For this time - Be Korach | thoughts on Parashat Korach

“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)

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One Must Not Rely on Miracles - Thoughts on Parashat Va'etchanan

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My thoughts on Va'etchanan weekly Torah portion for "Rabbis for the Human Rights" (RHR) weekly newsletter:

 “Do not try your God Yahweh, as you did at Massah.” (Deuteronomy 6:16)

As part of Moses’ concluding speeches and his pleas to enter the Land, he warns the people not to test God again, as they did in the Book of Numbers when the people complained of thirst. God commanded Moses to speak to the rock, but instead, he struck the rock with his staff. For this act of spiritual doubt, they were punished by being barred from entering the Land: “Adonoy said to Moshe and Aharon, ‘Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the presence of Bnei Yisroel; therefore, you will not bring this congregation into the land that I have given them’. They are the waters of dispute where Bnei Yisroel contended with Adonoy, and He was sanctified through them.” (Numbers 20:12–13)

From this, the Sages inferred a principle: in times of crisis and danger, a person or a nation might be tempted to summon miracles and supernatural forces to rescue them from distress. That is, whenever I face a serious problem, I could turn to higher powers to perform a miracle and save me. But based on the verse in our parasha, the Sages formulated the rule: “One must not rely on a miracle” (אין סומכין על הנס).

This principle appears in several places in the Talmud, for example:

Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 1:4: “…and not from the miracles that occurred in the Temple. Rabbi Abun said: because of the verse, ‘Do not test.’” Even though miracles used to occur in the Temple, the Sages ruled that the High Priest must restrict his diet the day before Yom Kippur, lest he become impure. We do not rely on miracles.

Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 32a: “A person should never stand in a place of danger saying, ‘A miracle will be performed for me,’ lest no miracle be done. And if a miracle is done—his merits are diminished.” Don’t enter danger assuming a miracle will save you.

Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 39b: “Those engaged in mitzvah missions are not harmed, neither on their way nor on their return. But [in the case] of a rickety ladder—where damage is likely—we do not rely on a miracle.” Even while fulfilling a commandment, if the means are dangerous (like a shaky ladder), we do not count on divine intervention.

The halachic rule “One must not rely on miracles” reflects a humanistic face of halacha. It emphasizes that human fate is in human hands. It is inappropriate to lean on the supernatural to escape danger one consciously chose to enter.

Although Hasidism developed the idea of “miracle workers”, about whom it was said, “A righteous person decrees, and the Holy One fulfills,” the Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) school opposed miracles. They taught the opposite: “The Holy One decrees, and the righteous person fulfills,” i.e., responsibility lies with the human being.

The Talmud also critiques miracle workers. For instance, in the stories of Honi the Circle-Maker, Honi speaks directly to God, causes rain, and controls its intensity. Yet he is ultimately criticized, and his story ends tragically. In one tale, when he meets a man planting a carob tree, his life ends because of his arrogance.

On October 7, we found ourselves in an emergency and danger not of our choosing. But almost two years have passed since the war was forced upon us. Today’s situation is no longer the same. Being in an ongoing war is a choice. A conscious decision to remain in danger. A deliberate refusal to end the war and bring back the hostages by diplomatic means.

A choice made by those in power.

A choice that brings continued devastation and risks a humanitarian disaster, perhaps in violation of international law.

A choice stemming from a belief that everything can be resolved through force, or worse—that this is a form of justified revenge.

It seems we are living in a time marked by the delusion that we are in a “miraculous era”—a time when everything is possible. October 7 and its victims are seen as part of a “miracle” that will bring victory over the axis of evil and the total destruction of our enemies. A true celebration...

But this call for a miracle is, in my opinion, utterly opposed to the idea of “One must not rely on miracles.”

Moses warns in our parasha because he knows the consequences of national hubris.

So the question arises: What are we to do today, especially in this time of hardship and sorrow?

Should we pray for a miracle for the hostages?

A miracle of victory in war?

Is it enough to call for a miracle?

Can we remain passive and wait?

Are we allowed to simply hope for something to change?

The answer is simple:

We do not rely on miracles.

We make an earthly, conscious decision to act through diplomacy,

to end the war,

to end the horrific daily bloodshed,

and to end the suffering on all sides.

First and foremost: bring back the hostages.

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Translation by RHR

A fire burns in the hearts - Thoughts on Parashat Tzav

I was asked by RHR (Rabbis for Human Rights) to write a few tghoghts about Parashat Tzav for their weekly newsletter. Wrriten in Hebrew, Translated  by Rabbi Sigal Asher of RHR and a colleague. 

