While the word “insurrection” may trigger fresh emotions for Americans in the wake of January 6, 2021, power struggles are nothing new to human history. One look at today’s headlines reaffirms that this tradition is alive and well: tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv, snap elections in France, gang warfare in Haiti, murdered protesters of a tax hike in Kenya. In the same week that world leaders gathered to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-day, police in Chicago began riot training in anticipation of violence at the Democratic National Convention in August. Everywhere you look, people have an axe to grind, and freedoms seem shakier than ever in countries around the world. It’s as though everyone, aware of all that is at stake in our environment, systems of justice, personal freedoms, classrooms, and bodies, is ready for a revolution, even if we don’t all agree on which one.
Looking to our Torah portion this week, Korach, we are offered a pretty definitive and violent response to insurrection among the Israelites in the desert. When Korach and two sons of Eliab questioned Moses and Aaron’s leadership over the people, God split the ground underneath the dissenters, “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their houses and all of their property. They and their belongings went down into the grave alive and the earth closed over them and they vanished. Then a fire went out from God and it consumed the two hundred and fifty men of Korach’s followers who were offering incense.” Rather than shocking the remaining Israelites into submission, this merely incited more rebellion, such that God sent a plague to subdue the people and ultimately “over fourteen thousand died because of the Korach rebellion.” Yikes. That’s one way to get your point across.
God then chose a more subtle approach to indicate his choice for leadership, asking the chieftains of each tribe to “inscribe a staff,” ultimately causing the staff of Aaron to “sprout with blossoms and almonds.” Um, with all due respect, God… Couldn’t we have started with this? Why begin with the nuclear option?
For a variety of reasons, people respond differently to various kinds of authority. Some people prefer their leaders unwavering and firm, others compassionate and attentive, or even decorative and powerless. Would it be better to have leaders who suppress opposition over leaders who are easily swayed? Idealistic leaders with little experience or jaded leaders with slicked palms? In the inevitable dictatorships around the globe, do we prefer those who advertise their villainy or those with a more subtle touch, who first set out the salt lick and then shoot the deer? Do we trust leaders who claim to be “chosen by God,” or do we prefer leaders who understand that they are as fallible and human as the rest of us? What would it take for us to trust our leadership?
Looking ahead to French elections on Sunday and American elections in the fall, not to mention the call for elections being heard in the streets of Israel, I find myself wishing that we could ask for a flowering staff with almonds, an image of peace and abundance to gently point to the humans divinely chosen for the moments at hand. Do we need to approach the morning paper with a spiked cup of coffee and a binocular chest pack, ready for catastrophe at every moment? Would it be too much to ask for the skies to open and a host of chubby angel babies to tell us which leaders to support?
If and until such a sign is forthcoming, maybe we can look to the other indications the Torah portion provides of the leadership qualities of Aaron and Moses… For example, once confronted with Korach’s rebellion, Moses promptly fell on his face, demonstrating humility and an appeal for divine intervention. When God threatened to destroy the rebels, both Aaron and Moses fell to their faces, asking, “O God, if one man sins, will you be angry with the whole community?” Clearly, the good of the people mattered more to them than their own aggrandizement, whereas Korach seems to be all about self-promotion over the well-being of the whole. While neither Moses nor Aaron was perfect, both were willing to sacrifice their dignity to save the lives of the people. Moreover, Moses dedicated his entire life in service to his people, despite his advanced age and difficulty finding his words at times, looking not for power or glory but for the delivery of his people to the Promised Land. Even after learning that he himself would never enter this land, he continued to lead, offering himself as a fallible but willing public servant. Sounds like a true leader to me…
Shabbat Shalom!
Rebecca Abbate
