KORACH 6/19/04
Transcribed in Cheyenne
From other commentaries & thoughts –
The rebellion of Korach and the others had a character which we can sometimes see in everyday life. They were people who rebel just for their own reasons, without any real consideration for their community. They wanted only glory for themselves, despite what Korach said. His statements about the community seem typical of some Communist type doctrines; the idea of equality for all the people, but of course the leaders end up more equal than everyone else.
According to Jewish tradition, Abiram and Dathan were the two guys quarreling among themselves the day after Moses had killed the Egyptian. So they were going at it for a long time, and were well known for this. Apparently they didn’t have a real agenda – they just quarreled for the sake of it. This passage would then have the implication that we are not to be permanently in a state of antagonism.
Moses occasionally spoke out against what Hashem was trying to get him to do. The difference was that inside he had a basic humility, and thus was able to come around and be persuaded. And, of course, he was able to make requests on behalf of his people, and Hashem listened to him! That’s an important dimension to all this.
Jim:
From Numbers 14:40: This was another opportunity where they could go with God, or their own understanding.
Nu 14:40
And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the
mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the
LORD hath promised: for we have sinned.
Nu 14:41
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of
the LORD? but it shall not prosper.
Nu 14:42
Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before
your enemies.
What’s missing here is teshuvah. They were doing it on their own, and they got a pretty good whuppin.
Early in your walk in Torah, you can keep Shabbat and eat Kosher, but still not do well. You need a relationship with Hashem. We have to remember that he is everywhere.
When I heard the announcement on the radio that they had beheaded that guy in Saudi Arabia, I was filled with hate and rage. Then I thought “what’s wrong here?” Am I hating that sorry sheet-head, or am I hating the act? This is part of our remembering our relationship and our walk.
Rev. Thomas:
Abaham met with an Arab by his well. The Arab asked for water, and Abraham not only gave it to him but had him over for dinner. Partway through, the Arab started bragging about his idol worship. Abraham got infuriated, grabbed the guy by his beard and garment, and threw him out into the darkness. Later, God woke Abraham up in the middle of the night and said, “Look,I’ve been putting up with that guy for 70 years, and you couldn’t even stand him for one night?”
Jim:
The numeric value of tzitzit is 600 – then 8 strings & 5 knots. Comes out to 613.
It doesn’t say that we were commanded to wear turquoise wool dyed with that particular snail. But we do wear the blue anyway. They also wear the white, but there’s no restriction to it being any other color. Just the blue has to be in there. The other colors are not commanded. As for women, it’s not commanded for or against.
You have to wear 4. Even as round as I am, there are 4 corners.
Rev. Thomas:
When you pray, a lot of people hold on to them.
Jim:
That’s not commanded. Don’t explore after your heart and your eyes. When you start looking at women, grab ahold.
Women are of a different nature. I’ve yet to find Tikvah eyeballing a man. So I don’t think she has to grab onto the titziot. We get our conversation more towards men, but the Scripture is not exclusive.
This Torah portion is kind of unique. It’s about Korah. 3 guys from two tribes, Levi & Reuben.
Dathan and Abiram are still with Moses after all this time. That’s amazing. Moses could have gotten rid of those clowns before. But now things are coming to a head. Korah comes to him with 250 men, and in addition Dathan and Abiram are fomenting trouble. Moses says, “that’s it, come up here and talk to me”. They refuse. That’s chutzpah. Things are not sizing up very good now.
This shows us now to take care of the ecology, to get rid of waste, Torah style.
It goes back to the titziot – the only color that’s commanded is blue. Korah asks if you’re wearing a garment only made out of blue, why do you still need to wear the titziot? If you’re going to wear the same thing day in and day out, are you going to remember you have it on? Maybe Korah was one of the first standup comedians ever. He tries to use his viewpoint to get sympathy across, with subterfuge.
If you had a room full of nothing but Torah, why would you want to have a mezuzah on it? Korah believed the people of Israel were all holy because they were simply part of it. He felt we don’t need to do what God has commanded us to do.
We’ve seen times in the past when people have rebelled, and given Moses all kinds of grief. What we’re dealing with here is rebellion in its nastiest form, against God Himself.
God will usually reveal to you what’s taking place. This guy was on a power trip. He doesn’t have some great theological revelation. You will see it today, like in the church. People will see right through you like a book. The Torah is there so we can recognize it and deal with it.
“Maimonides defines idolatry as religious ideology invented by the unscrupulous to manipulate and dominate others.”
Torah sanctity is achieved only by doing the mitzvot.
