JULY 4 • 2024 | 35
J
N
Becoming Holy
W
here did Korach
err in his rebellion
against Moses and
Aaron? On the surface, his argu-
ment appears to be logical and
just: “You [Moses and Aaron]
have gone too far. The entire
congregation is holy, and God is
in their midst. So why do
you raise yourselves above
God’s assembly?” Indeed,
did not the Torah com-
mand the nation, “You
shall be holy” (Lev. 19:2)?
According to Korach, if,
in fact, everyone is equally
holy, leadership becomes
a mere function of oppor-
tunity. The era of the old
guard rule (Moses’ fami-
ly) must come to an end;
Korach’s family must be
given its chance to express
its inherent holiness.
If Korach had been
raised in the palace of
the pharaohs, and if he had had
the opportunity as a free man of
princely background to slay the
Egyptian taskmasters, God would
have spoken to him as well. After
all, we are all holy.
In reality, however, Korach
and Moses represent different
philosophies of life. At Mount
Sinai, God did not declare every-
one to be holy. Rather, He placed
into the world the possibility of
achieving holiness. “You shall be
holy” is a command, not a prom-
ise or a declaration of a fact. It
represents a potential, attainable
by means of the commitment to
the 613 commandments.
When Korach argues that
everyone is holy, he is, in fact,
uprooting holiness, not defending
it. By arguing for holiness in the
way that he does, Korach actually
argues against holiness. In his
view, we need not strive to achieve
holiness. We are already holy.
Korach misses the point.
Moses teaches that the human
being must constantly strive to
improve, to become more holy
than he was before. Humans
must never dare rest on their lau-
rels because evil is always lying in
wait to ensnare. Never be com-
placent. There is never sufficient
holiness; we must always
strive for more.
In contrast, Korach
maintains that the status
quo is holy because noth-
ing need change, grow or
develop. Korach rejects
the command to become
holy because he is cynically
scornful of one’s ability
to grow, develop, change
and inspire. This mistaken
worldview is the core flaw
of Korach’s rebellion.
Moses’ approach is
fundamentally different.
When Moses announces
to the rebels the means by
which God will determine who
is holy to Him, he orders Korach
and his men bring fire in the fire
pans and offer incense.
Fire symbolizes the possibility
of change. By means of extreme
heat, the hardest materials can be
transformed from solid to liquid
and to many states in between.
Likewise, incense improves its
surroundings: The sweet-smelling
fragrance can transform the car-
casses of the animal sacrifices into
an experience of commitment to
God that can perfect the world.
Moses’ vision is of optimistic
faith; the rising flames that draw
forth the fragrance of the incense
and soar heavenward. Material
objects, humanity, the very world
can be changed, elevated and
sanctified. All that is required
is our merit, commitment and
achievement.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor of Ohr
Torah Stone and chief rabbi of Efrat, Israel.
SPIRIT
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi
Shlomo
Riskin
Parshat
Korach:
Numbers
16:1-18:32;
Numbers
28:9-15;
Isaiah 66:1-
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