Words From Rabbi White

This week’s parasha refers to the terrible argument and rebellion of Qorah.

I remember many years ago, in my last year as a student in the rabbinical program at YU, I had a part time job reading the Torah in a Long Island synagogue. They had a wonderful rabbi, and many very nice members, but some people found some things that they didn’t like about shul practices.

Before you knew it, they had broken off and formed another shul!. And just think about what goes on in Israeli politics!

Last week’s parasha ended with the requirement to wear tsitsit. This week’s parasha begins with the great rebellion of Qorah, against the leadership of Moses. The first 2 words of the parasha are “va-yiqqah Qorah, ” meaning “Qorah took.”  Anyone with a sense of grammar, whether in English, French, or Hebrew, will ask:  “what did he take?” Where is the object of the verb? It seems to be missing from the verse!

So, one midrashic tradition supplies the missing object. The obligation to wear tsitsit gave Qorah a great opportunity to create a split.   He took a tallit that was completely blue, and asked if such a tallit requires tsitsit. When Moshe said “yes it does,” Qorah seized the opportunity to create an argument.

So, according to that midrash, the object of the verb “took": is understood to be “tallit.”

However, the ancient Aramaic translation known as Targum Onqelos translates with the word “‘itpelag,” meaning “he split” [those who know modern Hebrew can see the root of the words “miflagah,” meaning a “political party,” or “pelugah,”  meaning “a team” in sports .]

I couldn’t help but notice that Onqelos’ translation of “Splitting” might be reflected in the very name of Qorah.

His name is spelled with 3 Hebrew letters: קרח

The word for “split” is קרע

And the last letters of both words are very similar, as both are classified as “gutterals,” meaning they are pronounced in the back of the throat. [we ashkenazim have lost the tradition of proper pronunciation of the letter `ayin, and we were taught that it is a silent letter, but historically that is not correct.]

So, I suggest that Onqelos’ translation is alluded to by the similar sounds of קרח/קרע 

In other words, Qorah's very name epitomizes rebellion and splitting.

On the other hand, the word shalom, to which we all aspire,  is connected to the word shalem, meaning "complete.

Shabbat shalom