The Spiritual Dimension of Power

Korach
Numbers 16:1 - 18:32

Précis: Korach foments a rebellion, claiming that Moses and Aaron have taken too much power upon themselves. Dathan and Abiram also attack Moses’ leadership, claiming that Moses has brought them from a land of milk and honey (Egypt!) only 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 16:1-3 “Now Korach…with Datan and Abiram…took themselves up against Moses and against Aaron and said, ‘You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that all in the congregation are holy….’”

JTS Chancellor Ismar Schorsch, writing in his weekly d’var Torah (7/2/05), focused on an important part of Moses’ character: “his refusal to exploit his position and power for personal gain.” Korach and his followers protest Moses’ authority using “democratic rhetoric” – they imply that they are merely seeking equality and that only they want to "share" power. We look at their actions and see demagogues. Moses, on the other hand, is ever humble. He understands that power corrupts, and that it can corrupt religious leaders.

Taking another perspective with a focus on Korach, Rabbi Jonathan E. Blake [Reform Voices of Torah (6/23/08)] suggests that Korach's fatal flaw was “his allegiance to the material over the spiritual. Korach got caught up in the material trappings of power, when the actual job called for acute sensitivity to the spiritual dimension of leadership.”

This comment reflects the traditional, highly negative perspective of the Sages towards Korach: they felt that he was venal and materialistic. One midrash suggests that Korach was very wealthy, having served as Pharoah’s comptroller, who had held the keys to the treasure house. Judaism seems to have a healthy disrespect for extreme wealth. This is not to say that Judaism devalues wealth: the mitzvah of tzedakah presupposes that money is available for good purposes. But our tradition, contrary to the portrayal of Korach, maintains a spiritual dimension to human existence. Without cultivating the spiritual side of life, we become like Korach: obsessed with things, blind to spiritual matters, and unfit for leadership among the Jewish People.