This week’s Torah commentary, written by Hebrew Seminary Professor of Rabbinic Literature Rabbanit Goldie Guy, has been dedicated by Rita Shumsky in memory of Jacob Shumsky; and by Rabbi Jonah Rank in memory of Rabbi Chanan Markowitz.
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How do we cultivate inner strength and resilience amidst the clamor and relentlessness of world events around us?
In a recent class from my teacher and colleague Dr. Naama Sadan, she spoke about resilience as taking control of our attention. After all, where we put our attention shapes our thoughts, which in turn, shape our actions. Finding grounding in the moment can be as simple as naming our experience, identifying what’s going on—so that we are aware of, and not totally reactive to, what is happening around us. We may not be able to control larger forces in the world, but we are able to practice discipline of our minds. We are able to cultivate inner focus, to take a beat and a breath before taking our next action, so that we are acting intentionally. Cultivating this inner focus, strengthening this muscle, can be helpful in creating a personal anchor point amidst the noise.
In this week’s parashah, Korach, we find unlikely role models for this mindful practice of taking a step back before taking action: the sons of Korach. Parashat Korach tells us the story of Korach’s rebellion against Moshe’s leadership. Everyone is holy, says Korach. Why do you and your brother hold all of the power? Korach recruits followers for his uprising, and God intervenes to quash the rebellion and reinforce that Moshe is indeed not a power-grabbing megalomaniac, but a humble leader chosen by God. God intervenes, and the earth opens up and swallows some of the rebels whole, while others are consumed by fire.
Our rabbis and commentators relate a more nuanced version of how Korach’s rebellion ends. In Parashat Pinechas, amidst a census, the Torah summarizes Korach’s rebellion as follows:
וּבְנֵ֣י אֱלִיאָ֔ב נְמוּאֵ֖ל וְדָתָ֣ן וַאֲבִירָ֑ם הֽוּא־דָתָ֨ן וַאֲבִירָ֜ם (קרואי) [קְרִיאֵ֣י] הָעֵדָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִצּ֜וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹן֙ בַּעֲדַת־קֹ֔רַח בְּהַצֹּתָ֖ם עַל־ה׳׃
וַתִּפְתַּ֨ח הָאָ֜רֶץ אֶת־פִּ֗יהָ וַתִּבְלַ֥ע אֹתָ֛ם וְאֶת־קֹ֖רַח בְּמ֣וֹת הָעֵדָ֑ה בַּאֲכֹ֣ל הָאֵ֗שׁ אֵ֣ת חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים וּמָאתַ֙יִם֙ אִ֔ישׁ וַיִּהְי֖וּ לְנֵֽס׃
וּבְנֵי־קֹ֖רַח לֹא־מֵֽתוּ׃
The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, and Dathan and Abiram. These are the same Dathan and Abiram, chosen in the assembly, who agitated against Moses and Aaron as part of Korah’s band when they agitated against God.
The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with Korah—when that band died, when the fire consumed the two hundred and fifty men—and they became an example.
The sons of Korah, however, did not die. (Numbers 26:9-11. English adapted from New Jewish Publication Society Translation.)
How did the sons of Korach survive the deadly end of Korach’s rebellion?
Responding to Numbers 26:11, Rashi (c. 1028-1105) expanded on a teaching in the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 110a, explaining:
ובני קרח לא מתו. הֵם הָיוּ בָעֵצָה תְּחִלָּה, וּבִשְׁעַת הַמַּחֲלֹקֶת הִרְהֲרוּ תְשׁוּבָה בְלִבָּם, לְפִיכָךְ נִתְבַּצֵּר לָהֶם מָקוֹם גָּבוֹהַ בַּגֵיהִנּוֹם וְיָשְׁבוּ שָׁם:
“But the sons of Korach did not die.” They were in the plot originally, but at the moment when the rebellion broke out they had thoughts of repentance in their hearts; therefore, a high spot was fenced round for them in Gehinnom, and they stayed there. (English translation adapted from M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann.)
Elsewhere in the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 74a describes the sage Rabbah bar bar Channah reporting two faults in the earth with smoke rising from them. When listening in, one can hear the voices of the sons of Korach saying, “מֹשֶׁה וְתוֹרָתוֹ אֱמֶת” (“Moshe and his Torah are true!”).
In these two texts, Rashi and Rabbah bar bar Channah suggest that Korach’s sons performed teshuvah (תְּשׁוּבָה, “repentance”). Though they were initially part of the rebellion against Moshe’s leadership, they changed their minds. The sons of Korach did not allow themselves to get swept up in the noise of their father’s rebellion to the very end. And, though they were condemned to a fate of being stuck in “a high spot of Gehinnom”—where they were left to sing of the truth Moshe carried—their lives were saved.
The sons of Korach become unlikely role models integrated into our text tradition and into our liturgy. The Book of Psalms includes 11 chapters attributed or dedicated to Korach’s sons, one of which (Psalm 47) is recited by Jews around the world during Rosh Hashanah.
The sons of Korach remind us that in challenging times, it can be easy to get swept away by the loudest voices—but if we can take a step back and introspect, we have the opportunity to realign ourselves with our personal values.
We are all living through tumultuous times. And when we find ourselves in challenging circumstances, to keep afloat, to keep going, we must actively cultivate resilience. Personally, I find myself actively seeking action or wisdom within which to ground myself. Drawing from the proto-Kabbalistic text Sefer Yetzirah (“Book of Creation,” first composed likely between the 3rd and 6th centuries C.E., with additions inserted at later dates)—Dr. Sadan recently offered a teaching I found helpful for framing my current experience of the world. In Sefer Yetzirah 1:4, we read:
והשב יוצר
על מכונוreturn the Creator
to Their Dwelling Place. (Translation from Rabbi Dr. Jill Hammer’s Return to the Place: The Magic, Meditation, and Mystery of Sefer Yetzirah.)
This phrase is enigmatic in a number of ways, but I want to focus on a particular question Sadan has raised. If “the Creator” here refers to a Divine being, a Creator of the Universe, then why must the Divine being be “returned”? Did God get “lost” or “thrown off balance?” How is that possible? Sadan explains that this is exactly the implication of the above quote, that there are times when the Divine Creator is not in “Their Dwelling Place.” There are times when God wanders; there are times when God is displaced.
This displacement, Sadan explains, is a normal part of existence. And just as it is a normal part of God’s existence, so too, it is a normal part of our existence on Earth as well. Life has ups and downs; existing can be turbulent. Often when we experience tough times, we ask: Why me? Why now? Introspection is important, and getting clear on how and why we make the choices we make is as well. But this teaching reinforces for us: the bigger tribulations are part of the cycle, a normal part of life. They are not indicative of a personal failure; they just are. When there is turbulence due to factors beyond what we control, the question changes. We cannot fix the bigger tumult with introspection and inner work, but we can choose how we personally respond, internally and externally to what is going on around us.
We can choose to follow the constant stream of information and opinions, overwhelming and exhausting our senses and systems. Or, we can choose to find resilience in taking control of our attention and focus. What we feed our minds and souls amidst the noise.
We can learn from the sons of Korach. There may be rebellion and upheaval around us, but that mustn’t dictate our choices. We retain our power; we retain our choice to remember: this isn’t the first time, this isn’t about us, and we can choose to anchor ourselves and not get swept away—or swallowed by the earth.
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