PROGENY AND PEACE:
PARSHAT KORACH
Shirah Smiles shiur 2021/5781
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
When
a person is introduced to us in Tanach, he is generally introduced by his name,
son of his father’s name. On some occasions, the genealogy is traced back more
than one generation. There is always some message for us to discover in the
extended genealogy. Our parshah begins with, “Korach, the son of Kehat, the son
of Izhar, the son of Levi … gathered against Moshe and against Aharon, and said
to them, ‘It is too much for you! For the entire assembly – all of them – are
holy..’ ” Interestingly, Korach’s genealogy is traced back three generations to
Levi, then stops and does not go back to Yaakov. Our commentators question both
why the Torah extends back the extra generations to Levi, ancestor of the tribe,
but stops before naming the Patriarch Yaakov.
Many
of us are familiar with Rashi’s explanation for the omission here of the name
of Yaakov Avinu. When Yaakov Avinu gathered his sons around him to bless them
before his death and identify the central character of each son, he
specifically mentioned the rash impetuosity of Shimon and Levi, and their
tendency toward violence, already exhibited when they slaughtered Shechem and
his city. With prophetic prescience, Yaakov declares, “Into their conspiracy may
my soul not enter! With their congregation, do not join.” According to his
wishes, his name is omitted as Korach here conspires against the leadership of
Moshe and Aharon and foments divisiveness.
Both
good and bad characteristics can be traced back to the seeds planted by a
parent or an earlier progenitor. These traits do not suddenly spring up from
nothing, but are brought to fruition through the future nurturing of later
generations. So, for example, the chesed of Avraham Avinu for providing food,
water and shade to the wayfarers becomes manifest and rewarded to their
descendants Bnei Yisroel through Moshe, Aharon and Miriam in the manna,
Miriam’s well and the Clouds of Glory. Rabbi Shmulevitz brings further
proof from the words recited if a community needs to perform the ritual of the
axed heifer. If the corpse of a murdered individual was found outside a town,
the elders of the town would need to go out and declare that although they were
not responsible for this murder, they prayed that Hashem would forgive not only
them but also those who had been redeemed, alluding to the generation of the
exodus. Perhaps the seed for such a heinous act was already planted in that
generation, lying dormant until now. Here too, suggests Rabbi Shmulevitz, the
seed of the Korach insurrection must have been planted in earlier generations.
Yaakov Avinu, however, is removing himself as a possible seed for Korach’s
actions. In a similar way, it is incumbent upon us to examine ourselves for
latent negative attributes, thoughts and actions that may negatively impact
future generations.
The
Baalei Tosfos, cited in Peninei Daas cites a related case of
traced genealogy in the Torah. In listing the spies sent from each tribe, the
spy sent from Menashe is traced back to Yosef, while the spy from Ephraim, the
other son of Yosef is not. What do we know about the spies? That ten of the
spies brought back an evil report about the Land. But Yehoshua of the Tribe of
Ephraim was not among those who spoke negatively, even though he too was a
descendant of Yosef. The spy from Menashe reported evil things, just as Yosef
had brought negative reports about his brothers to their father.
What
was it about the timing of this insurrection that traces it back to Levi but
not to Yaakov, asks Rabbi Heiman in Chikrei Lev. Korach was
jealous of the other members of his family. He was certainly jealous of Aharon
and Moshe, his first cousins. He had been passed over both as the leader of all
of Bnei Yisroel and as the High Priest by the sons of his Uncle, Amram ben
Kehat. Then he was passed over again as his younger brother Elitzaphan was
named chief of the Tribe of Levi. Still, he had hoped that when the nation
would enter the land, his tremendous wealth would put him in a position of
leadership. He, the son of Izhar, would finally achieve honor and power. Now,
however, after the sin of the spies, he and his generation would not be
entering Eretz Yisroel, and any dreams of leadership would be dashed. It was
time to make his move.
But
Korach couldn’t just come out and demand a more powerful role. Therefore, he
reverted to subterfuge. The ability to scheme, to create a subterfuge, can be
traced back to his great grandfather Levi and the trick he used to weaken
Shechem so that he could slay Shechem for abducting and raping his sister
Dinah. He and Shimon tricked even Yaakov. They told Shechem and the entire male
population to circumcise themselves to make themselves more acceptable as
Dinah’s family members. Then, when the men were recuperating, Shimon and Levi
attacked them, killed them, and rescued Dinah. Korach now also used the ploy of
subterfuge to mask his ulterior motive. “We are all holy. Why do you exalt
yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?” In other words, why am I not also
a leader?
But
we can argue that this kind of trickery actually began with Yaakov Avinu when
he went in to Yitzchak and received the blessings Yitzchak intended for Esau.
Why was Yaakov nevertheless not included in Korach’s genealogy in spite of
Yaakov’s request? Here Rabbi Heiman makes a distinction between the act of
Yaakov Avinu and that of Shimon and Levi. Yaakov was acting on the urging of
his mother, who herself was enabling the fulfillment of the Divine prophecy she
had received during her pregnancy. Yaakov was also counteracting the constant
tricks Esau practiced in deceiving their father Yitzchak about his piety.
