This week's Parasha features a central episode in the forty-year wilderness journey, the rebellion of Korach (Korah), Da’tan (Dathan), Aviram (Abiram), On, and 250 other leaders… princes of the congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown who… assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron…" (Num.16:2, 3). The above quotes, as well as the language employed in the rest of the discourse between the malcontents and Moshe, contain words and expressions which we have already encountered elsewhere. The use of these same words (or ones emanating from the same roots), albeit in different contexts, as well as the protagonists' method of echoing each other's expressions, intensifies the storyline and animates the characters and the issues at hand.
“And Korah the son of … took” are the opening words of the
Parasha, continuing with the names of those who joined him. Although it does
not say explicitly what Korach “took”, the list of the others who joined him
and their collaboration underscores his underhanded opportunism, in an attempt
to grab that which did not belong to him, or to any of the other men with him.
The "princes", with whom we commence the study, are
called here "nesi'im" ("nasi" - singular, of the root
n.s.a, meaning to "lift up"), just as were the leaders in Parashat
Nasso (Num. 4:21ff). In the latter, we noted that "nasso",
"lifting, carrying, raising", also means "to bear" and in
5:31 (of the same Parasha) it was used as the "bearing of sin" (re
"being guilty"). However, the verb "bearing" may also indicate
the bearing of another's sin in a sense of forgiveness, as is seen in Parashat
Ki Tissa (whose title also means "lifting", being connected, in that
case, to the census of the People). In the said Parasha (in Ex. 32:32), Moshe
pleaded with YHVH on behalf of the people, in the wake of the Golden Calf episode,
saying, "If you will forgive…" (or literally "bear"), in
Hebrew: "eem tissa". In Bamidbar (Numbers) 11:11,12
(Parashat B'ha'alotcha), Moshe complains about "bearing" and
"carrying" the people of Yisrael. “…You lay the burden (massa)
of all this people upon me. Have I conceived this people? Did I bring them
forth, that You should say to me, carry them (“sa'e'hu”)
in your bosom like a nursing father carries (“yissa”)
the sucking child, to the land which You swore to their fathers?" (Italics
added). However, despite his momentary steam blowing, Moshe did in fact bear
and carry the people. It was this very thing that gave him the right to be
called a "nassi", one who is "lifted up", according to the
words uttered by Yeshua, "whoever desires to be great among you, let him
be your servant, and whoever desires to be chief among you, let him be your
servant; even as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve…" (Mat.
20:26, 27).
Korach and company (who were of a different ilk) are also
described here as "elect men of the assembly" (ref 16:2), or "k'ru'ey mo'ed".
In Parashat Emor (Lev. 23:2-4), we recognized that the root k.r.a is to
“call" and that "mikra" means "a called (out) assembly, a
congregation, or a convocation". Thus, these leaders were not only
"lifted up" but were also honored by being "called out"
(translated here as "elect"). However, their "calling" does
not stop there. They are also the "called out" of the
"mo'ed", which is translated as "assembly", but if we refer
again to Va’yikra (Leviticus) 23, we see that "mo’ed” stems from the root
y.a'a.d (yod, ayin, dalet) and means "appoint, design, or designate".
Thus, YHVH's special appointments, His feasts, are called "mo'adim",
plural, and "mo'ed”, singular. When we reviewed those concepts, we
noticed that the people who are appointed and designated are collectively named
"edah" (of the same root). Thus, the "nesi'im" (the
“elevated ones”) are the "princes of the congregation", which is the
"edah", or the "appointed assembly".
How ironic that these "lifted up" individuals of the
"appointed assembly", who have been "called", or
"singled out", by "appointment" for special
YHVH-designated" occasions, and who are also men of renown
("shem", i.e. "name"), are the very ones now
"gathered… against Moshe and A'haron" (16:3)! These men did not
understand that it was not for vainglory that they had been raised up. Although
described as "men of name" (translated as "renown"), it was
not their own names that were to be lifted, but the name of the One who had
called and appointed them for His name's sake. Let us take
note, though, that despite their flagrant behavior, their "company"
(16: 5, 11,16, 21) is still termed here "eda," which is, as
mentioned, an “appointed assembly".
