Korach: Holy Protest (Good Trouble)

Korach: Holy Protest (Good Trouble) 

אֵ֡ת מַחְתּוֹת֩ הַֽחַטָּאִ֨ים הָאֵ֜לֶּה בְּנַפְשֹׁתָ֗ם וְעָשׂ֨וּ אֹתָ֜ם רִקֻּעֵ֤י פַחִים֙ צִפּ֣וּי לַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ כִּֽי־הִקְרִיבֻ֥ם לִפְנֵֽי־  יְוַיִּקְדָּ֑שׁוּ וְיִֽהְי֥וּ לְא֖וֹת לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

[Remove] the fire pans of those who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar—for once they have been used for offering to the LORD, they have become sacred—and let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.

Two hundred fifty protesters had joined Korach's challenge of Moshe and Aaron.  They had demonstrated by bringing firepans with incense.  They were killed by fire through a Divine intervention that asserted the authority of Moshe and Aaron.  Now their firepans of protest were to be hammered into a plating for the altar.  Presumably this bronze covering protected the altar from the fires  or the blood placed upon it. 

Apparently, the original plans for the construction of the altar were subject to change.  The altar would accommodate alterations based upon the evolving story of the people who used  it to expiate the wrath of Heaven. 

Once this  bronze had been used for an offering, its sanctity needed preservation.  The protest had consecrated  the material.  It was a holy protest, even if it was misguided. 

The Haftarah for Korach involves the establishment of the monarchy under king Saul, despite the protests of the ruling prophet Samuel. The people had insisted that a monarchy replace the constitutional anarchy, the rule by prophecy, that had prevailed up until that time. Samuel, the prophet of the era, acceded to the popular demand that their political system move into their  modern era: monarchy. Samuel may have been  a descendent of Korach  (depending upon how you read Chronicles I 6: 7,8).  The great grandson of the most notorious usurper is now the nation's leader and rails against political change!

We should recall that  Samuel himself was an upstart and the circumstances of his ascent  echo the tension between Korach and Aaron. Samuel had been delivered in service to the Temple by his mother Hannah, in the fulfillment of her pledge  at the moment of his conception. Samuel was the servant of Eli, the high priest and prophet, the national leader.  Gd calls to Samuel in the night.  Samuel informs his sleeping  master Eli...three times.. until it becomes clear that Samuel, not Eli, is the intended recipient of the Divine direction to guide the people.  The descendent of Korach has been chosen to replace the descendent of Aaron to lead the people ( although the priesthood and the associated service and privileges remain in the Aaron lineage). 

The idea of democracy does not die easily.  Even after the earth swallows Korach; and the 250 Proud supporters are burned to death, the people continue their protest. This time, the wrath of Gd is quelled by ... incense.  Aaron stops the plague by running among the people with his censor, limiting the deaths to 14,700. The  action of rebellion, the burning of incense, now quells Divine retribution.  The instrument of protest has been incorporated into the instrument of atonement.  Can we understand this world?  Maybe political systems are strengthened by protests and declare their positions  by how they respond.