah, but his real failure was that he didn’t recognize the true potential of the moment. Israel was ready to truly repent for their sin of rejecting the land of Israel. Korach could have led us in a natural revival, earning himself the honor he desired and returning the Children of Israel to our home. The Parsha of Korach is included in the Torah to show us that G!d didn’t and doesn’t seal our fate, for good or bad, it always remains in our hands even though we don’t realize it. 

Shabbat Shalom!