If What Wasn鈥檛 Is; Those Who Were Are Not
Jun 19, 2015 By Joel Alter | Commentary | Korah
A Distillation of Numbers 16:28-34
By this you will know
that all I have done
I have not done
of my own devising
but at God鈥檚 bidding:
Thoughtfulness and Lovingkindness in the Face of Violence
Jun 5, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Korah
This week鈥檚 Torah portion, Parashat Korah, is notorious for the infamous uprising against Moses.
Read More
The True Sin of Korah
Jun 23, 2012 By Samuel Barth | Commentary | Korah
“Now Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, betook himself . . . ” These are the opening words of our parashah from Etz Hayim, the humash of the Conservative Movement, which uses a translation that generally avoids archaic English vocabulary and style. So, we should be puzzled that this translation employs a word that is certainly not a part of common usage. Why not simply say, “Now Korah took“?
Read More
The Suffering of Loss
Jun 20, 2014 By Shira D. Epstein | Commentary | Korah
We have grown accustomed to an incessant newsfeed scrolling of horrific natural-disaster footage.
Read More
Where Does Holiness Come From?
Jun 5, 2013 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Commentary | Korah
Parashat Korah can be challenging for a modern Jew. There is a good guy in this parashah鈥攊t鈥檚 Moses鈥攁nd there is a bad guy鈥擪orah. Modern readers, however, often find themselves sympathizing with the bad guy.
Read More
Dissent Is Not a Dirty Word
Jun 19, 2015 By Michal Raucher | Commentary | Korah
Sometimes leaders are wrong, and sometimes those who are meant to protect us actually hurt us. This basic fact is something we all know because we learned it in 1920s Germany with the rise of the Nazi party, in early 20th-century America with the implementation of the Jim Crow laws, and in Fidel Castro鈥檚 Cuba. For some reason, though, we have a difficult time acknowledging injustice and fighting against it, even when we see its effects. I think this is because we rely so heavily on our laws, our government, and on those who protect us that to admit they might be misguided or inflicting pain is to take some responsibility for reform.
Read More
Sympathy for Korah
Jun 25, 2011 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Korah
I have a great deal of sympathy for Korah and his rebel faction, despite the fact that they made life difficult for Moses, Aaron, and God.
Read More
