Korah Consumed by
Hatred
Shabbat Shalom Kol
Yisrael. It is our pleasure to present this week's Torah Parsha commentary by
Nazarene Yisraelite Rabbi T. (Mordecai) Mitchell, Rabbi and Rosh Zaken of B'nai
Yeshurun Nazarene Yisraelite Synagogue, Kittanning, Pa., and board member of the
Union of Nazarene Yisraelite Congregations. It is our sincere hope and prayer
that these commentaries encourage, inspire, and strengthen the body of Messiah
in Kol Yisrael. This week our Parsha is Korach (Korah -- Bald)
Bemidbar (Numbers) 16:1 to 18:32. Our Haftarah portion is Shemuel Aleph
(I Samuel) 11:14 12:22. Our suggested Brit Chadasha readings are: 2 Timothy
2:8-21; and Yehudah (Judah) 1 25. Please also read Tehillim (Psalms) 120 and
128.
At Sundown this
Shabbat let us remember to sanctify the New Moon Rosh Chodesh Tammuz. Let us
pray for renewal, revival, peace, protection, strength, and all of Yahweh's
blessing for Kol Yisrael. Read Tehillim (Psalms) 81 and 91.
Bemidbar 16:1 And
Qorah* (Korach) son of Yitshar, son of Qehath, son of Levi,
took...
Let's us momentarily
stop here and consider the word ...took...
(* Spelling in ISR
Version)
The word took
give
us a hint at Qorah's personality. In simple terms Qorah was a taker. He was
overcome with the desire to receive for self alone rather than the desire to
share. He put his own interests and ambitions above the best interest of Kol
Yisrael.
This is borne out
by the first word of the Parsha in the Hebrew. The word is Vay-ee-kach (a
rough transliteration) spelled Vuv,
Yod,
Qoph and
Chet in the
Hebrew.
Vay-ee-kach
basically means a taker. Interestingly, in the Interlinear NIV, the word is
rendered Now he became insolent... Of course,
insolent is also synonymous with arrogant.
In this same verse we read that Qorah influenced
initially three men to join him in his rebellion, Dathan and Abiram, and On, all
of the tribe of Reuben. Reuben, we may remember, was camped next to Levi, the
native tribe of Qorah.
In all, Qorah was able to influence 250 men of Israel
to join him. Whether these men were of Reuben or not we cannot say, but
evidentially, some were Levites and no doubt some were Reubenites. This shows us
that we must be very careful of the type of influence we pick up from our
neighbors or close associates. Our negative actions affect others and their
negative actions also affect us if we're not on guard.
Qorah's goal, of course, was to usurp authority and
hold an office he to which he was not entitled. He was a high-ranking and
respected priest, however, this position was not enough for him. It did not
satisfy his ego. With this in mind, we should come to the realization that Qorah
was not rebelling against Mosheh, but against Almighty Yahweh Himself.
Next we should
consider verse 4: And when Mosheh heard, he fell on his
face.
This gives a strong clue as to Mosheh's character.
Instead of becoming angry and filled with self-righteous indignation, Mosheh
falls on his face. By doing this he was examining himself to see if there was
any negativity in him.
Before we can judge others we must first judge
ourselves. Yahshua our Messiah taught this principle in MattithYahu
7:3-5
MattithYahu 7:3 And why do you look at the
splinter in your brother's eye, but do not notice the plank in your own
eye?
If Mosheh, the most spiritual person on earth to that
time, would humble himself in the face of railing accusations, how much more
must we learn to do the same. Mosheh prays to Yahweh, asking Him to show him if
there is some iniquity in his own life that may have been the cause of Qorah's
lashing out. Sometimes, perhaps unknowingly, we may be the cause of a person's
anger or resentment. This of course, was not the case with Mosheh in this
instance. However, the lesson here is that when we are attacked seemingly
without justification, the first thing we must do is a deep self examination
coupled with prayer to Almighty Yahweh asking Him to show us our sins, and to
show us a way to deal with the situation.
We should also consider Bemidbar (Numbers) verses 13
and 14.
13.
Is it little that you have brought us up out of a land
flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you would also
seize rule over us.
14.
Also, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk
and honey, nor have you given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Would you
bore out the eyes of these men? We are not coming up.
What a shocking
statement, to call Mitsrayim (Egypt) a ...land of milk and
honey, when indeed, it was a dark land of bondage and
bitter labor. Apparently, Qorah and his company chose to believe the report of
the evil spies over the good and glowing report of Yehoshua and Kalev. This is
not an uncommon situation today. It was foretold by YeshaYahu the prophet in
YeshaYahu 5:20 that people today would perpetuate the Qorah attitude:
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put
darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet
for bitter.
If we allow ourselves to be overcome with arrogance,
envy, greed, pride and bitterness, and allow our ego to rule over us, then like
Qorah, we will not be able to tell the difference between good and evil, right
and wrong, righteousness and unrighteousness.
