Korach and the Epicenter
INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA
PARASHAT KORACH
Korach at
the Epicenter
By Rav
Michael Hattin
Introduction
With the debacle of the Spies behind
them, the People of Israel begin their march into the wilderness at God's
behest. They enter its desolate
confines reluctantly, for they know that they will not emerge from it alive. No doubt the people, in spite of last
week's concluding message assuring their descendents a brighter future, feel
distraught and despondent. How
difficult it is to continue with the struggles and challenges that life
presents, when the promise of purpose and the dream of a destination is so
hopelessly out of reach!
Into the
despair steps Korach, a demagogic provocateur, who quickly musters the
malcontents to challenge the leadership of Moshe and Aharon. Accusing them of despotism and
autocracy, Korach and his cohorts cynically contrast Moshe's earlier promises of
leading them to a fertile land of fields and vineyards with their present
wretched predicament. And why has
Aharon been awarded the priesthood if not because he unfairly enjoys Moshe's
support? And why have the firstborn of the people been disqualified from the
ministering at the Tabernacle in favor of the Levites, if not because the latter
are Moshe's kin? And why has
Elizaphan son of Uzziel been appointed as chief of the Clan of Kehat, if not
because Moshe prefers him to Korach, Elizaphan's elder? For the first time since we have met
him, Moshe becomes very angry, for he knows as we do that he has been a selfless
and devoted leader, who has always put the interests of the people before his
own. The nominations that Moshe has
made have been carried out at God's directive, and his personal preferences have
played no role whatsoever in the selection process.
The Confrontation
Finally,
the rebellion comes to a head, as Korach and his large following of hundreds
prepare to engineer their own election by invoking Divine approval for Moshe and
Aharon's ouster. Preparing their
incense firepans at Moshe's direction, they assemble with their fragrant (and
flagrant!) sacrifice to confront Aharon's own offering, confidently awaiting the
sure sign of heavenly fire that will secure their promotion to leadership. Expectantly, the congregation of
Israel gathers around the combatants, who are positioned at the 'protest tent'
of the ringleaders Korach, Datan and Aviram.
God's
displeasure is aroused against the unfaithful bystanders, but is deflected from
them by Moshe's intercession:
"
shall
one man's transgression cause You to be enraged with all of the congregation?"
(Bamidbar 16:22).
Accepting Moshe's pleas, God then
instructs him to warn the people to draw back from the tent of Korach, Datan and
Aviram.
"The
people stepped back from their tent as Datan and Aviram emerged defiantly and
stood at the tent's entrance, accompanied by their wives and children. Moshe exclaimed: 'By this you shall
know that God has sent me to do all of these deeds, for they are not of my own
making. If these people die after
the manner of all others, and the decree of all flesh is visited upon them as
well, then God has not sent me. But
if God 'creates a creation' ('im BRiAh yiVRAh Hashem' Bamidbar 16:30) so that
the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all of their possessions alive,
then you shall know that these men have incensed God.'
Thus,
invoking his own heavenly sign, Moshe avers that his integrity and sincerity
will be proven by an unusual Divine intervention: a restrained earthquake that
will devour the perpetrators and all that is theirs, but will leave the rest of
the congregation unscathed.
"Just as
Moshe finished to state his words, the earth beneath them opened up. The ground 'opened its mouth,'
swallowing them and their households, swallowing all of Korach's people and all
of their possessions. They thus
descended to the grave alive, for the ground covered them up and they were lost
from among the congregation. All of
the people of Israel who were in their proximity fled at their cries, for they
were afraid of being similarly swallowed by the ground. A fire went forth from before God and
consumed the two hundred and fifty presenters of the incense" (Bamidbar
16:31-35).
The Significance of the Earthquake
Avraham Ibn Ezra
This
unprecedented display of God's displeasure, short in duration but intensely
destructive, is the subject of some discussion among the commentaries. Why does Moshe invoke an earthquake
of all possible signs, and why are the rabble-rousing rebels so completely
consumed by its effects?
Avraham
Ibn Ezra (12th century, Spain), adopting a rationalistic approach,
attempts to lessen the miraculous nature of the proceedings: "Some say that the
term 'BRiAh' or 'creation' indicates some new phenomenon that never had taken
place before. I, however, have
already explained that the root 'BaRA' can be used in the sense of 'cutting,' as
the verse in Yechezkel/Ezekiel states: '
they will cut ('BaRAi') them with their
swords
' (Yechezkel 23:47). Many
times in the past it has happened that earthquakes have struck various lands and
swallowed up their inhabitants alive.
When used here, the verb is therefore to be understood in the sense of
the earth being rent open. As for
the expression 'the earth shall open its mouth' (Bamidbar 16:30), it is an
anthropomorphism (the attribution of human characteristics to objects or to
God). I have already explained that
since the human soul (while in the body) inhabits the intermediate realm between
heaven and earth, it often describes transcendent or terrestrial things in
anthropomorphic terms, for the sake of clarity" (commentary to Bamidbar 16:30).
For Ibn
Ezra, the Torah's usage of the noun 'BRiA' or the verb 'BaRAh' to describe the
unexpected earthquake is not meant to imply some completely unfamiliar and
bizarre occurrence. Although this
root is typically used in the context of 'creation ex nihilo' (literally 'out of
nothing'), such as in the opening passage of the Torah that describes God's
fashioning of the cosmos ('Bereishit BaRAh Elohim' Bereishit 1:1), Ibn Ezra
maintains that its more fundamental meaning has to do with 'cutting,' and by
extension 'demarcating' or 'setting limits.'