Like the entire book of Leviticus that deals with temple laws in a tedious way,
Parashat Tzav also deals with the laws of sacrifices in the temple in a detailed way. One short verse in it is particularly powerful, verse 6: "Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually; it shall not go out" (Leviticus 6:6). Two mitzvot in one verse: one to do - lighting a constant fire on the outer altar, and one to not do - the prohibition of extinguishing the fire. Apparently, these are physical commandments. There is a "maaracha" (lit. arrangement, pile of wood) on the altar whose purpose is to always keep the eternal flame, separately from the central system on which sacrifices were made. The eternal flame was a small maaracha, compared to the main maaracha on which the sacrifices were burned. Its purpose was perhaps to preserve a flame that would help light the central barbecue, a kind of substitute for matches.

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The Bible simply does not say what is the origin of the fire, what is its eternity, what is the punishment for not observing the commandments. But the commentators came up with the contrast between the eternity of the fire and its heavenly origin, and the earthly commandment to burn it. In the Babylonian Talmud it is written: "Even though fire descends from the heavens, still there is a special mitzva to bring fire by a person" (Babylonian, Yoma 21:b). In other words, even though the source of the eternal flame is from heaven, every person can and should rekindle it, if it goes out. Moreover, the Jerushalem Talmud says about the fire: "Permanent, even on the Sabbath; permanent even in impurity" (Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 4:6). That is, it doesn't matter who and when, it is obligatory to add wood to the fire.

This commentary was probably written hundreds of years after the destruction of the temple. The commentators had to deal with the fracture of the temple's destruction and with the settlement of the contradiction between the explicit commandment to physically burn the maaracha, and the physical impossibility of sustaining the eternal flame. Therefore, it is transferred from the physical and metaphysical to the personal domain, to the human soul and heart. In the Book of Education, on the mitzvah of the eternal flame, it is said that fire is part of the fundamentals of human nature:

"That a person will be blessed in the matter of fire that he has. And what is the fire that he has? It is a person’s nature — since of the four elements in a person, fire is the head of those four; as with it does a man strengthen himself and move to act" (Sefer HaChinukh 132:1).

In the Book of Zohar, putting out the eternal flame is putting out the soul, and this is what is said in the interpretation of the Sulam to Tzav portion:

"Certainly the fire of the Torah will not be extinguished, because a transgression does not extinguish the Torah. But a transgression extinguishes a mitzvah, and whoever commits a transgression that extinguishes a mitzvah, which is called a candle, thus extinguishes his own candle from his body, that is, the soul which is called a candle. As it is said about it The spirit of man is the lamp of G-d, that it is extinguished, because the body remains in the dark. And so whoever causes the Shechinah to depart from its place by his actions, he causes extinguishment and darkness to that place."

In Hasidic Judaism, the fire is spirituality and the constant inner enthusiasm, which guards against deterioration into poor spirituality and negativity.

"You are my student, and you have been assigned to extinguish the great 'no' of all those who oppose the inner Torah, and therefore you need an 'eternal flame' to burn in you. You will extinguish the 'no', and G-d will turn this 'no' into 'yes'" (The Lubavitcher Rebbe cites Shneor Zalman Maliadi, who quotes his rabbi, the Maggid of Mezrich. In: The Lubavitcher Rebbe King of the Messiah Shalita, Sefer Hayom Yom Tarikh 20 Adar 2).

Zionism transfers this flame to the national-collective dimension, the dimension of commemoration. In today's Israel, there are at least 5 central places where there is an "eternal flame": in the monument in memory of the martyrs of the Israeli wars in the square of the Knesset in Jerusalem; in the memorial to Yitzhak Rabin in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv; at the memorial and commemoration site for the Holocaust in Israel at Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem; at the memorial site for the President of the United States John Kennedy in Yad Kennedy in the mountains of Jerusalem; and in Rabin's grave in the section of the greats of the nation. The eternal flame has become a symbol for the expression of social values in today's Israel. Its foci symbolize the memory of the Holocaust, heroism and Zionism.

Like the commentators after the destruction of the Temple, we too are facing a breakup today. But knowing the historical interpretive incarnations of the eternal flame gives us the possibility to move it to a new symbolic stage during and after the "Iron Swords" war. We are required to integrate the personal-spiritual dimension together with the national social one, to preserve and perpetuate the fire of heroism and civil volunteerism and emphasizing the collective values of prisoner redemption, civil equality and the social solidarity that made a comeback. This is the small fire that will support the big fire of personal and national sacrifice. We can learn from the Hasidic spirit of inner enthusiasm that these are things that must continue to burn in our hearts even in these difficult times in order to be able to continue our very existence, while overcoming the crisis of October 7, and growing towards the future to come.