Parashat Korach - Third Aliyah
Read the biblical text and try to understand it on your own, before reading the commentary.
In moments of boiling, the difference is revealed between one led by a feeling of revenge and one led by a mission. The third aliyah of Parashat Korach is the climax of the story: the moment of revelation, of separation, and of a truth that cannot be argued with.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Moshe and Aharon: “Hibadlu mitoch ha’edah hazot, va’achaleh otam keraga” (Separate yourselves from this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment, verse 21). Their response is a wonder of compassion. They fall on their faces and cry out: “Ha’ish echad yecheta ve’al kol ha’edah tiktzof” (One man sins, and against the whole congregation You are wrathful, verse 22). Rashi on “Elohei haruchot” (God of the spirits) explains: “He knows thoughts; Your measure is not like the measure of flesh and blood.” One who knows thoughts knows how to distinguish the individual from the whole. Do not judge the public for the sin of one.
The instruction changes: “He’alu misaviv lemishkan Korach, Datan va’Aviram” (Get away from around the dwelling of Korach, Datan, and Aviram, verse 24). Moshe rises and goes to them himself, and the elders of Israel follow him. But Datan and Aviram stand stubbornly, “nitzavim petach oholeihem, uneshiehem uvneihem vetapam” (standing at the entrance of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ones, verse 27). Even as judgment approaches, they do not move.
Then comes Moshe’s piercing declaration: “Ve’im beriah yivra Adonai, ufatzta ha’adamah et piha” (And if Adonai creates a new creation, and the earth opens its mouth, verse 30). And before the words dry in the air: “Vatibaka ha’adamah asher tachteihem… vatiftach ha’aretz et piha” (The earth split beneath them… and the earth opened its mouth, verses 31-32). Moshe proposed a clear test, and the earth answered in a moment.
And immediately after, fire goes out from Adonai and consumes those who brought the incense: “Vatochal et hachamishim umatayim ish” (It consumed the two hundred and fifty men, verse 35). Even those who joined, who tried to touch holiness without a true mission, were judged together with them.
But the Torah does not leave fire as the ending. It commands Elazar to flatten the copper firepans into a “tzipui lamizbeach” (covering for the altar, 17:3). Rashi on “veyihyu le’ot” (and they shall be a sign) explains: “For a remembrance, that they shall say: these were of those who disputed the priesthood and were burned.” The firepans become an unforgettable testimony on the altar itself.
And one last word, perhaps the most important. Despite all the signs and wonders, on the very next day the whole people complain again: “Atem hamitem et am Adonai” (You have killed the people of Adonai, 17:6). The earth splits, fire descends, and there are still those who tell the story upside down. A dispute whose core is emotional and not principled is not resolved by a wonder, even an overwhelming one. It is resolved only when the heart agrees to see.