D'var Torah

248 years ago this week, we celebrated our Independence, adopting the Declaration of Independence in 1776, giving us our American identity. And 12 years later (1788), our Constitution was ratified, establishing the principles of our Democracy. It took us 12 years to agree upon what it means to be a democracy, and we have been tinkering with it ever since, including with the Supreme Court’s Presidential immunity decision this week. What has made us different from monarchies is the ability for new leaders to arise and challenge current leaders and the decisions of the past through elections. And while we may disagree with the opinions of these new leaders now and again, we believe in our system of government. But what if we lived according to biblical rules?

In this week’s Torah portion, Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32), we witness a mutiny challenging Moses and Aaron’s leadership. Korach and his followers believe Moses is grabbing up too much power by appointing Aaron as the High Priest, and so they stage a rebellion. God, the Ultimate Judge, is angry and causes the ground to open and swallow the rebels. 

Rabbi Schwartzman often speaks about this portion to our B’nai Mitzvah students citing the very first word in the portion: וַיִּקַּ֣ח קֹ֔רַח. (Va-yi-kach Korach), which translates to Korach took. What did Korach take? He took his family and 250 “chieftains of the community” to rise up against Moses. Rabbi Schwartzman teaches us that you don’t have to go further than the first word in this portion to understand what kind of person is Korach. He’s a “taker.” He focuses on himself, putting his own interests above everyone else. A taker likes to get more than give. A taker feels that they need to be better than everyone else to be successful. Korach is also seen as a divider, separating the community.

Contrast this to Aaron, who takes on the mantle of leadership as High Priest. Aaron is seen as a lover of peace – shalom. Remember that shalom means “wholeness.” In fact, he’s the opposite of Korach who divides and takes. Aaron brings wholeness, peace and goodwill.

We don’t live under biblical rules, so God doesn’t cause the ground to swallow up people who question the status quo. But we do have our share of those who live by Korach’s rules, who take for themselves and serve to separate society. On this celebration of our independence, we are reminded that we’ve survived nearly 250 years because the majority of our citizens believe in a democracy being an orderly way to challenge the status quo. It’s an experiment that is still in its infancy, compared to other countries. My hope is that the givers (or peacemakers) of this society outnumber the takers (or separators) so that an orderly democracy will continue to thrive.

Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Michael Shochet