Korach-Torah Portion for 6/12
This week’s Torah portion is about leadership. Korach, a Levite, challenges Moses’ leadership and says to him, “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and the Lord is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the Lord’s congregation?” (Numbers 16:2) We are so used to questioning authority that the question seems perfectly reasonable. But if you’ve been following the story, you know who appointed Moses leader: God. Korach knows this too; he has seen Moses in action. Further, Moses is the most humble of all people. He never wanted to lead the Israelites; he was compelled to by God. All of his service is for the benefit of the community. But why does Korach want to lead? Our rabbis say, for his own sake, because he desired power. This is a good test for our leaders today. Why do they want power, to be of service to others or to gratify their own needs? It is also a good test of our own motivations in our families, our congregation, and in our communities. Let all us all strive to be more like Moses, humble and dedicated to the needs of others, and less like Korach, driven by our own needs and desires.
