From the Jewish Voice and
Herald, June 10, 2010
By Mordechai Rackover
I've been thinking about Parashat
Korah for a number of years. Certainly we review all of the Torah on
an ongoing basis but this parashah, this story, in particular has been
inspiring me.
Korah, Moses' first cousin, steps forth, and says, "It is too much
for you! Why are you in charge? We are all holy; why, Moses, are you
and Aaron, your brother, in charge?"
The question is an interesting
one, especially in light of all that has happened until now - the
miracles
in Egypt, the splitting of the sea, the giving of the Torah at Sinai,
Aaron's service in the Tabernacle. It seems that Moses should be able
to give a pretty straight answer and that should be the end of it. But
he doesn't answer directly. I believe that the rabbis, in expanding
the story through Midrash, gave us the answer.
The story begins in a very strange way with the following words,
Va-yikkah
Korah. Literally translated, it means, "and Korah took." The
question that the rabbis ask is, what did he take? Some answer that
he took others with him to his ill-fated rebellion against Moses'
authority.
Others look very closely at the Torah and suggest that he took that
which was mentioned in the previous chapter - the commandment of
tzitzit.
In the chapter directly preceding Korah's rebellion, we find that God
has commanded the children of Israel to make fringes, tzitzit, on the
corners of their garments. Along with this commandment is a specific
requirement of using the dye known as tekhelet, a sort of sea-blue,
in the fringes. (The tekhelet aspect of the mitzvah fell out of practice
for many years. In the 19th and 20th centuries, attempts were made to
reinstate the dyed thread. Thus, one may sometimes see individuals with
tekhelet in their tzitzit, something that most of us did not see as
children.
So, there are to be four corners with tzitzit on them, and the tzitzit
are four threads folded over and tied up; one of the threads is to
betekhelet.
The rabbis teach us the following
midrash: What did Korah take? He took a tallit, a cloak that was all
tekhelet, and he went to Moses and asked: "This tallit which is
all tekhelet, does it need tzitzit?"
Moses replied, "Yes it does,
such is the mitzvah from God."
Korah spits back, "You want to tell me that a tallit that is already
all tekhelet needs four additional little strings of tekhelet?"
Korah asked another question, "If a house were filled with Torah
scrolls, would it need a mezuzzah?"
Moses patiently replied, "Yes it would, that is God's command."
Korah, losing his temper, says, "You want to tell me that a house
filled with Torah scrolls each with more than 200 paragraphs would need
an additional mezuzzah scroll with just two paragraphs! I have not heard
either of these laws. They are not true."
On the surface it appears that Korah is simply being difficult. Although
foolish questions in the mouths of evil people are part of a recurring
theme in rabbinic literature, maybe the rabbis aren't just vilifying
Korah here.
I think there is a deeper answer. Korah's questions are about democracy.
Korah is looking at two examples where small objects that appear to
be superfluous against a massive quantity of similar items should
disappear
and become unnecessary. Four small threads of blue against a massive
cloak, entirely of blue. One small scroll with a few words required
to complete a house filled with thousands of words and paragraphs. His
questions seem to remain unanswered by Moses. But really the questions
are not only about these two mitzvot, and Moses has answered the
explicit
and the implicit questions.
The implicit question is: Moses, why have you been placed over this
community like a thread of blue or a mezuzah scroll? Why you, one small,
solitary person against this massive community that is all holy. As
it says in the previous paragraph about tzitzit - "You shall do
all My mitzvot and you shall [all] be holy to God." Korah's questions
are all the same and Moses' answers are too. Moses is saying: "Korah,
this is what God wants. The LORD wants me to be in charge. It may appear
arbitrary or superfluous, but this is the paradigm that the Creator
has put in place."
We don't have enough room
here to examine how this is all borne out in Moses' actions in the
following
paragraphs. Give the reading a closer look and see if Moses ever
responds
from his own voice to these attacks.