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Parshat Korach
2005
One Man's Moshe is the Next Man's Korach
Any dispute which is for the sake of Heaven will last, and that which is not for the sake of Heaven will not last.
What is [an example of] a dispute for the sake of Heaven? The dispute between Hillel and Shammai.
What is [an example of] one that is not for the sake of Heaven? This is the dispute of Korach and his group.
-Pirkei Avot 5:17
Korach, the villain of this week's Parsha, challenged Moshe's leadership and is immortalized by the above-quoted Mishna as the archetypal slick politician, using a political agenda not because he is moved by conviction, but for self-advancement and aggrandizement. He is contrasted with Hillel, from whom our organization draws its name. Contrasting Korach and Hillel can instruct us how to engage fellow Jews who do not necessarily share our own views.
Reading the Torah's narrative (Numbers 16), however, leaves one wondering exactly what Korach's platform was, and what exactly was wrong with it. Numerous commentaries and homilists rush to fill in the missing details of the story, to describe Korach's flaws and faults, and to delineate exactly where he fatally differed from Moshe.
When reviewing some explanations of this dispute, a pattern began to emerge: Commentators use this debate to support their own worldviews. Traditional and non-traditional speakers adopt Moshe or Korach as their hero or villain, as the case may be. I have been surprised, but not shocked, to hear the respective ideologies of Korach and Moshe almost completely reversed depending on who gave the D'var Torah!
The Mishnah's critique of Korach, however, has nothing to do with his particular platform, as much as with his character and sense of conviction. In other words, it's not what he said but why he said it. One gets the sense from the Mishnah that Korach's flaw was in his exploitation of what may have been a sincere critique for his own purposes.
Given the difficulty and danger of trying to gauge whether one's opponent is acting "for the sake of Heaven," it would seem very presumptuous to identify any person, group, or ideology with "Korach's band." There's much to be gained from studying the parsha, but without trying to determine who on the contemporary Jewish scene gets to play the part of Korach.
Fortunately, the Mishnah provided us with an alternative paradigm for dispute - Hillel and Shammai - to teach us that it is possible to engage in disputes, arguments, and battles of conviction while affirming the sincerity of one's opponent.
Prepared by Rabbi Elli Fischer, Jewish Learning Initiative Educator, University of Maryland, College Park
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Korach at MyJewishLearning.com.
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