Further, as the Ohr Gedalyahu Schorr points out, Yaakov represents
unity, Morasha kehilat Yaakov/Torah is the inheritance of the
congregation of Yaakov, and Yachad, shivtei Yisroel/united, the Tribes
of Yisroel. Shimon and Levi were acting on their own initiative, without
parental or Hashem’s approval. Similarly, Korach was following the divisive
pattern of Levi. He is even using the very holy name of Hashem to further
divisiveness, adds the Netivot Shalom.
Not
only Aharon, but Moshe as well worked toward peace. Moshe sent representatives
to Dothan and Aviram, Korach’s partners, to try to resolve the issue
peacefully, but they refused. Shalom/Peace is such an important quality that it
is even one of Hashem’s names, says Rav Moshe Shapiro in Mimaamakim.
That importance was highlighted when Boaz [Ruth’s husband] instituted “Shalom
Aleichem/Peace unto you” as a standard greeting with its equally standard
response, “Aleichem shalom/Unto you may there be peace.” Our point of
connection with Hashem is bringing peace and the heavenly glory that follows in
its wake to the world.
By
using Hashem’s name of Peace in our greetings, we are not cheapening His name.
We are rather highlighting fraternity in the world, as we are all connected to
this purpose, writes Rabbi Lopiansky. Peace is so important to Hashem that He
allows His name to be erased and dissolved into the bitter waters an errant
wife must drink in the hope of restoring shalom in their marriage.
Yaakov
Avinu kept the ideal of peace and unity uppermost in his mind from the very
outset of his journey. When he slept at the “gateway to Heaven” as he fled
Esau, he dreamed of a ladder with its feet on the ground and its head reaching
into the heavens. Underneath his head, he had placed 12 rocks, knowing through
the transmission of family tradition that he would father twelve tribes. His
prayer, according to the medrash cited by Rabbi Shapiro, was that the twelve
individual stones would unite to form one whole stone. Each, like the
individual steps of the ladder, would have its own unique position, but
together they would have the joint purpose to bring the glory of heaven down to
earth. As long as there is peace, unity and cooperation among Bnei Yisroel, the
Godly presence will rest among them as it did at Sinai. Yaakov foresaw that
Korach would rise up to create disunity and try to destroy Yaakov’s mission.
Therefore he prayed that his name not be associated with him.
It
is necessary for each of us to recognize our own value and worth, that we each
have our personal mission and purpose in this world that can be filled by no
one else. Know that you are part of the community, and you must accomplish your
role. Korach separated himself from this idea of community, writes Rabbi Leff.
Instead of appreciating his personal role, he lusted for the roles he
considered more prestigious, that of High Priest or Tribal Head. He separated
himself form the community, shattering the shalom and unity that is required
for the full Torah to be observed. Even his name and the names mentioned in his
family line allude to this separation. Korach means bald., someone empty of his
own talents and therefore jealous of the perceived talents and accomplishments
of others. Izhar refers to oil that rises to the top in arrogance. Kehat is
acidic. Finally, Levi goes along with others, letting them do the work while he
benefits without contributing.
We
are meant to be the rungs of the ladder, each atop the other rising upward. A
Yid/Jew is like the letter yud, a mere dot. When they fight for
supremacy, one above the other, the represent a full stop, as at the end of a posuk/verse.
When the two yuds are placed side by side, they represent the name of
Hashem.
It
is this interdependence that obligates us to greet one another with some form
of Shalom, even to a non Jew, continues Rabbi Leff. When we say, “Shalom
aleichem,” we are hinting that my wholeness and harmony, my shalom,
depends on you to complete me and my mission. The response of, “Aleichem
shalom,” accepts the greeter’s declaration and supplements it with the
declaration of our own.
In
the era of the Shoftim/Judges, each did what was right in his own eyes
without considering the other. In this culture, Boaz and his Rabbinic Court
found it necessary to institute the greeting of Shalom Aleichem to raise
the awareness of our dependence on each other in creating a society that serves
Hashem.
This
was the point that was most troublesome to Yaakov, suggests Rabbi Shapiro. When
Korach declared, “For the entire assembly – all of them – are holy,” Korach was
asserting that as he was personally holy, he needed no one else to achieve
holiness. Yet to observe all the 613 mitzvoth of the Torah we certainly do need
each other.
The
name one is given has the power to influence his character, writes the Shvilei
Pinchas, citing the Chasam Sofer. He notes that one of the princes
of Esau was named Korach. Esau is the antithesis of shalom, and so in the DNA
of Korach there was a [recessive] gene of conflict. Interestingly, both Esau
and shalom have a numerical value of 376, with the ability to cancel each other
out. This further explains why Korach was at such odds with Aharon, the paragon
of peace. In spite of Korach’s great lineage, that seed of controversy grew
within him.
Korach,
the bald, does not understand the lesson of a head of hair, writes the Shvilei
Pinchas. Each hair has its own follicle, and none can grow from the
follicle reserved for the other. Additionally, Adam was created from the dust
of the earth to teach us that although each grain of sand is worthless on its
own, when combined together [not only as Man] the grains form the earth upon
which we stand and from which all things grow. Bnei Yisroel must be both like
the unique stars as well as like the dust of the earth to achieve their
purpose.
Like
the grains of sand that need each other, let us appreciate each other, learn
and depend upon each other in peace, and create the ladder that will rise from
earth to heaven to bring Hashem’s presence from heaven to earth.