korach

parashat korach, numbers chapters 16—18

So what’s the difference here? Motive. Yitro comes from a place of spirit, a place of truth, a holy motivation. He’s Moshe’s father-in-law, a highly respected man, the High Priest of Midian, a spiritual man who, when he sees what the God of Israel has done, converts. His advice comes from a fatherly concern. There’s nothing in it for him. His goal is not to diminish Moshe in any way but rather to suggest that Moshe get some assistance. Not every case needs to go before the Supreme Court. Lesser judges can take on the smaller cases. It’s a good suggestion, and Moshe takes his advice.

Who is this guy, Korach? He’s a bigshot. He’s Moshe’s first cousin. He’s one of the four bearers of the ark, exceedingly wealthy, intelligent, and a highly respected leader. But Korach’s motivation comes from a place of base ego, a desire for self-aggrandizement and desire for ultimate power. His high position isn’t enough for him; he wants more. He doesn’t want to assist Moshe; he wants to dethrone him. He claims that Moshe and Aharon have no right to take the leadership of the nation upon themselves, and he makes his case by twisting the truth and by telling outright lies. He’s a politician. He presents himself as a man of the people, claims that his intention is to fight for their rights, but his only goal is to elevate himself—to be a demagogue, to be served rather than to serve.

Like all evil men who try to seize power for themselves, Korach began with a truth and, because he spoke a truth, he got the attention of a large group of people. He pointed out that God said the whole nation was holy and that God is in their midst. And then began his manipulation. If it’s true that all of them are holy, what right did Moshe have to assume leadership and give the position of high priest to his brother?

It’s human nature to assume that other people think and feel the same way you do, and for better or worse, that’s often a mistake. Because he was coming from a place of jealousy and ego, Korach assumed that Moshe claimed leadership out of his own egotistical desires. It was easy for him to convince a large group of people that this was so.

Timing is everything. The atmosphere of the camp was ripe for sowing dissent. Korach’s rebellion came right on the heels of the incident of the spies. The people had just been told that they would not live to see the promised land, and they were not happy, to say the least. Aside from this latest blow, various groups had already been harboring complaints against Moshe, Aharon, and God. They were angry for different reasons and they wanted different things, but they were united in blaming the people in charge for all their woes. They were just itching for someone to rally behind, someone who would make everything right and give them what they thought they deserved. And along came Korach, who promised them everything they wanted.

People are so easily misled. All it takes is someone with a loud mouth to articulate what others have been muttering about. Someone to agree that they’re somehow being cheated and to promise them the moon, to convince them to jump on the band wagon with the bad guy. History bears this truth over and over.

Moshe responds with truth and with reason. But truth and reason don’t give them what they want.

And then Korach, the megalomaniac, comes out with a slogan, an ugly twist of words. (There always has to be a slogan to grab onto.) Moshe has told them that he’s taking them to a land of milk and honey, as promised by God. Korach claims that Moshe took them out of a land of milk and honey. He convinces them that it would be better for them to go backwards than to go forward.

Egypt as a land of milk and honey??!!! It’s unfathomable. Surely the people can’t believe that. They were there! They were slaves! They experienced it for themselves! And yet, they believe. Once they decided to back Korach, they were hooked. It didn’t matter that all of Korach’s lies could easily be debunked, that the statements he made could be easily refuted with logic. They were given an outlet for their frustrations and disappointments, and they were not going to give that up.

Even a miracle from God, taking place right before their eyes, couldn’t shake them from their stance. The earth opened up and swallowed Korach and his henchmen, and a fire consumed the 250 men who listened to Korach and showed up with their incense pans. And how did the people respond? They blamed Moshe for killing them! As if Moshe had the power to cause the earth to open!

God was ready to wipe them all out at this point, and still, Moshe and Aharon stood up for them and atoned for them.

The matter of who has a right to the position of high priest was finally put to rest when the leader of each tribe brought a rod to the tent of meeting. In the morning, all the rods, except for one, remained as they were—a dead stick. Only Aharon’s rod came to life, sprouting green branches and ripe almonds.

May we be the generation that at last sees Korach for who he is.

So, what shall we eat?

As we know from our parasha, almonds grow in Israel and throughout the Middle East. But they also grow in many other places around the globe. Italy is one of the largest producers of almonds in the world. That’s reason enough for me to make an Italian-inspired dinner for this Shabbat … or at least it’s as good an excuse as any. After all, who doesn’t love Italian food?

With all this talk about us being a holy nation, I’m going to appeal to our higher selves and go vegetarian all the way.

I’ll make my Golden Shabbat Challah, but I’m going to alter it a bit to suit the menu.

Here’s how to make Garlic Bread Challah: Cut the sugar in the standard recipe to ½ cup. Reduce the oil by 2 tablespoons. Peel and finely chop an entire bulb of garlic. In a small skillet, sauté the garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium/low heat. You want to flavor the butter and soften the garlic, but you don’t want the garlic to brown. When the sautéed garlic has cooled somewhat, pour the contents of the pan into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients for the challah. Be sure to get all the butter from the pan. Then, continue the recipe as written, kneading, rising, etc.

We’re going to start the meal with almonds and finish it with almonds. I think you’ll love this creamy Roasted Cauliflower Almond Soup. Dessert will be a classic Sicilian almond cake, as taught to me by the mother of a friend, many years ago. It’s a perfect finish to the evening.

Now that we’ve got the beginning and the end sorted, let’s talk about what comes in between. Tender homemade manicotti is one of my favorite things. It’s not complicated but it does take a little time to accomplish, so I’m going to make it the day before and only bake it when I’m ready to serve it.

One of the great things about the invention of plant-based “meat” is that you can include it in a dairy meal and still stay within the parameters of kosher eating. Italian sausage and peppers will go beautifully with the manicotti, and it’s quick to make. I’ll add a side of fresh string beans with buttery toasted breadcrumbs and a hint of garlic. Again, fast and easy. (Drop string beans into rapidly boiling water. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking further. Melt some butter in a skillet, toss in some fresh breadcrumbs and minced garlic, and stir them together. Add the blanched string beans and a dash of salt to the pan, and continue to sauté until the crumbs are toasty and golden.)

And that’s dinner!

Menu for Parasha Korach

Garlic bread challah—a riff on golden shabbat challah

roasted cauliflower and almond soup

Authentic homemade manicotti

italian sausage and peppers

fresh string beans with buttered crumbs

sicilian almond cake

shabbat shalom!

The last Lubavitcher Rebbe explained (and I paraphrase) that the sin of the spies began with an error in attitude. To them, the desert was heaven. Everything was handed to them—free food, free laundry service, clouds of glory to protect them—with all their needs taken care of, they had the space to devote all their time to Torah study. They saw that to enter Canaan was to leave paradise. They’d first have to fight against big scary guys, just for the privilege of having to work the land and take care of their own needs. They realized that they’d have to live Torah, not just study Torah. They didn’t really want to enter the land, and so they found an excuse to stay where they were and convinced the nation to side with them.