Korah
Numbers 16:1 - 18:32
Précis: Korah foments a rebellion, claiming that Moses and Aaron have taken too much power for themselves. Dothan 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 Korah 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. A plague takes the lives of 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.
Numbers 18:25-26 “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the Levites and say to them: When you receive the tithes from the Israelites, which I have assigned to you as your share, you shall set aside from them one-tenth of the tithe as a gift to the Lord.’”
All Israelites were obligated to donate one-tenth of their produce (or earnings) to the Temple, in order to support the Levites (the only tribe not allotted a portion of the Land of Israel). This is one proof-text for the concept of tithing, or giving a portion of one’s income to support the Sanctuary. I find it interesting that the Levites themselves are not exempt from this process; even the Levites had to give “to the Lord” one-tenth of what they received from the People as offerings. This may be a source for the traditional rabbinic dictum suggesting that when it comes to giving tzedakah, the poor are not exempt, and that it is a mitzvah to provide a beggar with sufficient funds so that he may, in turn, offer tzedakah to another.
For synagogues, money and finances are an ever-present fact of life. We never seem to be able to earn a sufficient amount to make our budgets work without extra fundraising or ever-present cost-cutting. The concept of tithing we read about here has a modern corollary in the “fair share” dues systems which some congregations utilize, where a household’s dues relate to the household income. Yet many “fair share” congregations face financial challenges similar to congregations who use a flat rate or stepped dues system (usually age or marital status dependent).
What is clear to me, after more than forty years of involvement in congregations as a member, a president, or as an executive director, is that the dues model is broken. Congregations all seem to depend more and more on fewer and fewer households. In so doing, we have raised enormous financial barriers to membership in our congregations, particularly for younger families. This in no small part contributes to the growth of the so-called “Jewish nones” (who claim that they are proud Jews but refuse to join a congregation) and in the growth of smaller, more intimate groups of like-minded Jews who eschew professional-led congregations. It may also be leading to the growing phenomenon of so-called “ala carte” options, when Jews decide to “purchase” specific “services” (often in the form of bar mitzvah tutoring or a wedding service at a hotel) from professionals in the community who are willing to sell such services at a price far below congregational dues levels.
Those of us who believe that a congregation is more than a venue for the provision of services, but rather a “kehila kadosha” – a holy assembly – must find a way to restore the sense of community that is the essence of Jewish life, and is at the core of congregational existance.