Notice in verse 24
that Mosheh is instructed by Yahweh to have the remainder of Yisrael not
involved in this rebellion, to separate themselves from Qorah and his cohorts.
Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Move away from around
the tents of Qorah, Dathan and Abriam.'
When we find ourselves in close situations with
negative, rebellious people, we must distance ourselves. When Qorah and his
company and were finally destroyed, those who had kept their distance were
spared. However, Yahweh's judgment was misunderstood by Yisrael, and now they
picked up where Qorah left off. They too began to murmur against Mosheh and
accuse him of being the cause of Qorah's judgment. Negativity lingers. Negative
people may die, but negative attitudes and negative spirits live on. This shows
us just how powerful negative attitudes can be. The spirit of hate outlives the
hate filled person. Evil may be personified by certain people, but even when
they are removed from the scene, the evil continues.
Have we ever walked into a house or building, or
perhaps a group of people, or been in the presence of one person, and felt
uncomfortable? Of course we all have. The Rabbis teach that the good angel of a
righteous person clashes with the evil angel of an unrighteous person. In modern
parlance, we would say that we have picked up bad vibes
(vibrations).
The fact that Yisrael did not immediately side with
Mosheh (and Yehoshua and Kaleb) indicates that they were in a weak spiritual
state. As a result, they were not able to correctly interpret what had just
happened to Qorah and company.
Interestingly, at this point Yisrael was keeping the
Shabbat and High Days, clean food laws, New Moons, and in general practicing
Yahweh's Torah.
For more than a year now we have been teaching the
difference between religion and spirituality. I hope the following elaboration
on this latter point will suffice.
Yes, Yisrael was keeping Torah, at least on the
surface. We could say they were going through the motions. They were practicing
religion, but their religion was devoid of true spirituality. Their heart was
not in what they were doing.
I said previously that religion is often cold,
dogmatic, judgmental, arrogant, demanding and controlling. Spirituality is none
of these. By following the true spirit of Yahweh's Torah we increase our
spirituality. But how do we make the Torah a spiritual force in our lives?
Certainly one answer is found in Galatians 5:22, 23:
But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustworthiness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no Torah.
It should be evident that if we review the words of
the 10 spies, the words and accusations of Qorah and company, and the words and
actions of Yisrael after the death of Qorah, these fruits were not practiced or
developed but by a few.
As Yisrael lashes out against Mosheh, Yahweh
threatens to destroy them. We must realize that Yahweh does not make idle
threats. His intention was to not destroy Yisrael. He knew that the result of
His words would be that Mosheh would plead for his people, and indeed he did.
How many times do Yahweh's true spiritual leaders, those who have only the best
interest of the people at heart, intercede for us in prayer?
As a plague begins in verse 46, Mosheh instructs
Aharon to offer incense and make atonement for the people. Incense of course is
symbolic of prayers rising to the heavens. It is ironic that Aharon took a fire
holder, the same kind that was held by Qorah and the 250 rebellious men who also
offered incense. This shows that insincere, mechanical prayers, prayers based on
religion rather than spirituality, can bring destruction, as they did to
Qorah. On the other hand, prayers offered in the right spirit bring protection,
redemption and salvation to Yahweh's people. Please do not misunderstand this.
We can read prayers as well as make up our own heartfelt prayers. The Psalms are
prayers, ones that can be recited as petitions or affirmations of faith to
Almighty Yahweh. The Siddur also contains appropriate prayers, that when
understood and used rightly, are quite effectual in expressing our trust and
hope in Yahweh to act on behalf of ourselves and others.
There is one final
consideration to Parsha Qorah. Evidentially, all
the sons (family) of Qorah did not join him in his rebellion. In Tehillim
(Psalms) we read that nine Psalms are Psalms of the sons of Korah. What came
to mind as I considered this was that these surviving descendants were
musicians, those who proclaimed praise to Yahweh through song and music.
Spiritual songs and music can and do have redeeming value. Such praise serves to
banish negativity and invite positive energy good angelic spirits. Certainly
David understood this as he calmed King Saul's evil spirit with
music.
We must never underestimate the power of spiritual
music and song. Spiritual songs, especially lively, joyful singing, must be a
part of every Shabbat, High Day, Rosh Chodesh, and minor festival. We must not
neglect joyful music as part of our worship to Almighty Yahweh, and this
includes the sounding of the Shofar.
Comments or
questions about this week's commentary may be addressed to Rabbi Mitchell by
e-mail at: yoel@windstream.net
There will be no Pal Talk Bible studies this
week. Yahweh willing we will resume studies next week starting Erev Shabbat
(Friday evening) at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and 1 p.m Shabbat Day. Once in
Pal Talk click on Religion and Spirituality, then click on
Other. Look for our room, Bnai Yeshurun.
Congratulations and Yahweh's richest blessings
to our newest "Daughter of the Covenant," April Eddy, on her Bat Mitzveh, June
12.
May Almighty Abba Yahweh bless us all as we seek to
serve Him and learn more of His ways. Amen.
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