In the Tanakh, one can often tell quite a bit about who people are just by the meaning of their names. Eve comes from the word life, Abraham means father of multitudes, David is beloved. So when you learn that Korach, the titular character in this week’s parasha, means ice, you can already assume that his story will have a chilling end.
When Korach’s story begins, he and a group of other Israelites rise up against Moses. He asks what seems to be a legitimate question-why have Moses and Aaron placed themselves above the rest of the community, when all of them are holy? Moses challenges Korach and company to a kind of ritual duel, during which God appears and promises to annihilate everyone. Moses and Aaron plead on behalf of the community, and God decides to only punish Korach and his followers, and the earth opens up and swallows them.
There’s a lot to unpack here, from trying to understand why Korach’s suggestion was so blasphemous to why God’s punishment was so harsh. Every year, I read this story and find myself deeply bothered by these questions.
This year, though, I found myself focusing on a different part of this story. While Moses isn’t ready to save Korach’s life, he still intercedes on behalf of the community, asking God to limit the punishment to Korach alone. Just as Abraham asked God in the story of Sodom and Gemorrah whether God would “sweep away the righteous with the wicked” (Gen. 18:23), Moses also raises the same question of collective responsibility. “Shall one man sin, and will You be wrathful with all the congregation?” (Num. 6:22) Later in the Tanakh, Ezekiel explains that God only punishes individuals for their own sins, and judges them according to their own acts (Ezek. 18), but here it seems quite clear that not just the icy one, Korach, but all of those around him will be held responsible for his actions.
It seems incredibly cold, especially when we’re told that even the children of Korach’s family suffered his plight. But in the midrash, there’s a beautiful story that explains why we always need to think of the wider impact of one’s person actions. In Leviticus Rabbah 4:6, Rabbi Simeon Bar Yochai looks at Moses’ words and explains it with a story that many of us have hard before. The story is of a ship at sea, where one sailor finds a tool and begins using it to drill underneath his seat. When his shipmates ask what he’s doing, he says it isn’t any of their business, since it was just under his seat. But we all realize that through that hole, the water will come up and flood the ship for all of them. We are all affected by the unwise choices of those around us, and can’t simply assume that any harm that befalls them won’t come to us as well.
When we read Korach’s story, we are reminded that the angry words and actions of one person can, in fact, influence a whole community and bring it harm. And while we can’t fully be responsible for the actions and beliefs of others, we still remember the words of Hillel, “If I am only for myself, what am I?” When we read this story, let’s not get lost, as I so often do, on whether Korach’s point was valid or God’s judgement harsh. Let’s focus, instead, on the beautiful reminder that being in community means a sense of responsibility that could be what it takes to make a story with a much happier ending.
Rabbi Amy Feder serves Congregation Temple Israel and is a Past President of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the d’var Torah for the Jewish Light.
