Parshat Korach, Why So Many Sins So Soon After Magnificent Mt Sinai Experience?

Korach

At my local women's Parshat Shavua, Korach, class among friends and neighbors, the classic question came up:

Why So Many Sins So Soon After Magnificent Mt Sinai Experience?

My mind began turning out ideas...

I found myself back in May-June, 1967 hearing the threats of Egypt's Nasser, unabashedly saying that he'll destroy the State of Israel, shove it into the sea...

Egypt's Nasser demanded that the United Nations remove the Peacekeeping Forces, and for all practical purposes the UN replied:

"Yesterday? At your service."

No country offered any help to Israel. They just waited around, mouthing platitudes at best, not wanting to get in the way of the bullets while Israel was being pushed into the sea. Jews, and possibly a few other good souls, prayed, and then a miracle of Biblical proportions happened. In six days, yes, just six 6 days, Israel managed to defeat three stronger better equipped armies, and in the process found itself holding more land on each of three fronts, the Golan formerly Syrian in the north, the Sinai formerly Egyptian in the south and to the east our Jewish Biblical Homeland traditionally called Judea and Samaria, though the Jordanians had referred to it as the "west bank."

And what did Israel's government do? 

• Did it declare sovereignty, like any normal self-respecting country would do? 
• Did the Jewish religious leaders declare a massive national prayer of thanks to Gd on the Temple Mount? No, 

Moshe Dayan gave the Muslims the key to the Temple Mount, reassuring them that Israel wouldn't disturb/trespass on their religious site and the political leaders made it clear to the defeated Arab countries that we'd be happy to give back most of the land in exchange for "peace."

We're still suffering the ramifications of those dangerous and foolish policies. Unfortunately, nothing's new. Human nature isn't perfect. Think of all the Jews who could have left Europe before the Holocaust.. Think of the Jewish leaders who not only opposed Zionism but condemned it.

Rule of The Streets/Mobs/Demonstrations Anti-Democratic and Very Problematic

I was born and grew up in the United States and came to age in the 1960s when anyone how cared about an issue demonstrated in the streets, sidewalks or wherever we could, generally with police permits. I chose Jewish causes, Israel and freeing Soviet Jewry. I even met my husband at a SSSJ Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry demonstration. Most of my peers in public high school demonstrated for Civil Rights for black Americans. While some states technically had the same laws for all citizens, other states treated Negros, as they were called then, as second class citizens, not even allowing them to practice all their rights. 

One thing our demonstrations had in common were that we cared about issues. The idea that one could dare protest/complain about the results of elections, like the recent Not My President protests in the USA, or try to replace an elected official by shouting in the streets was unimaginable. I had been taught that such a thing would be illegal, immoral and anti-democratic going against the principles of due process or electoral system. When a mob aka demonstration demands that only their political opinion is correct certainly is not democratic.

When you live in a democracy, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Sometimes you're happy with the results, and sometimes you're not. You may even be very upset and think your fellow citizens are WRONG or insane, but that's life. You may even think the law should have prevented someone from holding office, but you're not the law. Even if you and your friends are all convinced that someone shouldn't be in office, street demonstrations aren't the way to change leadership. There are laws, electoral process.

I'm no fan of Bibi Netanyahu, and I don't think that I've ever voted Likud, but those demonstrators out every night near the Prime Minister's residence don't represent me. In a very biblical Korach* way, they're just saying "no" to Bibi as Prime Minister, and their leadership is not revealing whom they want as PM. 

That's because saying "NOT BIBI" can get a bigger mob than touting Benny Gantz, Yair Lapid or some other name they haven't had the guts to pull out of their hat. A big reason is because the polls are very clear. Bibi Netanyahu is still number one when people are asked:

Whom do you prefer as Prime Minister of Israel? 

Number two in the polls is Naftali Bennett, and the fiscal funders (follow the money) of these demonstrations dread Bennett even more than they dislike Bibi. I heard one of the leaders on TV complaining about that. The ultimate aim of the protests is to put one of "their people" in as Prime Minister, and they see it a failure that davka Naftali Bennett of Yemina is rising in the polls. 

For years the anit-Bibi leadership has been looking for a figurehead from the Left to galvanize the Israeli public and succeed him as Prime Minister. It hasn't happened for two reasons:

• There just isn't anyone from the Left capable of leading a Center-Left party and attracting enough votes to knock Likud out of the running.
• Getting lots of Knesset Members voted in does not guarantee its party leader becoming Prime Minister. Tsippi Livni as head of Kadima preceded Gantz as a losing winner. 

Crafting/negotiating a coalition is a skill, apparently more complicated and difficult than getting votes. That's why we needed three elections in such a short time. The present coalition is the most chaotic and dis-united ever. The only reason the two main parties haven't divorced is that their leaderships are terrified of new elections. That's the one thing they agree on.

