Korach 5786

By Rabbi Margie Cella

This week we read the story of a large rebellion against Moses and Aaron. Korach and his followers were Levites, who enjoyed an elevated status in the nation. They had been designated to care for the Tabernacle and its contents, including the holy ark, and to assist the kohanim (priests) in administering the religious life of the nation. At the end of this parashah we read how they were excluded from owning land like the rest of the nation did; instead, the members of the other tribes were required by God to support them through the tithe. Despite all this, they challenged the religious authority of Moses and Aaron.

These men were joined by a second group of men from the Tribe of Reuben, led by Dathan and Aviram. They complained to Moses that he took them out of Egypt (which they referred to as a “land of milk and honey”) into the desert where there was no food or water, and had defaulted on the promise to bring them to Canaan (which God called a “land of milk and honey”), and now God had said that they would be in that desert for another 38 years!

Together, the two groups included 250 men. Both were vocal about expressing their complaints. Yet when Moses asked them to come and talk, they refused. Apparently, they were more interested in fomenting discord than in trying to find a solution. In the end, they all lost their lives.

Dissent can be good—if it leads to open, honest discussion, and negotiating a way to compromise and move forward. But being so set in our own ways that we cannot listen to—truly hear—one another, can only have disastrous consequences.

Oseh Shalom, Maker of Peace, grant us the patience and understanding to turn our differences into positive action.