These "nesi'im", in their blinded fury and haughtiness,
decry YHVH's leaders of choice and dare challenge them, saying: "Why do
you lift yourselves up [“tit'nas'u”] above
the congregation of YHVH?" (16:3b italics added). Before that, they
maintain: "This is too much ["rav"]
for you, since all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHVH is
among them" (16:3a literal translation, italics added). Moshe's initial
response to these words is to fall on his face, after which he says: "In
the morning YHVH will show who are His, and him who is holy, and
will cause him to come near to Him; even him whom He has chosen, He will cause
to come near to Him. Do this, take fire pans, Korah and all his company, and
put fire in them, and put incense in them before YHVH tomorrow. And it shall be
the man whom YHVH chooses, he shall be holy. This is too much ["rav",
again] for you, sons of Levi!” (16:5-7 literal translation, italics added).
This is too much for you" - "rav la'chem" - is the expression
employed by the rebels. Moshe was not unaware of their every word, and answered
them ‘tit for tat’. As he continues, he says, "Is it a small ("m'at"
- opposite of "rav") thing to you that the Elohim of Israel has
separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near Himself
to do the service of the tabernacle of YHVH and to stand before the
congregation to minister to them? And He has brought you near…"
(v. 9, 10, italics added). Notice above (v. 5), Moshe claims that the one whom
YHVH chooses, that one "He will bring near"
(k.r.v, the same root as "offering" or "sacrifice"), and
now he states that they have already been
brought near by their very position. But not being satisfied with their lot,
they are coveting the priesthood too, "therefore you and all your company
are gathered against YHVH" (v. 11, italics added). The
"company", once more, is "eda", while "gathering
against" is "no'adim", of the same root - y.a’a.d -
which, as we have seen, means "appointed".
Thus, those who used to take part in YHVH's appointed
congregation, feasts, and service are now gathered for another 'appointment',
this time engendered by their evil and rebellious intent against YHVH's
servants. Still, in so doing, they are actually 'ganging up' against YHVH
Himself. In last week's Parasha, an identical term was used in relationship to
the "eda" (assembly), that was "gathered against" YHVH
(14:35).
The sad story continues… Again, notice the wording, "And
Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. And they said, 'We
will not come up. Is it a small thing that
you have brought us up out of a land that
flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but must you also
seize dominion over us?'" (16:12, 13 italics added). In their defiance,
Da’tan and Aviram are determined to not "come up"
("na'aleh"), while this is followed by their accusation, "is it
a small thing…" – ham'at" - echoing Moshe's words in
verse 9: "is it a small thing to you
that the Elohim of Israel…?" Their excuse for "not going up"
(“lo na’alea”) is that it was Moshe who "brought them up"
("he'e'li'tanu", again of the root for “going up") from "a
land flowing with milk and honey", and has not brought them
into "a land flowing with milk and honey" as he had promised (v. 13,
14; see Ex. 3:8). In this way, these two are responsible for
twisting YHVH's promises and substituting truth for a lie by portraying the
land of their slavery and bondage as a dreamland of the past. In contrast, the
supposed grim present holds no promises for the future. They choose to make
their point by not only repeating and twisting Moshe’s own words but also by
employing the verb for “going/bringing up” (root a.l.h) in a way that imbues
their statement with thick sarcasm. They maintain that the purpose for having
been "brought up" to the desert was to "cause them to die",
and so that Moshe could "dominate them with dominion"
– tis’ta'rer hista'rer". "Sar" is the root of
"dominion", and it also constitutes another word for
"prince", from whence the term "Prince of Peace" ("Sar
Shalom") is derived, as well as the names Sarah and
Yisrael. They seal their harangue by accusing Moshe of not having
given them "inheritance in fields and vineyards", adding: "Will
you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up ["lo
na'aleh", again]" (16:14, italics added). Their ultimate end - of
"descending/going down alive into Sheol" (v. 30) - sheds
an eerie light on their repeated refusal to “go up". Moreover,
by stating so emphatically their refusal to go up, they were actually
pronouncing their own doom. Indeed, “death and life are in the
power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21).
