Korach: A recursive story

Recursive has come to mean more than repetitive.  Wikipedia give me: Recursion occurs when the definition of a concept or process depends on a simpler or previous version of itself.  Recent and current events reflect (and clarify) the core story of this week's parsha. 

Parshath Korach is a story of dissent. Korach, a Levite, challenges the authority of Moses and Aaron.  Korach claims that the entire community is holy. A group of 250 aristocrats assemble to assert their overlooked status. 

Fabrengen was a Jewish Renewal congregation in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington D.C.. The highlight of the Shabbath service there, was the Torah discussion. At Fabrengen, in 1983, when we discussed Korach, there was overwhelming support for the upstarts; very little  support for Moses.  I was confused and uncomfortable. 

But how could it not be so? The Fabrengen community, by its  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 attempted to correct the errors of antiquity.

Judaism is a club open to all, but with numerous passwords and secret handshakes that are best learned in childhood. I continue to believe this. I have always doubted this

Democracy is a value that opens the world. Every person has rights and a voice. All people are holy. We will all care for each other. Is that not what (our) Gd wants? 

Democracy has hidden secrets. 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 (and others). It is not the ultimate value and it  needs constraints.

Populism is the caricature of democracy.  The will of "the people", sometimes an overwhelming majority, sometimes an empowered plurality, installs a government of resentment, using a redefinition of truth.  If it all works out,  the choice was a triumph of democracy. 

When I first learned about Korach and his band (third grade?), everything was clear and easy.  Korach and his band had an evil agenda.  They tried to seize power for their selfish motives.  Moses and Aaron, pure servants of Gd and the people, were the victims of slander and hate.  With the help of heaven, good prevailed. 

When I was a youth, with an evolving sense of justice,  aware of the oppression wielded by the powerful, the story became more disturbing.  Had the legitimate grievances of a segment of the people been demonized and ultimately discarded by overwhelming, superhuman forces.  Where was the free and fair election? 

Now I hold both views... and yet  more views. Events in the world are neither elected nor just.   History reveals the merits and errors of deeply held values; and shows how judgments change .  The "German People" overwhelmingly supported Hitler in the 1934 referendum (89.93%).  A majority of America once supported the war in VietNam. In  My Back Pages , Bob Dylan  wrote: 

Good and bad, I define these terms quite clear, no doubt, somehow

Ah, but I was so much older then I'm younger than that now

I do not  forsake the hope of understanding.  I am just not as disappointed anymore when I don't. 

The  people  had witnessed the debacle of the first tablets at Sinai. Moses,  appalled at the bacchanal that resulted from his prolonged absence, personally decided to break the tablets. There was an ensuing purifying civil war and plague.  Then, the  manna fatigue  was  chastised with the sickening slav birds.  The popular  terror generated by the scouts who returned from the Promised Land ( a plan supported by Moses)  culminated in the edict of 40 years of wandering. This Moshe administration, the deep state, clearly sacrificed the comfort and security of the people for some set of hard-to-understand, higher values. The structure needed change. Selfish values could not be put aside. A change of leadership was needed: Vote Korach!

In our world, the evolution of institutions has become visible. The greed that motivates power  is no longer  hidden. Pandering to coalitions that can influence elections is no longer a secret. Every base instinct is fair game. This political structure cannot last, but it is not likely to be replaced by another system that is more to my liking. 

There are practical advantages to having a small group make quick decisions. Ideas that I do not like can work out better than expected.  I would be more comfortable with rules and consistency. But the rules may not be  exactly what I like. The rules will always favor one group over another.  The system will all evolve.  Evolution is a force that I must try to  mold... and ultimately yield to.