We remind ourselves that we become holy objects by remembering to perform the commander’s commands. The Torah teaches that Korah’s rebellion is ultimately answerable.
Some commandments are only meant for the Temple, for Israel, for women, or for men, but when we do them, the relationship becomes incredible. All of a sudden it comes to this – we share the comfort and joy of being in His presence. That very presence is what makes it all special.
It’s not just a question of asking God to reveal His will in our lives. It’s doing things at the right times. We’re right there in the middle. When we don’t do these things, we go back to He’s up there and we’re down here.
Rev. Thomas:
How can we expect him to tell us what we don’t know if we’re not doing what we do know?
Jim:
We’re dealing with people in different kinds of positions & situations. We can do these things, or we can rely on other things. If we’re using Yeshua as an example, then we can go back and do the commandments.
Rabbi Howard S. Joseph says Korach was not entirely wrong. He articulated his position on the basis of ancestral covenant. The ancestral covenant is the basis of all Judaism.
It’s WE were at Sinai. WE were at the borders of Israel when Korach went bananas. We have become a part of that ancestral consciousness. While the ancestral covenant is the core of our consciousness, we have to understand the Sinai covenant to reconnect with that.
Korach was disruptive and destructive of the Shalom of the congregation. That’s bad news. He does one thing that in Judaism is not tolerated – he quarrels. Jews banter and argue. Korach quarrels. After seeing all of the things to that point, like crossing the sea & the quail etc., he still quarreled.
A dispute for the sake of heaven will come out all right. A dispute that’s not for the sake of heaven will only bring destruction.
So Hillel and Shammai can have legendary disputes, and that’s all right, because it was for the sake of heaven.
Korah was the epitome of machlochas, the opposite of Shalom. If we argue to reach truth, that is the epitome of Shalom.
True Shalom is the achievement of perfection. True Shalom is conditional on destroying evil, not what we perceive as evil but what God perceives as evil.
The tranquility of Solomon’s reign was the absence of war, but that can’t endure. David’s Shalom was more aggressive. David could not build the temple because God wanted to reserve the right to destroy it if He had to vent his anger against the people.
There’s usually a tendency for each group to feel that only its approach is correct. That’s the way people are. In the world to come, God will make a great circle dance for all the tzaddikim. Two tzaddikim who had diametrically opposed views will see themselves at opposite ends of the circle, and realize that each was equally distant from the truth. (from Chofetz Chaim)
True peace must include rebuke and criticism. Most of us haven’t been raised to include crtiticism. When somebody criticizes me, I go to pieces. True Shalom takes rebuke and criticism, and we grow.
Kettle, River, Bird, from the Midrash:
Jealousy really ruins things, driving a wedge between the Shalom that is in the group.
Kettle unifies fire and water for cooking, and is not changed. What do we think of the pot? The lustful individual only bases his conduct on “what’s in it for me?” The pot only does its job.
Contemplation of the river – it is so beautiful in its boundaries, but destructive when it leaps over those.
The bird is flexible, ever ready to fly away to make room for others. This is the antidote for haughtiness.
Reb Zhusah was asked if he would trade places with Abraham. He answered, “what good would that do for God? There would still be one Abraham and one Reb Zhusah.”
When we accept our position, we will be able to do what is in harmony with God.
We want to go to Israel really badly, but God has not said a word. Do we get mad and bent out of shape? It wouldn’t do any good. We’re here for a purpose and a reason. I lost a son at 14 months. The blessing to me was incredible. But why 14 months? God knows. Sometime I will find out.
What we’re getting down to is what I was talking about at the very start. We’re all part of God’s creation. Just as surely I feel more a part of God now that ever before in my life, I realize that everyone else is a part of God. That type of a revelation puts a new light on everything. Christianity says you’ve got to hate the sin but love the sinner. That’s a valid teaching. That guy who chopped off the other guy’s head – how could I hate him? I wouldn’t recognize him if I saw him at Frontier Mall. My time should have been spent praying for the family left behind.
Korach was self-serving, an individual. Nothing else. His father was closest in descendance from the head of the tribe of Levi. Rather than accepting the position that God had given him, he decided to rectify the situation himself.
The topic of peace is a popular one these days. It’s perhaps the most central theme of Judaism. Ps 133 reference. The entire Talmud ends with the word Shalom. If peace is such an essential value, why are Jews always arguing? Quarreling should not be confused with well-intentioned arguing. They want to learn from each other. The children of Hillel and Shammai intentionally married each other to show that they were at peace. I should appreciate the unique perspective that others bring into my life.
The goal of study is not to have someone agree with me, but to have someone tell me where I’m wrong.