Moshe's next comment, "I have not taken one donkey from them,
neither have I hurt one of them" (16:15), is reminiscent of Shmu'el's
soliloquy in Shmu’el Alef (1st Samuel) 12:3: "Whose ox
have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have
I oppressed?" The accusations hurled against Moshe are in stark
contrast to his description in Parashat B'ha'alotcha. Miriam and Aharon's
slander against their brother was met there by the words: "Now the man
Moses was very meek, more than all the men on the face of the earth" (Num.
12:3). In light of this statement, the present malicious words against him seem
even more unjust and deplorable.
Now Moshe is angry - "(va)yichar le-Moshe"!
(16:15). In Parashat B’ha’a’lotcha we encountered the same term for anger,
which was appended to the nose (ref. Bamidbar 11:1), and thus it was the
“burning of/in the nose”. Moshe's anger here is followed by the injunction to
the band of rebels to “light up” incense on their fire pans
and to let YHVH judge them and the situation (v. 17). YHVH commands Moshe and
Aha'ron to separate themselves from this "eda" (congregation,
assembly), so that the latter may be "consumed" or "devoured"
as by fire (v. 21). Finally, after Korach, Da’tan and Aviram,
and some of their company, are swallowed up, "a fire came
forth from YHVH and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who
offered incense" (16:35, literal translation, italics added). In Bamidbar
26:11, it says, quite curiously, that “the children of Korach did not die”.
Indeed, the sons of Korach are recorded as the writers of 11 of the Psalms
(although they would have been of a later generation of Korach’s children).
Here is a quote from Hebrew Insights into Parashat Bamidbar, which ties right
into the matter at hand: "… the chosen family of K'hat (Kohath) was
to dismantle the Mishkan when it was time to move on. During this awesome
procedure, they had to restrain themselves and avert their gaze from the holy
articles, with the help of A'haron and his sons (Num. vs 19, 20). "They
shall not go in to see the holy things as they are being covered, lest they die",
is the Parasha's last verse, which literally says, "And they shall not go
in to see, at the swallowing of the holy things [lest] they die". The
usage here of "swallow" ("bela") for
"covering" the Mishkan articles is very unusual. It may be alluding
to the fact that an unwarranted gaze could bring upon the onlookers (that is,
the members of the K'hat clan) the penalty of being swallowed alive (a form of
punishment which was inflicted supernaturally upon offenders), such as in the
case of Korah in Num. 16:30-34. Thus, those whose task was to carry the
holy articles in their covering (in such a manner as if to render them
'swallowed'), when discontented with this position, and deeming themselves
holy, brought upon themselves a "swallowing.
In 16:9, we read that the Elohim of Yisrael separated Korach and
his band in order to "bring you near Himself to do the service of the
tabernacle". "Separated" there was "hivdil",
being of the root b.d.l (bet, dalet, lamed), "to divide, separate, set
apart, exclude, and single out". Later, before punishment is
meted out to this group, YHVH tells Moshe and Aharon to "separate"
themselves from “this congregation" (v. 21). There too the root b.d.l is
used ("hibadlu"). Thus, when those who have been called and separated
out by YHVH, according to His order and method of selection, oppose His ways,
they become separated and set apart from the rest of the community, but this
time for reproof of the severest kind. Further, YHVH says to the
congregation (of Yisrael): "Turn away from the tents of these wicked
men" (v. 26). "Turn away" is "suru",
of the root "sur" (samech, vav, resh), whereas in verse 15 Moshe asks
YHVH to “not turn" to these men's offerings, using the
root panoh (with "panim – face” being its derivative). We
have dealt with "p.n.h" several times, and found that it indicates a
"turning toward", in contrast to "sur", which is a
"turning away from". A "sorer" (again, of
the root “sur”) is a stubborn rebel (e.g., Deut. 21:18,20) – an apt description
of these 250 and some individuals.
Interestingly, the bronze fire pans used by the sinners were to be
salvaged from the fire, reshaped and made into plates for the altar's covering,
thus rendering these objects sanctified. This was to be a visible sign and a
warning to and for the Children of Yisrael, so that in the future no one who
was not of the seed of Aha'ron would attempt again to “come near” and offer
incense before YHVH, “so that he may not be as Korah and as his company” (16:
40).
