Korach
Numbers 16:1 - 18:32

Précis: Korach foments a rebellion, claiming that Moses and Aaron have taken too much power for themselves. Dathan and Abiram also attack Moses’ leadership, alleging that Moses has brought them from a land of milk and honey (Egypt!) to let them die in the wilderness. A test of fire offerings is arranged, and Korach and his followers are destroyed as the earth opens and swallows them. The People continue to complain, God threatens to destroy them once again, but Moses and Aaron intercede, ending a plague which had slain 14,000 people. A final test – that of staffs – is performed, and when Aaron’s staff miraculously blossoms on the following morning, it is clear that his status as High Priest is secure. The duties of the Priests and Levites are then discussed.

Numbers 17:3 “Remove the fire pans of those who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar - for once they have been used for offering to the Lord, they have become sacred - and let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.”

I am constantly surprised to see that there are small snippets which previously have escaped my attention, despite the scores of time that I have read through the weekly readings. Here is another one which jumped out at me this week.

Having completed the test of fire offerings to establish that Moses and Aaron were indeed the true leaders of Israel, 250 followers of Korach were burned to death by heavenly fire. Moses is instructed to recover the fire pans used by the rebellious usurpers. The pans are to be beaten into plates of metal to cover the altar “because they had become sacred” and to “serve as a warning.”

First, it seems surprising that the fire pans became holy even though they were being used by unconsecrated usurpers. This seems to suggest that even those with impure motives can act in ways which result in the creation of things which are holy.

A second interpretation is that the pans have become holy mementos of a triumph of good over evil. A third suggestion is that the motives of these people were in fact praiseworthy – they merely wanted to get closer to God (as was the case with Aaron’s son’s who offered “strange fire” Lev 10:1-2).

Finally, as noted in Etz Hayim, Rav Kook suggests that the holiness of the fire pans arises from the fact that these were utensils being used by heretics who were, however, serving an important function: it is necessary to have skeptics and agnostics in order to keep our religion honest. To challenge tradition – to struggle with its meaning and with its intention – is necessary to keep our faith from falling into complacency. We are Jews because we struggle.