Where Do Moses and Aaron Belong?

We are the generation charged with the responsibility of putting the finishing touches on the magnificent Messianic edifice—a world of peace, unity and holiness. Millennia of cumulative good, self-sacrificing dedication to the observance of the Mitzvos have brought this world to the point where it is about to become a “dwelling place for G-d,” a place that G-d finds inviting and hospitable. Our task is now to prepare ourselves and our families and, indeed, the entire world for this glorious time by increasing our own efforts to do more.

Korach’s Rebellion According to the Psalms

This week’s parsha features one more rebellion of the Jewish people that was directed against Moses and Aaron. Korach, Moses’ cousin, claimed that Moses arrogated the role of king for himself and that of High Priest for his brother.

Korach’s rebellion is recounted briefly in the book of Psalms (Psalm 106: 16): “They angered Moses in the camp, Aaron, the holy man of G-d.”

The Chassidic leader Rabbi Naftali of Ropshitz provided a novel interpretation of the foregoing verse which sheds light on the psychology of people who try to overthrow the current system and desire to replace it with their own. No matter what the present leaders do, the rebels will find fault.

Moses, the closest any person ever came to G-d, would spend his time in his “camp,” i.e., his residence. Before the Mishkan (the portable Sanctuary in the desert) was built, Moses’ residence was the Tent of Meeting. It was from that location that G-d’s words to the Jewish people would emerge. Moses who was always “on call” to receive G-d’s message was, more or less, confined either to his home or to the Sanctuary. That was his “camp.”

Why was Moses Always “In the Camp”?

Korach and his cohorts capitalized on this fact and ridiculed Moses for being so sequestered and detached from the community. A leader, they argued, should mingle among the people, be familiar with their needs and problems, and share their grief and joy. In order for the leader to empathize with the people he must live amongst them. Moses, Korach claimed, was aloof and distant.

Moses, whom the Torah testifies was the most humble man on the face of the earth, certainly took this criticism to heart. He therefore delegated his brother Aaron to go out into the community and identify with the people and be their mentor and a shoulder to cry on. Aaron, of course, complied. We thus have the tradition that Aaron was the ultimate peace maker. He would restore peace between husband and wife. Wherever a feud broke out, Aaron was there to make peace. He was—in the words of our Sages in Pirkei Avos—a man who, “Loved peace, pursued peace, loved all the creatures, and brought them close to the Torah.”

Aaron’s Place

Rather than mollifying the rebels, they advanced a contrarian argument: A man of Aaron’s caliber and one who occupied the exalted spiritual position of High Priest should not do anything that might appear undignified. He should not “degrade” himself to be among the masses. Rather, Moses’ critics argued, he should be sequestered in the precincts of the Sanctuary and devote his life to higher spiritual matters. It is unbecoming, they argued, for a man of Aaron’s stature to be anywhere but in Holy and G-dly places.

R. Naftali of Ropshitz thus reinterprets the foregoing verse in Psalms: “They angered Moses in the camp, Aaron, the holy man of G-d.”

“They angered Moses in the camp” means that they angered him with the charge that he was always “in the camp.” They argued against his being isolated and insulated from the people—“in the camp.”

“Aaron the holy one of G-d.” Here too they strongly criticized Aaron, but for precisely the opposite reason. They couldn’t tolerate the fact that he was not confined to his own camp. They argued that Aaron should act like the “holy one of G-d” and that he should be confined to the holiest of places. Aaron should not be allowed to be with the people; he must remain aloof so that he earns the proper respect that his office demands.

The obvious lesson from the above is that jealous and rebellious people do not have to be consistent. No matter what the righteous person will do they will find fault with him or her, even if their arguments against one righteous person is diametrically opposite their complaint about the other.

Korach: A Man of the Future

Korach, our Sages tell us, was no fool. Korach was certainly a very spiritual person who possessed an extraordinary wealth of knowledge and insight. In the literature of Kabbalah and Chassidus we are told that Korach was a visionary who saw things the way they would be in the future Messianic Age. His problem was that he was attempting to prematurely bring about a spiritual revolution that was wrong for his age but right for the future.

From this premise we can conclude that Korach’s arguments were not necessarily frivolous. They were just out of touch with his time and its special needs. His sin was that he did not accept Moses’ leadership and authority. He did not realize that it is Moses, the leader of the generation, who determines its particular needs. Indeed, every generation has its G-d appointed leader whose mission it is not only to inspire, but, most importantly, to tell the members of that generation what is its particular mission, direction and emphasis.

In light of the above, we must conclude that Korach’s arguments had merit, not for his day and age but for the future Messianic Age.

As was mentioned in many of these Torah thoughts, we have been directed by the Rebbe, the Moses of our generation, that we are on the very threshold of the future Redemption and that it behooves us to live our lives in a more refined and uplifting manner, as if that Redemption has already happened.

Kosher Rebellion

Standing as we are on this threshold we may employ some of Korach’s arguments, albeit in a modified way.

Korach was an anti-establishment individual. He attempted to rebel against the status quo. He was a revolutionary. Korach could not tolerate the way the system worked and so wished to force a change, but this very attitude of his was the true source of his downfall since the system has been divinely ordained.

To be sure, the Messianic Age does not give us license to rebel against any aspect of Torah. However there are certain features that have been accepted due to our limited resources which will be refined in the Messianic Age. And it is regarding these aspects of the system that we may cautiously employ some of Korach’s arguments.

As we prepare to enter into the Messianic Era, we too must become “revolutionaries,” in the sense that we cannot maintain the “business-as-usual” mindset. We must radically change—not G-d forbid the teachings of the Torah—but by demanding of ourselves and our leaders that we/they make some drastic changes in our sense of where we belong in terms of our spiritual lives.

We are living in a generation that was charged with the responsibility of putting the finishing touches on the magnificent Messianic edifice—a world of peace, unity and holiness. With thousands of years of cumulative good, selfsacrificing dedication to the observance of the Mitzvos and unparalleled holiness we have brought this world to the point where it is about to become a “dwelling place for G- d”, a place that G-d finds inviting and hospitable. And while evil still exists; it’s existence is not cumulative and penetrating unlike the good. Our task is now to prepare ourselves and our families and, indeed, the entire world for this glorious time by increasing our own efforts to do more.

No Compartmentalization

All of the thousands of years of efforts hinge on our contribution to ensure that these efforts bear fruit. We do not have time to squander. We must exploit every opportunity to make the Geulah happen now.

We cannot therefore remain sequestered in our own camp. We must go out into the world and encourage everyone to add a little bit more goodness and kindness. We must bring the message of Torah permeated with the light and love of Chassidus to everyone. One cannot afford the “luxury” of confining ourselves to the “houses of study” to enhance our own level of learning and spiritual growth. We must leave our “camp” and mingle among all Jews to awaken their knowledge of the Holy tasks awaiting us all.

Conversely, even the community leaders who are already doing a magnificent job in dealing with the day to day problems that confront our communities cannot escape the need to enter into the Holy places, by dedicating time every day for prayer and Torah study. Jewish communal leaders have assisted and continue to heroically assist the community in so many ways, which is, of course, the way it ought to be. We do indeed need more Aaron’s. But the Aarons of the world have to realize that they too have to enter into the “camp” and divorce themselves from their mere quotidian chores and envelop themselves thoroughly with holiness.

In short, the message is that we cannot afford the luxury of compartmentalizing our Jewish responsibilities. The world needs the insular “Moses” personalities to adapt to the extroverted “people’s person Aaron” mode and vice versa. Korach’s argument was certainly out of order then. In our day and age, Korach has a valid point.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Korach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.