In this week’s portion, we read a long chapter that summarizes the census that took place in the Moab plains on the western side of the Jordan River.
By RABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZTomb of the Prophet Samuel, a descendant of Korah(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
In this week’s Torah portion of Pinhas, we read a long chapter that summarizes the census that took place in the Moab plains on the western side of the Jordan River. This census was part of the nation’s preparation for dividing the land among the tribes of Israel. During the census, we find a surprising reference to an event we read about weeks ago: the rebellion of Korah against Moses.The Torah describes the census as the tribes of Israel were divided into households, and when it summarizes the families of the tribe of Reuben, it focuses on two familiar people – Dathan and Abiram, Korah’s partners in the rebellion against Moses:“And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. These are that Dathan and Abiram, the elect of the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the Lord; and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah... and they became a sign.”And then there’s an additional comment we will examine:“Notwithstanding the sons of Korah died not” (Numbers 26: 9 – 11).What is the story with Korah’s sons? When we read Parashat Korah we were given the impression that the entire Korah family was swallowed by the earth. Now, it turns out that impression was mistaken. Korah’s sons did not die.The next time we encounter Korah’s sons will be in the Book of Psalms. It turns out that Korah’s sons were among the poets of the Psalms, and they even served as head poets in the Temple in Jerusalem. Eleven of the psalms were composed by the sons of Korah. Let’s look at some of the verses of these psalms:“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: ‘When shall I come and appear before God?’... Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why moanest thou within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him.For the salvation of His countenance” (Psalms 42: 2-3; 12).“My soul yearneth, yea, even pineth for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy unto the living God... O Lord of hosts, Happy is the man that trusteth in Thee” (ibid 84: 3; 13).
Korah’s sons’ psalms raise questions. These are lofty people experiencing profound religious experiences, connected down to the depths of their souls to what is sacred and to closeness with God. No wonder they merited being among the poets of Psalms.In order to understand their story correctly, we turn to Rashi, the biblical commentator:“At first, they were in their father’s counsel, but at the time of the controversy, they parted, and when all those around them were swallowed up, and the earth opened its mouth, their place was left within the mouth of the earth... There they uttered a song, and there they composed these psalms. Then they ascended from there, and the holy spirit rested on them.” (Rashi on Psalms 42, 1)The sons of Korah, it turns out, were not always such righteous men. At the beginning of the rebellion, they sided with their father against Moses and Aaron. But at a certain point, they stopped and looked at where they were heading. When their father, Korah, was swallowed up by the earth, they descended as well! From the depths of the earth they acknowledged the error in their ways and made the decision to withdraw from the rebellion. At the last minute, they ascended from the earth and stayed alive!Korah’s sons symbolize man’s incredible, God-given ability to rise up from low spiritual situations and embark on a new path that ultimately leads to the Divine Presence.The poets of the Temple, the Torah tells us, were Korah’s descendants. The Prophet Samuel was a descendant of Korah’s as well. Korah’s family was not rejected following the acts of the head of the family, because the right to renounce wrongdoing, rise up and move forward is not dependent on the acts of parents or on the acts of the person him or herself. Irrespective of a person’s situation, he or she is called upon to rise up and move forward in a beneficial and joyful spiritual path. The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites.
