JUNE 22 • 2023 | 33
SPIRIT
Meritocracy
vs. Elitism
K
orach is not only a story
about rebellion; for
present-day readers in
particular, the story is also about
the complicated relationship
between the Jewish ideal of cho-
senness and an exaggerat-
ed sense of entitlement.
At the heart of Korach’s
dissent is what he claims
to be the unfair selection
of Moses and Aaron to
unique positions of prom-
inence and authority.
“You have gone too far,
”
Korach protests to Moses
and Aaron, “The entire
congregation of Israel,
they are holy with God in
their midst; why then do
you raise yourselves above
God’s people?”
At first glance, his claim
seems to be a reasonable chal-
lenge to established leadership.
Korach purports to be a pop-
ulist protestor, speaking in the
name of rank-and-file Israelites
against the usurping of political
and theological leadership and
power by a single elite family.
Korach is apparently not
aware that the heart and soul
of God’s relationship with the
Children of Israel has been
elevating divinely chosen indi-
viduals Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Judah, and finally Moses
and Aaron to the very sort of
prominence that Korach now
challenges. He fails to recognize
a central pillar of meritocracy:
Not everyone is equally suited to
do everything, and so not every-
one gets to do whatever they feel
they deserve.
Korach is not interested in
elevating the entire people of
Israel to the level of Moses and
Aaron, but only himself. As
much as Korach tries to mask a
sense of entitlement by speaking
in populist terms “we are all
holy,
” the claim of elitism that
he slings at Moses and Aaron is
driven by selfish aims. He is the
proverbial elitist who feels
entitled to replace those
he decries as entitled
elitists.
As ignoble as Korach’s
self-serving claims are,
even more cringe-worthy
is the fact that others
bought what he was
peddling and followed
him, due in no small
part to Korach stoking
the fear and uncertainty
born of the precarious-
ness of the moment. As
Nachmanides explained, Korach
put up with the high office filled
by Aaron and Moses’ accolades
until, following a series of cri-
ses that included the death of
Miriam, the catastrophe of the
spies, and the punishment of 40
additional years of wandering
he found opportunity to start
his mutiny, hence his reference
to Moses bringing the people to
die in the wilderness.
Korach’s self-serving, manip-
ulative campaign for leadership
is the polar opposite of Moses’
humility. Moses refuses leader-
ship even when offered by God;
Korach demands it even when
no one else thought he was wor-
thy of it. His was truly the quint-
essential dispute that was not for
the sake of heaven but only for
the sake of one man with a trag-
ically exaggerated self-image.
Dr. Howard N. Lupovitch is an
associate professor of history at Wayne
State University and director of WSU’s
Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic
Studies.
TORAH PORTION
Howard
Lupovitch
Parshat
Korach:
Numbers 16:1-
18:32;
I Samuel
11:14-12:22.
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