Back to those demonstrations. 

• Only elections can change the government,
• Only internal Likud primaries can change the leadership in Likud.
• The street isn't where prime ministers are chosen in a democracy.

A few thousand people chanting in the streets or even tens of thousands chanting in the streets can't and shouldn't have the power to change a government. And it's immoral to even think they can do so. They should follow legal process and the electoral system. Politics is a profession demanding many skills. If they want to change the leadership, they must use the electoral system not loud speakers. 

Photo by Rachel Brynien, Used With Permission
For the first time, tonight's demonstration was set up with chairs for social distancing. Previous demonstrations were crowded, as one can see in newspaper reports and TV news. 

For more of my Korach posts click here.

Fascists Take To The Streets Reject Laws

I'm glad I don't live in a large city right now. Fascist mobs are demanding government changes trying to use their power to overrule the elected government.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's not like I support all government policies, and I certainly don't support any blindly. But the way to change the government is through elections, not massive demonstrations in the streets.

Thank Gd, Israel is a democracy.

• We've had better governments, and we've had worse governments. 
• We've experienced better policies, and we've experienced worse policies. 

In all honesty I think that Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu's decision to make a broad disparate coalition with Benny Gantz's Blue and White ended up backfiring on him. One crucial aspect was successful in that Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi have lost a major part of their voter support.

But Bibi's attempt to hold the extremely heterogeneous coalition together was an unmitigated disaster. Blue and White got an unprecedented percentage of powerful positions, which angered pretty much everyone on all sides of the political spectrum with exception of the recipients themselves.  

Not only can't Bibi control the Blue and White MKs' voting power, he has lost control of his own Likud Party. Apparently he gambled that giving less veteran MKs cabinet posts would make them more loyal, and he took for granted that his more veteran MK ministers would play ball with him. The result wasn't as he planned.

We're now suffering another round of what I call Korach demonstrations meaning that those demonstrating/rioting don't have the same aims other than to destabilize the government. 

If the rioters get their wish and force Netanyahu out, then they'll just fight among themselves, since they have no real leader other than the secret money source coming from abroad. 

The financial backers have unsuccessfully promoted Ehud Barak and more recently replaced him with Benny Gantz. Who will be their next figurehead?

The only real advantage of the present instability here in Israel and in the states is that the horrid "Trump Deal" has been put on the back-burner.

Korach, The Gist of His Sin

In the Book of Bamidbar, which takes place at the same time as Vayikra, we read of a forgetful ungrateful people, who had just been rescued from slavery in Egypt by a very powerful Gd. Last week in Parshat Shlach, it seems unthinkable, but ten of the twelve tribal leaders, who enter the Promised Land on a pilot trip to stake out which section of Land would go for each  tribe, end up coming to the conclusion that there's no way they can conqueror the locals and live safely.

For that bad, rebellious and chutzpadik decision they're condemned to die within a short time, and the Jewish People must wander the wilderness for forty years. Only the next generation will enter the Land.

Next comes Korach. Korach is from the the tribe of Levy. Now, Levy is the tribe that Gd appointed to be in charge of the spiritual needs of the Jewish People. One branch of the tribe was appointed by Gd to be the Priests, and other branches were given specific jobs to do in the Mishkan, Tabernacle and later the Holy Temple.

Korach isn't a "happy camper." He's obviously jealous of cousins who are priests, especially Moses.

Numbers Chapter 16

1Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi took [himself to one side] along with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben.		אוַיִּקַּ֣ח קֹ֔רַח בֶּן־יִצְהָ֥ר בֶּן־קְהָ֖ת בֶּן־לֵוִ֑י וְדָתָ֨ן וַֽאֲבִירָ֜ם בְּנֵ֧י אֱלִיאָ֛ב וְא֥וֹן בֶּן־פֶּ֖לֶת בְּנֵ֥י רְאוּבֵֽן:
2They confronted Moses together with two hundred and fifty men from the children of Israel, chieftains of the congregation, representatives of the assembly, men of repute.		בוַיָּקֻ֨מוּ֙ לִפְנֵ֣י משֶׁ֔ה וַֽאֲנָשִׁ֥ים מִבְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים וּמָאתָ֑יִם נְשִׂיאֵ֥י עֵדָ֛ה קְרִאֵ֥י מוֹעֵ֖ד אַנְשֵׁי־שֵֽׁם:
3They assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above the Lord's assembly?"		גוַיִּקָּֽהֲל֞וּ עַל־משֶׁ֣ה וְעַל־אַֽהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּֽאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶם֘ רַב־לָכֶם֒ כִּ֤י כָל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם יְהֹוָ֑ה וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל יְהֹוָֽה:

By blaming Moses and Aaron, Korach is distorting/denying the divinity of Judaism.

