Parsha Korach : Revolution Summer (Num.16:1 – 18:32)
For all intents and purposes Korach is the face for any Ancient Hebrew who took issue at some point with Moses’s style of leadership. Moses did not spend his formidable years like most Hebrews nor did he live an average Egyptian life. Moses was not one for public discourse and if you read between the lines may have had a hard time relating to those he was chosen to lead. Representative Democracy is not Hashem’s revolution His revolution is universal justice.
As a modern American I’ve only lived under the yoke of “crazy” liberals and ”a**hole” conservatives who only agree on time limited leadership roles. Competitive leadership is a machine running nonstop and with a presidential election in the United States a few months away that machine is running full force. This got me ah thinkin’ who exactly were Moses and Korach? I know who Torah says they were but what kind of men do I perceive them to be?
My grim reality is this, I do not know who either of those men truly were. Not because of a lack of scripture but because I have never had a good frame of reference for a single leader government or for an attempted coup. Korach had a sizable following to dismiss him as a trouble maker would be naïve. Moses on the other hand understood what Hashem wants from humanity and maybe he could have been better in conveying that to the people. Unfortunately that did not happen giving rise to Korach and his backers. The crisis I face is knowing no matter what I can wait out an administration which is something foreign in the ancient world.
Parsha Korach’s lesson is simple believe in the platform, the overall message, not in a cult of personality. Hashem chose Moses to lead not Korach because when you sale yourself to the people you are admitting your willingness to compromise to appease the majority, and that is not always bad but in this case the big C is not an option on the table. In other words know what you believe and why do not let yourself become distracted over a candidate or a single issue life is complex and there is no quick fix.
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Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @circlepitbimah
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