Korach: Which side are you on?

I remember the discussion of Korach at Fabrengen in 1983. Farbrenegen, a Yiddishoid word, means a gathering, but refers to a Hassidic gathering. Wikipedia claims that the word is used exclusively by Chabad (other Hasidim call it a Tisch). In Washington D.C., Fabrengen was the name of a Jewish Renewal congregation in the Kalorama neighborhood. The highlight of the Shabbath service there, was the Torah discussion. The discussion of Korach stands out for me. 

Parshath Korach is a story of dissent. Korach challenges the authority of Moses and Aaron. Korach claims that the entire community is holy

 כִּ֤י כׇל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים.

 

A group of 250 aristocrats assembled to assert their overlooked status. At Fabrengen, there was overwhelming support for the upstarts, very little for Moses.  I was confused and uncomfortable. 

 

How could it not be so? The Fabrengen community, by its existence and founding principles, constituted a rebellion against the authority of the traditional. Fabrengen was democratic; respected the rights of women, minorities, non-Jews, alternative beliefs. Its philosophy corrected the errors of antiquity. Judaism was a club open to all, but with numerous passwords and secret handshakes that were best learned in childhood. I continue to believe this. I have always doubted this. 

 

To me, Judaism was (is?) a great mystery. There is an awesome, dangerous, precious, delightful, and most important secret. It must be approached by several roads simultaneously: Through the sympathy and pain of the heart; through the gymnastics of the mind that wrest truth from perception; through the control of action and motive; through the cleansing and wringing of the soul.  I cannot assume that I understand Judaism; correcting the tradition is beyond dangerous. Yet, it must be done! The caution required exceeds that of a surgeon or a bomb disposal expert. Any tampering will damage the goods. 

 

The story in the parsha evolves. First, there is the core group of four: Korach, Dathan, Avirom and Ohn. They head a delegation of 250 men of prominence. Korach is swallowed by the earth and the 250 men are consumed by a heavenly fire while they are offering incense.

 

וַיִּלֹּ֜נוּ כׇּל־עֲדַ֤ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִֽמׇּחֳרָ֔ת עַל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן לֵאמֹ֑ר אַתֶּ֥ם הֲמִתֶּ֖ם אֶת־עַ֥ם יְ

 

Next day the whole Israelite community railed against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You two have brought death upon Gd’s people.”

 

There is a groundswell of support for the upstarts! The election was stolen.  January 6,2020 was a peaceful demonstration. A large segment of the nation feels unfairly treated, under-represented.  They are clinging to an alternative set of values; rules that empower them, the forgotten downtrodden.

 

In the parsha, there are no elections. Gd decides who will interact with the Divine. Gd threatens to destroy the people to enforce that will; it is only the pleading of Moses, aided by Aaron’s administration of the powerful (potentially lethal, but now lifesaving [chemotherapy of]) incense that rescues the people from the plague.

 

Democracy is another hidden secret. We have lived through, and learned of, times when it has turned on itself. The powerful and the loud and the clever can manipulate the vox populi, the  apparent will of the people. Plato was not a fan of democracy. Aristotle called it the rule of the downtrodden. Karl Marx voted against it. It elected Hitler. It is not the ultimate value and it  needs constraints.

 

Who were these people? Korach was without hair. Nothing hid his ambition.  He is the son of Yitzhar: he was an oil man; he was notoriously rich (reich vie Korach – as rich as Korach- is the Yiddish idiom). Dathan’s name echoes the story of Joseph and his brothers. Dathan is where the brothers went, and, per the Midrash,  decided to depose Joseph from his special status.  Aviram means my father is (also) great.

 

The new revelations illuminate the ancient gems. The tradition provides a way to understand the present. Frenemies.