Bamidbar - Numbers - Chapter 3

10You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their kehunah; any outsider [non kohen] who approaches shall be put to death.

יוְאֶת־אַֽהֲרֹ֤ן וְאֶת־בָּנָיו֙ תִּפְקֹ֔ד וְשָֽׁמְר֖וּ אֶת־כְּהֻנָּתָ֑ם וְהַזָּ֥ר הַקָּרֵ֖ב יוּמָֽת:

In Korach's rebellion he gathers others dissatisfied with their roles, but soon they are defeated.

We must remember that Judaism is from Gd, and we don't have the authority to make changes. It's not a club.

Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach

Have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat

Korach, A Very Troubled Parsha, Torah Personality and Story

This past Shabbat twas the Torah Portion Korach, Korach: Numbers 16:1 - 18:32. Korach was one of the most notorious rebels in the Chumash, the First Five Books of the Bible. He tried to mastermind a rebellion against Gd, claiming that he was rebelling against Moses.

Korach gathered other tribal leaders, who felt that they had lost out on leadership positions. Of course, looking at it from our perspective, we know that if they had managed to depose Moses, then they would have ended up fighting among themselves for top job.

At the Shabbat meal at a neighbor I got into a very interesting discussion which ended up putting Korach in a slightly different light.

My neighbor suggested remembering the previous Torah Portion, Shlach, and then try to understand Korach in that context. It suddenly hit me that Korach, as a Levi, wasn't part of the great "Pilot Trip" by the tribal leaders to stake out portions of the Land of Israel. Levi wasn't going to get any Land. Joseph's two sons were each counted as if a son of Jacob, making twelve if the tribe of Levi was left out. That meant that in the crucial "vote" which was a rebellious ten against two resulting in a forty year delay to for entering the Land of Israel, Korach didn't have a vote.

As a Levi, Korach not only had no tribal portion, no vote, and in addition he'd also die along with the rest of his peers. My neighbor reminded us that the Levi tribe also had more gold and silver, which were useless in the wilderness. The other tribes had wasted theirs when making the sinful Golden Calf.

Yes, it's pretty easy to see why Korach wasn't a happy camper.

• He wasn't going to get any Land.
• His money had no value.
• And he realized that he'd be spending the rest of his life as his cousins' servant.

In order to galvanize the people to join him, Korach distorted and connived. He falsified the source of the division of labor of the Tribe of Levi, claiming that it was Moses, not Gd, who had assigned the roles of the Levi Tribe. Korach left Gd out of the argument, and he managed to get the support of others who weren't happy with their share of power.

Korach did his best to speak as if he was an expert in Judaism of the time. He reminds me of the Jewish Leftists who insist that their Liberal Western ideology is Judaism and that we who do live as Torah Jews go against Jewish Morality and Values.

Unlike in modern, western culture, values and judgments, Korach's psychological state was of no concern to Gd. When Gd commands, it's an absolute, not open to negotiations. Korach wasn't jailed or isolated. He wasn't given a "timeout," a chance to "think about his mistake." Korach and his followers were immediately executed, swallowed up by the earth, so there couldn't be a grave or memorial. Gd made it 100% clear that certain crimes/criminals can't be forgiven. Such a rebellion against Gd could not be "undone" by Tshuva, Repentance.

What will Gd do to today's Korach?

Korach, Taking Advantage of Moshe's Weakness, Torah Portion of the Week

This week's Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week is Korach.  The story of Korach and his rebellion against Moses and Aaron is another stage in the downward spiral of the Jewish People in the first year after being rescued from slavery to Pharaoh in Egypt.

From the Chabad site:

Korach incites a mutiny challenging Moses’ leadership and the granting of the kehunah (priesthood) to Aaron. He is accompanied by Moses’ inveterate foes, Dathan and Abiram. Joining them are 250 distinguished members of the community, who offer the sacrosanct ketoret (incense) to prove their worthiness for the priesthood. The earth opens up and swallows the mutineers, and a fire consumes the ketoret-offerers.

This year I, davka, studied the first part of במדבר Bamidbar Numbers (In the wilderness/desert) in Matan with Atara Snowbell.  We didn't get to Korach this year, but we'll study it next year, G-d willing.  It's too bad that we didn't manage to study Korach this year, because I see it as totally connected to the a topic from Bamidbar that we did study.  That is when Moses asked G-d for help in governing/controlling the people.  In response G-d appointed seventy eleders to assist Moshe.  In actuality there were seventy-two included Eldad and Medad who prophesied*  in the camp/among the people.
Numbers

