Parshat Korach Numbers 16:1–18:32
The name of the Parshah, “Korach,” refers to Korach, head of the rebellion against Moses and Aaron, and begins with Numbers 16:1. Korach incites a mutiny challenging Moses’ leadership and the granting of the kehunah (priesthood) to Aaron. Korach is accompanied by Moses’ inveterate foes, Dathan and Abiram. You may recall the stunning performance of Dathan in the epic film The Ten Commandments, played – somewhat surprisingly – by Edward G. Robinson, whose given name was Emanuel Goldenberg.
But let us return to Korach. Joining him are 250 distinguished members of the community, who offer ketoret (incense) to prove their worthiness for the priesthood.
The earth opens up and swallows the mutineers, and a fire consumes the ketoret-offerers. According to a midrash, every object they ever touched rolled into the hole along with them to be buried for eternity.
Cancel Culture?
Complete erasure. A punishment we reserve for the worst of the worst. In Judaism, the phrase “May his name be erased” Yimakh Shemo (יִמַּח שְׁמוֹ) is a curse used to express extreme condemnation for those who’ve have caused great harm to the Jewish people or have committed particularly heinous acts. A more emphatic version is Yimakh Shemo V’Zikhro (יִמַּח שְׁמוֹ וְזִכְרוֹ), which means “May his name and memory be erased.” We apply this to Haman. We apply this to the Amalekites* who attacked the Israelites from the rear, where the most vulnerable among us were protected from a frontal attack.
In Yiddish, my grandparents said this of Hitler. Yimakh shmoy zol er vern! May his name be erased!
The idea of blotting out someone’s name derives from Psalm 109 verse 13. “May his end be to be cut off; in another generation may their name be blotted out.”
So, in the case of Korach the earth, at the behest of the Holy One, swallows him, his band of mischief makers, and everything they ever touched.
Gone But Not Forgotten
But if we are so keen on his erasure, why does our parshah eternally bear his name? Why do we give him 184 lines in a Torah just to say he should never have existed? Why do 9 Psalms carry the headline מַשְׂכִּיל לִבְנֵי-קֹרַח. Maskil livnay Korach- “a teaching of the sons of Korach.”**
This is all to say: why do we blot him AND prominently preserve his name, Amalek’s name, Haman’s name in the Tanakh?! It could be a grudge. We detest him so much we can’t stop thinking about him and we’re letting him “talk” through the text.
Have you ever had someone who hurt you in some way, whom you cannot have in your life, yet the shadow of their deeds life persist? The knowledge of that harm may never be fully erased from our hearts, just as Korach is not. We may even blot out the name from our vocabulary, never mention them again. The Torah isn’t schooling us to “forgive and forget.” The Torah here teaches an inverse lesson: of course we hope to move on from these hurts, BUT WE DON’T NEED TO MAKE THEM THE HEALDLINES OF OUR LIVES.
Consider the meta-teaching here: Notice that Korach is but one of 54 parshayot – .02% of our story. His name is on 11 out of 150 psalms, just .7% . His whole story Torah is but .03% of our vast journey from Bereshit (Genesis) to Devarim (Deuteronomy).
Turns out the big drama here is a drop in the bucket of our human experience.
What’s Your Headline?
Like all parshayot this one asks us a very personal question: what headlines of others’ past wrongs are we holding within ourselves?
In 1999, my ex-husband left me for my friend. My husband Karl and I weren’t able to have kids. Jimmy H. hurt my feelings during recess in the 3rd grade. The question is: are these persistent, above the fold, bold headlines?
With time and inner work, and the support of many editors, they’re not headings. They’re memories.
They remain in the archives, but they need not – says the contrary parshah Korach – they need not define who we are. Our individual stories are vast, so calibrating the relative importance of these hurts may move some of them off our front pages.
You’re a Mensch!
I bless you a hundred-fold to write headlines for yourself, and may they be the ones that reflect who you truly are: a mensch working on peace, a mensch working on healing, a mensch working to love, and a mensch filled kindness.
*In Exodus 17:8-16, the Amalekites attacked the Israelites shortly after their Exodus from Egypt, creating a transgenerational enmity. The God commanded Israel to eventually “blot out the remembrance of Amalek”.
** The Sons of Korach are credited with writing 11 Psalms: 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87, and 88.
Psalm 42 is a treasure! Check out Rabbi Aryeh Hirschfield’s beautiful melody (you listen to it for free): https://rebaryeh.bandcamp.com/album/wings-of-peace-as-the-deer-yearns
And Simon de Voil’s version is astounding and calming: https://bit.ly/46ktYHG
