Korach
SAN DIEGO –Talk about misunderstanding what leadership is all about. No, I’m not talking about contemporary times. I’m talking about Korach’s lust for power and material wealth, and what we know power and leadership truly call for, the richness of spiritual sensitivity. In this, that our rabbis teach may be the most dangerous time during the journey through the wilderness, we come upon Korach with his self-aggrandizing, self-focused self-interest, and his lack of a relationship with Hashem. Korach’s style of leadership was doomed to fail. To Korach, material wealth and personal power far outweighed the benefit of being spiritually anchored. Leadership exempt from a spiritual dimension is hollow. Didn’t the people that Moshe led have a connection to Hashem? And didn’t Moshe see his role as a leader to further express this connection? Not so Korach. And isn’t this a recapitulation of contemporary politics?
Maybe I am talking about contemporary times, after all. We need leaders who ignite and help maintain that spark within us, not simply place themselves, their achievements, at the forefront of all.
Someone once observed, “When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.” Indeed, the world has plenty of critics. We’d benefit from having more encouragers in the world. But apparently Korach didn’t get that. What was Korach saying about himself when he was criticizing Moshe and Aaron? I believe he was saying, “It’s all about me.” The parasha begins with “Vayikach Korach,” and Korach took. He was a taker, not a giver. Korach’s name points to the coldness of his heart, lacking the warmth of Torah. It has the same Hebrew letters as the word for “ice,” “kerach.”
Korach is egotistical and haughty; Moses is humble and servile (Numbers 12:3) Korach is taken by the power of authority and void of understanding that with authority comes the responsibility to serve others. His downfall is wrapped in entitlement.
Pirket Avot 5:17 teaches, “Any dispute where the disputants are arguing toward the name of heaven, these are the disputes that will endure. Any dispute where the disputants are not arguing toward the name of heaven, these disputes will not endure. What is an example of a dispute where the disputants argue toward the name of heaven? Hillel and Shammai. What is an example of disputes where the disputants do not argue toward the name of heaven? Korach and his minions.” The parasha seems to make a clear choice between devotion, fidelity and virtue, versus deceitfulness, materialism and greed.
Korach and his 250 grumbling princes teach us how easy it is to criticize leaders, especially with a seemingly innocuous argument, “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and the Eternal is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the Eternal’s congregation?” But it’s not an argument l’shem shamayim. These uprisers, to quote Rashi, were “wise men,” who knew the harsh penalty for offering incense illicitly. The parasha tells us they were “chieftains of the congregation, representatives of the assembly, men of repute.”
Next time we are about to speak out, which at times is fully appropriate, let’s ask ourselves which standard we meet in order to create more peace in the world. As we make every effort we can to promote a more peaceful, wholesome life, let’s be reminded of the differences between Korach and Moshe and Aaron, of the difference between separating ourselves and of creating a unified community.
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Michael Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly d’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family worship. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com