July 4 • 2019 29
jn

Healing Broken 
Healing Broken 
Relationships
Relationships

I 

was recently teaching a class 
about the weekly Torah portion 
when someone mentioned the 
rebellion of Korach.
I explained that Korach’
s 
rebellion began when Korach 
questioned why his cousin 
Aaron and his lineage should 
become the priests. Most 
of the people in the room 
were surprised to learn that 
Korach was the first cousin 
of Moses and Aaron, but 
that’
s an important fact in the 
story.
The narrative of Korach 
and his rebellion is yet 
another story of a family 
quarrel in our Torah. These 
squabbles go all the way back 
to the time of Cain and Abel, when 
they were the only siblings on Earth 
and managed to introduce us to the 
concept of sibling rivalry (and frat-
ricide). 
In this week’
s portion, we have 
yet another example of disharmony 
in the family. Korach stages a rebel-
lion against his cousins, Moses and 
Aaron. Together with a few co-lead-
ers of the rebellion, Korach gathers 
250 men and accuses Moses and 
Aaron of hoarding power. Korach 
argues that the entire community is 
holy, and he questions why Moses 
and Aaron elevate themselves above 
everyone else. Korach takes excep-
tion with the appointment of Aaron 
as the High Priest, when they are 
at the same level in the family tree 
(both grandsons of Kohat).
Prior to God’
s punishment of those 
involved in the rebellion [spoiler 
alert] when the Earth opens and 
swallows Korach and his family, 
and then a heavenly fire consumes 
the rest of the rebels, Moses tries to 
find a peaceful resolution between 
the two parties. Moses, known as a 
humble leader of the Israelite people, 

no doubt was very troubled by the 
fractured relationship with his cous-
in Korach. He desperately wanted 
to end the dispute and make 
peace within his family.
Unfortunately, this is an all-
too-common occurrence in 
families in our day. So many 
find themselves in estranged 
relationships and the pain is 
severe. We can take comfort, 
however, in knowing that it is 
possible to seek reconciliation 
and put the pieces back togeth-
er in our fractured relation-
ships. Frequently, reconcilia-
tion comes following the death 
of a loved one, but families 
shouldn’
t wait until that point.
Shalom, peace, is a Hebrew 
word that is often used when dis-
cussing the relationship between 
nations. However, we should all seek 
to bring shalom into our families. 
The disharmony in families in the 
Torah should serve as an example 
that the consequences are tragic 
when relatives feud with each other.
We all have relatives who are diffi-
cult to get along with, who challenge 
leadership roles within the family, 
who battle over money or who let 
their emotions get the best of them. 
However, family should be treated as 
sacred. 
The stories in the Torah of flawed 
human beings and familial dysfunction 
should lead us to take the steps to heal 
troubled relationships. It is far from 
an easy process and it can take many 
years, but the first step is always the 
most challenging. A healed relation-
ship is the reward for putting in the 
work of reconciliation. ■

Rabbi Jason Miller is an educator and entre-

preneur. He is the founder and director of 

Kosher Michigan and MitzvahRabbi.com, as 

well as the president of Access Technology. 

Follow him on Twitter at @RabbiJason.

spirit

torah portion

Rabbi Jason 
Miller

Parshat 

Korach: 

Numbers 

16:1-18:32; 

I Samuel 

11:14-12:22.

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