Korach: Misguided Sanctity

Korach is a prominent Levite, the paradigm of the arrogance that can come from great wealth. He challenges the ministerial position awarded to Aaron: High Priest ,Cohen Gadol.  The High Priest represents the people of the nation before Gd, but the people did not elect him. Moses informed the people that he had been selected by Gd. Korah and his compatriots claim

כִּ֤י כׇל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם יְ

For all the community are holy, all of them, and GD is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above GD’s congregation?”

The Ibn Ezra informs us that the rebels had among them 

 קְרִאֵ֥י מוֹעֵ֖ד, those called to the (tent of assembly), presumably members of the elders who Gd had drafted to assists Moshe  two chapiters back, in Behaalothcha, when Moshe said that he could not carry  this entire nation alone  Banidbar 11;14

לֹֽא־אוּכַ֤ל אָנֹכִי֙ לְבַדִּ֔י לָשֵׂ֖את אֶת־כׇּל־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּ֥י כָבֵ֖ד מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ 

I cannot carry all this people by myself, for it is too much for me.

When two of those selected, Eldad and Medad, did not come to the Ohel Moed, tent of meeting, and prophesied in the camp, Joshua asked if they should not be silenced (with prejudice). Was the Korach rebellion the kind of public prophecy that Joshua feared? A combination of truths that comes to a disastrously wrong conclusion. 

The Haftarah tells of a later popular movement to re-organize governance: the establishment of the monarchy. The people approach Shmuel, who has served as the guiding prophet of Israel, to abdicate in favor of a king. The king will be a champion in battle. Shmuel (incidentally, a descendant of Korach)  recalls  that the current system, headed by a prophet , has worked quite well. But Shmuel accedes to the will of the people. A new phase in history, complicated by this imperfect choice, ensues. Kings do a lot of damage in their struggles to retain power.  They are very expensive. 

Among non-Orthodox American Jews, there is a great deal of sympathy for Korach and his dream of decentralization ( which is [mis]interpreted as a call for democracy). Korach's motives were complex; his words may not have revealed all of his plans. 

Korach and his band of  250 are put to a test. They will offer incense and Aaron will offer incense. The Korach groups attempt to perform a semblance of the sacred service.  The result is that Korach is swallowed by the earth and the 250 with him are burned. 

The copper pans that the rebels used are now called kodesh, holy. Elazar is to have them beaten into a plate that will be incorporated into the altar in the Temple courtyard. Rashi  and many other after him, say that the plate made from the rebel firepans were a reminder of the consequences of rebellion. Ibn Ezra, and many others, say that using these firepans for a sacred rite, even though it was misguided, sanctified the objects. The rebellious intent did not disqualify the metal. 

This idea that misguided sanctity is, nevertheless, holy, should not shock. Orthodox Judaism is focused on practice, not intention.  There are many practices that I do not fully understand. The search for meaning in the rituals I perform is an ongoing source of insight.  Recognizing that I do not understand how things work and why things are a particular way is a very important lesson for me. Ritual is an effective way of dealing with my ignorance. 

On the other hand, I live in a world permeated by foreign rituals and beliefs. I need a position from which to question these accepted practices . The rituals of my ancestors gives me a place to stand.