In the continuing travails (and underneath, refinements) of our people Israel as they stumble through the desert, begging us "Please, please see that underneath the dross of another apparently really negative experience," is a genuinely possible mistake, one that any one of us would and maybe should make at some point in our lives.
This week, Korach and a group of 250 of his fellas, and another group of people called Datan and Aviram question the legitimacy of the leadership of Moses, and the fact that Aharon is the high priest. Korach is
remembered for the strife and disagreement that he brought to Israel. But we need doubt, and we need disagreement. Last week, we wrote a bit about faith, about being able to step forward. We also mentioned that faith must be based on truth, that faith and knowledge occupy different realms of the mind. We should know what we can know, and certainly not deny what we know, unless it contradicts something we know we must believe. So, if faith must be based on truth, then doubt and disagreement are fundamental ways to ascertain what exactly the truth is. So, at what point does doubt turn destructive, at what point will it no longer serve the purpose of creating a better ground upon which to base my faith?
Pirkei Avot says Korach's disagreement was not l'shem shamayim - for the sake of heaven. His intention was bad from the start. He did not ask, "Please Moshe, and I believe you can do this, but I just need to know, please show us and tell us again why you are our leader..." Instead, his question is intended from the start to show that Moshe is not worthy.
Our questions are so often transparent; it is obvious what we are really asking and why. Korach, says Rebbe Natan of Breslov, doesn't understand how intention is a factor. He thinks that because he knows a certain amount of stuff that he is equal to another who knows the same amount of stuff. He thinks the legitimacy of the question stands on its own, regardless of the tone in which it is asked. He thinks a body of knowledge, a bunch of facts, makes a person a leader. He thinks an assessment of reality stands on its own, regardless of the intention of the one who made that assessment.
Really, though, the facts are just there for us to write our thesis papers. They are there for us to gather to give meat to our arguments, to give examples for opinions, to give body to our wills. The real story is not a story of facts, but a story of people interacting. The facts are a medium. They can all go either way. They cannot stand on their own; they stand only with the breath of the one who uttered them. Korach asks Moshe, "What makes you a leader? We were all at Sinai," thinking the fact that we were all at Sinai is enough to justify each of us being the leader. But his tone is obvious, and betrays that he himself cannot be a leader. A true leader's words reflect his thoughts; his stance on the facts is one in which he is not afraid of questions. He does not need to hold on to them to prove his point, because his point is not based on facts. His point is an attitude toward facts, an attitude that allows all of his proofs and arguments to fall away, and he is still standing. He is qualitatively different than Korach - qualitatively closer to reality, to integrity. He is more whole, and therefore less attached to his parts, less attached to the facts.
Respect - this person truly deserves respect. We tend to reject and criticize people who are closer to themselves, and therefore to God, than we are. It is understandable - but here is an opportunity to give
these people what they deserve - our ears open to hear, to learn. Our mouths perched to appreciate.
Rav Gavriel Goldfeder
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Rav Gavriel Goldfeder is one of the first semicha recipients of the yeshiva. A graduate of Drew University in Religious Studies, he came to Bat Ayin after stints in other yeshivot and found a spiritual and intellectual home. Here he met his wife, Ketriellah, who was a student in our short-lived Women's Yeshiva. Upon graduation, Gavriel took the position of rabbi of the Aish Kodesh Congregation in Boulder, Colorado and together with Ketriellah and their growing family, they are busy creating (in Gavriel's words), "a community infused with Torah values, passion for learning and prayer, consideration of one another, and action, as well as deep celebration of the joys of life." |