“They combined against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and GOD is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above GOD’s congregation?” (Numbers 16:3)
In the final episode of Game of Thrones, the chief scholar, Samwell Tarly, proposes that the rulers choose the king through equal elections in which every person has a vote. He is met with scorn and ridicule along the lines of: “Why not let the dogs decide as well?”
In our own mythology, that is, in this week’s Torah portion, Korach dares to do much the same thing, though in a far more challenging context. Here, it is already known, proven through signs and wonders, that authority has been granted to a single source: God and His chosen representatives. It is difficult not to appreciate the courage required to rebel against the existing system, to risk one’s life, and to propose an alternative.
Korach employs divine rhetoric in an attempt to transform the regime. As was already stated in Parashat Kedoshim: “You shall be holy, for I, the ETERNAL your God, am holy”. (Leviticus 19:2).
Korach’s reasoning might be summarized as follows:
“God established the principle of equality. You said in His name that everyone is holy, so all of them are holy, and GOD is among them. You know that absolute power corrupts absolutely, so why is power concentrated in the hands of a single individual or one nuclear family? Are they holier than everyone else? Know that I am not alone. Although I am connected to the family, I have come together with the entire leadership that represents the people.”
The alternative Korach proposes is never fully articulated. Moses argues instead that this is a false complaint from Levites who are already set apart from the rest of the people and who now seek the priesthood: the highest offices. Consequently, the dominant interpretation throughout the generations has been that Korach’s rebellion was a negative act. Korach and his followers are portrayed as wicked men, their dispute not “for the sake of Heaven” but rather the product of self-serving political ambition.
The ending is well known: they all die. The Lord is depicted as an irritable figure who neither forgets nor forgives, especially those who dare challenge His authority.
Some commentators influenced by Kabbalah and Hasidism, however, presented Korach in a positive light, as a man of pure motives whose sole desire was to draw closer to God. Others argued that Korach was essentially correct, but that he acted prematurely in attempting to introduce a utopian vision of equality.
If we place Korach in his historical context, the picture changes. During the formation of a people in the ancient world, in the process of transforming a crowd into a sovereign nation, and within a worldview that attributed divine authority to rulers: whether priest, king, or prophet, it is understandable that such authority could not be questioned.
But if we seek a lesson for our own time, an age in which the direct connection to the metaphysical has long since been lost, then we must stand by the principle of equality that Korach advocated. We must insist that leadership be chosen democratically and that corrupting power not be concentrated in the hands of a single leader and their family.
Yet even today there are people filled with hubris who speak “in the name of,” or “with,” higher powers. They believe they have been granted divine authority to determine public affairs; that biblical and halakhic laws can be imposed upon society; that the principles of equality, individual rights, and democracy may be curtailed.
Especially at a time such as this, when elections in Israel are taking place, we should summon the courage that Korach displayed and insist upon the principles upon which the Third Temple of the State of Israel was built, the principles enshrined in the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
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Translation from the Hebrew post by RHR (Rabbis for Human Rights)