Only one day goes by, and the people begin to complain again,
saying to Moshe and Aha’ron: "You have brought death [“ha'mitem”]
on the people of YHVH" (v. 41, italics added), thus echoing the words of
Da’tan and Aviram to Moshe in 16:13 ("you have brought us up here… to
cause us to die - le'hamitenu"). In both cases, the root
is "ma'vet", that is, “death” (m.v.t - mem, vav, tav).
Once again, the cloud covers the Tent of Meeting and the glory of YHVH appears
(ref 16:42), much like the description in verse 19, where the same thing took
place in front of Korach and company. This time YHVH admonishes Moshe (and
Aha'ron) to stand back, as He is about to “consume” the congregation, using the
very same verb which we encountered above (in 16:21). Moshe and Aha'ron fall on
their faces, as they did previously (see V. 22), contrary to what YHVH told
them this time, which was to "elevate themselves" –
hey'romu - of the root r.o.m (resh, vav, mem). What started out as a plague was
halted by Aha'ron's action of kindling the incense on fire pans, with fire
obtained from the altar. Running through the camp, holding on to the
fire pans to "make an atonement… for wrath has gone out from YHVH"
(v. 46), Aha'ron brought the plague to an end (standing “between the dead and
the living” v. 48). The "wrath" described here is termed
"ketzef", k.tz.f. (kof, tzadi, fey), which is also found in
verse 22, when Moshe and Aah'ron display their concern for the entire
congregation of Yisrael upon the mutiny of Korach and his band, saying:
"Shall one man sin and will You be angry [“tiktzof”] with
all the congregation?" (Italics added). Thus, the entire congregation of
Yisrael, far from learning the lesson displayed before them the previous day,
re-enacted the mutinous scenario.
Following the major affront dealt to the office of the priesthood
and the roles of the Levites, the rest of the Parasha is devoted to
reconfirming their uniqueness by the blossoming of Aha'ron's rod, which is the
ultimate evidence, witness, and testimony of YHVH's choice. It was for this
reason that another title is being accorded here to the Tent of Meeting. Ohel
Ha’edut, that is, Tent of the Testimony/Witness, replaces
its usual title of Ohel Mo’ed (17:7). A female witness happens to be
“eda”, being the same as the word for “band or congregation” employed so often
in our Parasha. This new term may be hinting at the (poor) ‘testimony’ of the
assembly - “eda” - as compared to YHVH’s true witness, represented by the Tent
of the Testimony (Ohel Ha’edut).
Aha’ron’s dead rod "had budded and had brought forth buds,
and had bloomed blossoms, and had yielded almonds" (17:8). This is a
display in front of the entire nation of the miracle of life, as it sprouts out
of death - death that has been so characteristic of these last episodes. As we
have already noted (in Parashat Trumah, Ex. 25:31-40 regarding the
Menorah), almond is "sha'ked", which is of
the root sh.k.d (shin. kof. dalet) meaning to “watch and to be diligent".
The famous passage in Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 1:11, 12 teaches us of YHVH's
watchful determination to perform His word. Here too, after a line of incidents
and insurrections, complaining, and disciplinary measures, YHVH is pointing to
His irreversible will (marked by resurrection power) in carrying out His word
and accomplishing it, despite and in the face of all opposition.
The cynical tone which accompanied the dialogues between Moshe and
the rebels does not cease, even to the very bitter end that finds the
protagonists. The Hebrew text which describes the horrifying scene of their
death refers to it thus: “And if YHVH creation will create [translated ‘will do
a new thing’] and the earth will open up its mouth and will swallow…” etc
(16:30). How is it that an act of “creation” is appended to this most morbid
scene of death and annihilation? Yes, the “creation” here is referenced as a
new action by the Almighty, albeit a negative one. But, at the same time, the
root b.r.a (bet, resh, alef) for “bara”, create, is also used in the verb
“ba’reh”, which means to “remove” (such as in Yehoshua 17:15,18 where it
is “to clear” and “to cut down”). Thus, the “removal” of the rebels in
this most unusual way was underscored by the usage of an equally unusual term.
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