Chapter 11 בְּמִדְבַּר
י וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה אֶת-הָעָם, בֹּכֶה לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָיו--אִישׁ, לְפֶתַח אָהֳלוֹ; וַיִּחַר-אַף יְהוָה מְאֹד, וּבְעֵינֵי מֹשֶׁה רָע. 10 And Moses heard the people weeping, family by family, every man at the door of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; and Moses was displeased.
יא וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-יְהוָה, לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתָ לְעַבְדֶּךָ, וְלָמָּה לֹא-מָצָתִי חֵן, בְּעֵינֶיךָ: לָשׂוּם, אֶת-מַשָּׂא כָּל-הָעָם הַזֶּה--עָלָי. 11 And Moses said unto the LORD: 'Wherefore hast Thou dealt ill with Thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in Thy sight, that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
יב הֶאָנֹכִי הָרִיתִי, אֵת כָּל-הָעָם הַזֶּה--אִם-אָנֹכִי, יְלִדְתִּיהוּ: כִּי-תֹאמַר אֵלַי שָׂאֵהוּ בְחֵיקֶךָ, כַּאֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא הָאֹמֵן אֶת-הַיֹּנֵק, עַל הָאֲדָמָה, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתָּ לַאֲבֹתָיו. 12 Have I conceived all this people? have I brought them forth, that Thou shouldest say unto me: Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing-father carrieth the sucking child, unto the land which Thou didst swear unto their fathers?
יג מֵאַיִן לִי בָּשָׂר, לָתֵת לְכָל-הָעָם הַזֶּה: כִּי-יִבְכּוּ עָלַי לֵאמֹר, תְּנָה-לָּנוּ בָשָׂר וְנֹאכֵלָה. 13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they trouble me with their weeping, saying: Give us flesh, that we may eat.
יד לֹא-אוּכַל אָנֹכִי לְבַדִּי, לָשֵׂאת אֶת-כָּל-הָעָם הַזֶּה: כִּי כָבֵד, מִמֶּנִּי. 14 I am not able to bear all this people myself alone, because it is too heavy for me.
טו וְאִם-כָּכָה אַתְּ-עֹשֶׂה לִּי, הָרְגֵנִי נָא הָרֹג--אִם-מָצָאתִי חֵן, בְּעֵינֶיךָ; וְאַל-אֶרְאֶה, בְּרָעָתִי. {פ} 15 And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray Thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in Thy sight; and let me not look upon my wretchedness.' {P}

And after that G-d appointed the seventy elders. We don't know exact time in the Bible, but the fact that the Bible was written in the order it was written was to make it clear that Korach took advantage of Moses's weakness.  

Numbers Chapter 16 בְּמִדְבַּר
א וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח, בֶּן-יִצְהָר בֶּן-קְהָת בֶּן-לֵוִי; וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם בְּנֵי אֱלִיאָב, וְאוֹן בֶּן-פֶּלֶת--בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן. 1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men;
ב וַיָּקֻמוּ לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה, וַאֲנָשִׁים מִבְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם, נְשִׂיאֵי עֵדָה קְרִאֵי מוֹעֵד, אַנְשֵׁי-שֵׁם. 2 and they rose up in face of Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty men; they were princes of the congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown;
ג וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ עַל-מֹשֶׁה וְעַל-אַהֲרֹן, וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵהֶם רַב-לָכֶם--כִּי כָל-הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים, וּבְתוֹכָם יְהוָה; וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ, עַל-קְהַל יְהוָה. 3 and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them: 'Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?'
ד וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה, וַיִּפֹּל עַל-פָּנָיו. 4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face.

Korach was an opportunist. A rebel/troublemaker like Korach wouldn't try to take over or shake things ups if he didn't think he had a chance to succeed.  It's also interesting that he had a delegation with him from all the tribes, davka, of the "...princes of the congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown."  Korach was well prepared.  It's obvious that he had been working on the rebellion for a while.

When you have weak "leaders" without confidence and vision, there's always more of a chance that the opposition will strengthen.

Here in Israel we're suffering because of bad, weak leadership.  The State of Israel is being ruled by politicians who don't fully believe in our rights to the Land of Israel.  That's why  the Arabs are launching deadly missiles at us.  Our IDF responses don't bother them.  They accuse us of violence and then laugh with glee at the weak, pathetic responses from our government.  Our security depends on our strength, our ideological strength and determination.  That's how we gained our independence in 1948.  The Jewish population, including new immigrants straight off the boats, were willing to fight for the Land and State of Israel.  They didn't worry about what the world or our enemies thought or felt.  We have lost that determination as a People.  It does still exist in many parts of the country, but it's neither in the government nor the media.

This is Our Land.  The only People with a long history, legal and yes moral rights to be sovereign here are Jews!
*A navi, or as it's translated "prophet" is not one who predicts.  The navi sees things because he's connected/communicating with G-d to give the people or the King messages.  He was a facilitator, not a fortune teller.