The parsha (Torah portion) of this week is named Korach. Korach was a leader of the tribe of Levy (the tribe of Moshe/Moses and Aharon), and he opened his mouth questioning the need for Moshe to be the leader, and Aaron should be the high priest. He isn’t the only one that opens his mouth. With him are 250 elders, including two from the tribe of Reuven, who feel oppressed by Moshe. And of course we have the mouth of the land that opens to swallow Korach and his followers. Toss in a flowering almond branch and some laws about the tithes, and I would say we have a variety show of a parsha.
I have heard a lot about Korach. One of the more interesting ideas is that he is the reincarnation of Cain, and that Moshe is the reincarnation of Abel, and this whole episode is a fixing of the sin of Cain killing Abel. Where does this come from? Well, when haShem is asking Cain about his brother, he informs him that the mouth of the earth opened to receive Abel’s blood. Moshe uses the exact same words (the mouth of earth will open) in reference to the fate of Korach. But what about the other 250 men with Korach? Well, the soul of Cain is not just in one person, but a piece of that soul was in all 250 men, and that is why all of them, and not just Korach, had to be swallowed by the mouth of the earth.
As I said before, there is a lot more that can be said about this… interaction. So, I don’t feel a real need to talk much about it today. Instead, I want to focus on the other two named cohorts of Korach: Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, son of Reuven. Or in translation: A religious object (Dathan) and my-father-is-high (Abiram), sons of my-power-of-father (Eliab), son of see-a-son (Reuven). At one point, Moshe calls to them to come to him, and they respond by saying, “No! Why should we come to you who took us up from a land flowing with milk and honey (Egypt) to kill us in the wilderness, and you seek to oppress us, even oppress us further. You didn’t bring us to a land flowing with milk and honey (as promised), nor give us a heritage of field or vineyard.”
On the surface, it would appear that they have a real complaint against Moshe. Why should they listen to the man who said he would take them to a good land, and now that it is too late to turn back, says, “Sorry, but you don’t get this good land; you get to die in the wilderness instead.”
Before we accept this surface appearance, however, let’s put their comments into context. Yes, Moshe led them out of Egypt. And he was all set to lead them into the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Then, as we read last week, the people, not Moshe, lost faith that they could enter the land, and bewailed that they came all this way just to die in the wilderness. haShem, decided to do what they said, and decreed that the men would indeed die in the wilderness, but their children and all the women would be allowed to inherit the land. So, what we see is that the “religious one” and the “one who wants power of dad” are trying to manipulate and take power from Moshe (who, one could argue is in a fatherly role, and the role of religious leader) by ignoring the events, and blaming him for the results.
Moshe, to his credit, does not allow himself to be sucked into their game. He points out that he has been upright (not using his power/authority to take anything from them), and gives them a second chance (by warning them to get away from their possessions) while also teaching them that they, and only they, are responsible for the consequences of their actions. And he teaches them this lesson in a timely fashion, by not waiting a long time before the earth swallows their belongings.
To summarize, what I see here is a lesson for parents: There will come a time when your kids will try to assert their authority in a not very responsible way. (I know I did, on more than one occasion 🙂 ). And when they do, it is best to not get sucked into their game, but to stay above it and see the whole picture. Then, the parents need to demonstrate to their children the error in their approach, and show them that if they want autonomy, they first need to take responsibility. This is what Moshe is trying to do, not just to Dathan and Abiram, but to the whole clan when he tells everybody to move away for the earth’s mouth is about to open.
I bless everybody when they find themselves in a parental situation, that they can pass on this important lesson, and I also bless everybody to be able to receive this lesson in a relatively painless and lasting way.
Have a good week and month (we are now entering the Jewish month of Tammuz) everybody, shavuah tov and chodesh tov.
About the Author
Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.