And the Sons of Korach Did Not Die!
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5775
This week 4 words in the parsha caught my attention. ובני קרח לא מתו, and the children of Korach did not die.
After the plague has ended there is a military census conducted and recorded. In the midst of the count While listing the family of Reuven, we read:
7. These are the families of the Reubenites; and those who were counted of them were forty three thousand seven hundred and thirty.
- And the sons of Pallu; Eliab.
- (K) And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, who were regularly summoned to the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the Lord;
- And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, the time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; and they became a sign.
- And the sons of Korah did not die.
The inclusion here is challenging on many levels.
First, one has to ask – why is this included at all? This is a military count. What does an episode from 38 years ago have to do with this at all?
Secondly, Korach is from the family of Levi, why is his son’s “non-death” included in the family of Reuven and not Levi?
The Midrash Aggada, a later midrash, written in the 12th and 13th century, explains that these 4 words are included in order to teach of the power of Teshuva, the power of repentance! They are placed here, out of context to make that very point.
I believe that this idea, the notion of teshuva and the power of teshuva are at the heart of each detail of this discussion. I want to highlight two issues:
The first relates to the influences that affect us and our need for teshuva.
Rav Moshe Alshich suggests that the inclusion of Korach’s sons is meant to highlight our individual responsibility for our own actions. You could have no closer neighbors than your father and yet Korach’s sons made their own decisions and were saved. So too we must understand that Datan and Aviram were sentenced for their own actions and nothing else.
At one level that is true but I am not convinced that is the point of our parsha. It is not so simple to dismiss the influence of those around you, family and friends. They have a clear impact upon us and our choices and they must be a part of the teshuva equation.
The Eben Ezra actually contrasts Korach’s sons with Datan and Aviram’s sons who were swallowed up by the ground and did die. He writes that Datan and Aviram were more evil than Korach. He seems to imply that this fact and their influence upon their children did impact their sons and lead to their death.
The Netziv agrees with the Eben Ezra regarding the levels of evil and writes that it was the great evil of Datan and Aviram that saves Korach’s sons. Had it just been Korach and the 250 men and their mistaken intentions Korach’s sons would have gone along with their father. It was only when confronted by the great evil of Datan and Aviram that they knew they were on the wrong path and made the choice to change.
Both contend that you cannot focus solely on the individual and their choices. You have to look at family and community and its impact and influence and our ability to recognize a path as wrong.
The Midrash and others also address how you go about change. The Midrash quoted by Rashi tells a spectacular tale:
Originally Korach’s sons were included in his evil but towards the end they הרהרו כולם לעשות תשובה – they had feelings of teshuva and God raised them and created a special perch for them in hell.
That sounds good until you realize that they are still in hell, maybe above the fire but still in hell!
Rashi on Tehilim (chapter 42/1) suggests that while still perched on the ledge they sang shirah (songs of praise) and then were elevated and taken out.
The message seems to be “it is not enough to think about change, you actually have to do something about it”.
While that is absolutely true the Midrash might also be teaching us that is begins with a thought. You don’t simply change overnight; it begins with gnawing feelings and thoughts until those finally translate into action. And it was the thought that saved them and gave them the opportunity to act.
Taken together – in order to achieve change one has to be aware of the influences in their family and community, both good and bad. One has to be able to recognize what needs to be changed, and then think about the change and finally do it.
How do we begin doing that?
I will leave you with a beautiful idea from Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. He notes in parshat Korach that Moshe suggests that incense battle on one day and then tells them that tomorrow we will see who God chooses. Why not simply do it right away and settle the matter? Why wait until the morning?
Hirsch suggests that “they should have time to come to their senses, especially in the quiet and retirement of the night when everyone is relegated more to the company of his own family and his own self and removed from the influences of friends who would lead them astray.”
In other words, you need to find the time for thought and contemplation. As long as you go about your busy without taking a step back you will simply continue what you are currently doing, good or bad. To change or contemplate change, you first have to stop and take a moment to reflect.
That is certainly part of the purpose of the 3 weeks and the 2 fast days. Commemorative days are placed on the calendar to force us to pause and consider our spiritual state of affairs. We are meant to reflect and think about where we are and how we might change.
Hopefully we each recognize the opportunity and take advantage.
