This post is dedicated in memory of my father, Yaacov Zev Yisrael ben Shmuel.
* This week in Israel we read the Torah portion of Korach (in the Diaspora the previous portion, Shlach, is read).
The story of Korach in a nutshell: Korach rebels and questions Moses’s authority to lead the Jewish people. The ground swallows Korach and his followers, making it clear that Moses is in charge.
But why did Korach rebel?
Korach was upset that he had been passed over when leaders were appointed for the various clans. In Numbers 3:30 we read that “The leader of the families of the clans of Kohath was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel.” Elizaphan was the youngest of the four sons of Kohath. Korach was the son of Yitzhar, the second eldest of the brothers. Having already felt slighted that his father’s elder brother, Amram, had provided the Israelites with their two supreme leaders, Moses and Aaron, this further rejection was the final insult. He felt humiliated, and was determined to bring Moses and Aaron down.
To summarize how Korach felt, I present this joke that host Bob Hope opened the 1968 Oscars with:
Korach obviously felt he was passed over. His pride was hurt. His ego took a hit. Someone else got a job that should have been his.
Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky writes that the story of Korach reminds us of the enduring saga of confused positions and roles that we often find in our Jewish community. It is the story of the chazzan who thinks he is the Rabbi, the Rabbi who thinks he is the President, and of course, the President who thinks he is the Creator! It is a a Torah portion that reminds us that though we all have a place in God’s heart, our ego should not define our place in the community.
I am reminded of the title of this Doonesbury comic strip book I once owned, which featured a storyline about music stars coming together to record “We are the World” – “Check Your Egos at the Door”.
yonatansredni 