Thus, according to his explanation, Ibn Ezra alternatively reads the
above passage from Bereishit 1:1 as 'In the beginning of God's delineation of
heaven and earth
,' for it speaks of God's delimitation of the primeval matter
to produce elemental structure and form.
To return
to our context, Ibn Ezra makes no attempt to explain the significance of just
this particular sign that Moshe invokes, but rather seeks to downplay the
seeming exceptionality of the episode by calling attention to other earthquakes
that have struck human settlements with equal or greater repercussions. The curious opening of the earth's
'mouth' is a straightforward example of the Torah adopting an idiomatic
expression to make the text more comprehensible, and contains for him no unusual
meaning.
The Significance of the Earthquake
Ramban
For the
Ramban, the earthquake that is visited upon Korach and his men is both
exceptional as well as particularly punitive, and indicates an unusually heinous
infraction on their part.
"Many
times before, elements among the people had complained to Moshe and expressed
regret with having left Egypt, but the punishment of these fellows was more
harsh because they had accused Moshe of exercising undeserved authority over the
people. They had exclaimed: 'Is it
not enough that you have taken us out of a land flowing with milk and honey in
order to kill us in the wilderness, but must you also rule over us with
disdain?!' (Bamidbar 16:13). They
were thus guilty of two evil deeds, for not only did they shame Moshe their
master, but they also denied all of God's acts on their behalf in Egypt and in
the wilderness, even calling into question the Revelation at Sinai. Had not God assured Moshe that in the
aftermath of that event the people would believe in the integrity of his mission
forever? Korach and his followers,
however, proclaimed that Moshe was unfit to lead the people, was overbearing,
and brought them only misfortune.
Moshe's anger is thus understandable
" (commentary to Bamidbar 16:29).
In other
words, by accusing Moshe of selfish tyranny, of acting in his own interests and
of corrupt and dishonest rule, Korach and his supporters effectively exclude God
from the events of the Exodus and the wilderness.
When Moshe exclaims that: 'if these people die after the manner of all
others, and the decree of all flesh is visited upon them as well, then GOD HAS
NOT SENT ME,' he refers not only to his most recent acts of initiating the
election of the Levites and the promotion of his brother Aharon to the
priesthood, but to all of the deeds that he has undertaken since the time that
God 'sent' him to Pharaoh as His emissary.
If indeed Moshe has been acting independently to crowd the corridors of
power with his own family and adherents, then God has been absent from the
proceedings. The attack on Moshe is
thus a much more serious broadside against the fundamental axiom of Divine
involvement in the unfolding history of the people of Israel.
A Punishment to Fit the Crime
Ramban
expands on this theme by considering the unusual penalty meted out against the
rebels:
"Actually, the root 'BaRA' does indicate the creation of something out of
nothing, for the Hebrew language has no other word to describe such an event. It is true that the phenomenon of an
earthquake is certainly nothing new, but that the ground should open itself up
to swallow its victims is unprecedented.
Under typical circumstances, when an earthquake occurs, the fracture in
the ground remains exposed and sometimes pools with water. But that the ground should open up
and then close at once, like a person who opens his mouth to swallow something
and then shuts it immediately, was an event that on that day occurred for the
first time and thus resembled an act of creation ex nihilo. This is the meaning of the expression
that 'the ground covered them up and they were lost from among the
congregation'
for in a moment the earth opened its mouth and then closed it upon
them, as if they had never existed" (commentary to 16:30,33).
Thus,
unlike the Ibn Ezra who detects nothing particularly unusual about the demise of
Korach and his men, Ramban sees it as a glaring and unparalleled expression of
Divine displeasure.
Conclusion
Although
their death is seen to occur immediately after Moshe's unwitting pronouncement
of sentencing, and thus signifies God's instant support of his cause, the Ramban
leaves us to speculate concerning the exact significance of the 'earth's mouth'
motif. It may be notable that the
only other occurrence of this expression is in the context of Hevel's untimely
death at the murderous hands of his brother Kayin. It will be recalled that Kayin slays
his brother (Bereishit 4:8-10) and then attempts to evade responsibility:
"God said
to Kayin 'Where is your brother Hevel?'
Kayin answered 'I do not know.
Am I my brother's keeper?'
God said to him: 'What have you done?
The blood of your brother cries out to me from the earth! Now you shall be cursed from the
earth that OPENED ITS MOUTH to take your brother's blood from your hand'"
(Bereishit 4:10-11).
In the
case of Hevel, whose name means 'breath' and whose life dissipated and expired
leaving no lasting legacy, the image of the earth's maw swallowing his blood
seems particularly apt. Prevented
from realizing his life's potential by a sudden and violent act, Hevel dies and
leaves not a trace of his existence.
No offspring perpetuate his name, no lasting deeds immortalize his memory, and
he tragically disappears from the world like a spent vaporous breath. His blood, his life force and vital
essence, perish and are absorbed into the soft, red earth.
In a
similar way, Korach and his followers, who fan the flames of strife for the sake
of personal gain, leave behind no significant accomplishments for all of their
misguided efforts. They disappear
and it is as if they never existed, for their claims of representing the
people's grievance, a smokescreen from the start, vanish with their demise. For all of his sound and fury, Korach
leaves us no mark or impression of his 'life's work.'
Strewing discord, destroying rather than
attempting to build, his legacy consists of a parasha that bears his name in
infamy and nothing more. The earth
has swallowed the rest, and with good reason.
The sower of strife never attains the eternity that he craves. In the people's memory only the
sincerely selfless leader who puts the interests of the people above his own,
lives on forever.
Shabbat Shalom