Korach June 2018 Farewell

As my time at ​Sixth & I​, and my two-year fellowship with the ​Jewish Emergent Network 
comes to an end, there are no words to express the immense gratitude I feel for this 
community. The real question is: How do you say goodbye to something you love?  
 
The rabbis teach that when saying goodbye you should not “engage in light-hearted 
conversations, nor with laughter or useless matters. Rather, you should say goodbye 
with words of ​h​ alakhah, just like the early prophets finished their speeches with words 
of praise and consolation,” (Brachot 31a). In other words, we should avoid small talk 
and discuss the things that truly matter. 
 
Therefore, tonight I want to speak about the state of our democracy as it relates to one 
of the most infamous leaders in the Torah-- Korach. As it says in ​Numbers 16:1-3​: 
“Now Korah took, son of Yiz’har son of K’hat son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram sons 
of Eliab, and On son of Pelet —descendants of Reuben— to rise up against Moses, 
together with two hundred and fifty Israelites, chieftains of the community, chosen from 
the assembly -- men of repute. They combined against Moses and Aaron and said to 
them: “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and the 
LORD is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the LORD’s 
congregation?” 
  
At first glance, Korah's argument seems justified. By saying that “​all the community is 
holy” Korach is harkening back to the moment on Mt. Sinai when the Israelites learn 
that they are all supposed to be a​ ​mamlechet kohanim (“kingdom of priests”) and a ​goy 
kadosh (“holy nation”).1 In other words, if we are all priests, why does Aaron raise 
himself up over everyone else?  
 
As modern thinkers, we may appreciate Korach’s plea for a more egalitarian leadership 
structure. But the rabbis, with an ever-discerning eye towards Hebrew grammar point 
out that Korach’s true intentions are displayed by his first two words: “V’yikach 
Korach.” Commentators point out that this is an incomplete sentence because it 
contains a subject (Korach) and a verb (yikach); yet, it has no object.  
 
Commentators throughout the ages note that this is not a simple grammatical 
oversight. Rather, this sentence exposes Korach’s true intentions. As Rashi argues, 
Korach “betook himself on one side with the view of separating himself from the 
community so that he might raise a protest regarding the priesthood to which Moses 
had appointed his brother.” 

1
​Bekhor Shor on Numbers 16:3
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Korach June 2018 Farewell

 
In addition to separating himself from klal yisrael, from greater Israel, Korach’s true 
genius is his ability to unite disparate groups of Israelites who are frustrated with 
established leaders of the Jewish community.  
 
The first issue is personal. Korach, as the first born son of Izhar, feels as if he should 
have the same rights and privileges of Aaron and the other High Priests. Instead, 
Korach and his descendents are relegated to what I like to call “holy schleppers.” 
These everyday Levites are tasked with setting up and taking down the tabernacle, but 
they never have the privilege of entering the holy of holies or of offering sacrifices 
directly to HaShem. Korach is personally dissatisfied being a part of “middle 
management” of the priesthood. Therefore, he unites with two other aggrieved parties 
in order amplify his own voice. 
 
First, he unites with Datan & Aviram who carry a political grievance against Moses. 
Datan and Aviram believe they should be the true leaders of the Israelites because they 
come from the tribe of Reuben-- the first born son of Jacob. Therefore, why does 
Moses, a descendant of Levi (who is the third eldest son of Jacob) get to be in charge 
of the nation’s political affairs. This is especially true after the incident of the spies 
when they are forced to wander for 38 more years in the desert.  
 
Third, Korach stirs up the resentment of 250 chieftains, or first born sons, who were 
originally supposed to be the religious leaders of the Israelites.2  
 
As you can see, Korach’s brilliance is in his ability to use democratic language 
(“all the community are holy”)​ to sew the seeds of a populist rebellion for his own 
benefit. This is bolstered by the fact that in the Mishneh, the rabbis argue:  
 
“Every argument that is for [the sake of] heaven's name, it is destined to endure. But if it 
is not for [the sake of] heaven's name -- it is not destined to endure. What is [an 
example of an argument] for [the sake of] heaven's name? The argument of Hillel and 
Shammai. What is [an example of an argument] not for [the sake of] heaven's name? 
The argument of Korach and all of his congregation.” (Pirkei Avot 5:17)  
 
 
But what does it mean that one kind of “makhloket” (debate) is for the sake of heaven 
and the other is not?  
 

2
See Exodus 13:2
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Korach June 2018 Farewell

According to the Sefat Emet, while every person​ is entitled to his or her own opinion, 
an argument for the sake of heaven is one that will endure. He argues that an 
enduring argument, is one that ultimately, over time, brings disparate people and 
ideas together to create a more unified whole.  
 
In other words, while we may not know the difference between an argument for the 
sake of heaven and an argument ​not for the sake of heaven while it is happening, over 
time things will become clear.  
 
After two year of the Trump administration, it is clear that our country is more divided, 
more fearful and more intolerant than ever before. 
 
The fact that there were at least ​eight white supremacists running in the primaries​ this 
spring is abhorrent. The fact that one candidate, Mr. Patrick Little, said that he was 
inspired to run by Trump’s dog whistle against globalists (aka-Jews) is quite frankly 
terrifying.  
 
Scholars and journalists far more steeped in this field than I am are asking the 
question: What is the line between democracy and authoritarianism?3 When does 
populism and nativism become an abuse of power and the disintegration of the 
American Democracy as we know it? 
 
What I can say, with confidence, is that the Trump administration is using an age old 
tactic, introduced by Korach, to sew the seeds of discontent attack the foundation of 
our democracy.  
 
Call me a raging pessimist or a sober scholar of history, I do not believe that Jews are 
“too big to fail” or to fall from grace in this great land we call America. While Jews have 
reached the upper echelon of American society, from the halls of the Supreme Court to 
the trading floors of Wall Street, we must remember that the Jews living in modern 
Germany and medieval Spain were also among the educated elite and ruling class. 
This did not stop the tides of history from turning against us.  
 

3
​https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-patterson-global-authoritarianism_us_5b2001f1e4b0adfb826e7b1c
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-effect-new-study-connects-white-american-intolerance-support-authoritarianism-ncna
877886

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Korach June 2018 Farewell

Therefore, I’m afraid that our people are not safe in an American that enacts a 
religious-based travel ban or rounds up refugees and separates children from their 
parents in a totally heartless way.  
 
We must never forget that just 70 years ago our grandparents and parents were 
refugees-many of whom were also labeled as “filthy animals.”  
 
And yet, fearing for our own safety is not the ​only​, or really ​main​, reason we must act. 
We must act because as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks argues, judaism has never been a 
monastic religion. Or as Heschel teaches, we must act because: ​“Prayer is meaningless 
unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of 
callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehood.”4  
 
We are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history and in the story of our people. Are 
we going to stand back as asylum seekers and refugees are separated from their 
children and held in detention centers-- or are we going to stand up as the spiritual 
ancestors of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and say something?  
 
If the political heirs of Korach are going to politicize the bible for division and 
discontent-- then we-- the heirs of Moses, Miriam and Aaron must be the ones to 
advance a spiritual and moral call for unity. A call to re-humanize people of all faiths 
and ethnicities.  
 
 
 
 
 

4
Abraham Joshua Heschel, “On Prayer” in Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays, ed. Susannah Heschel
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996), 263.
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