Aftermath and Healing

The Torah reading of Korach is loud. A serious threat to the leadership of Moses is mounted by a fellow Levite, Korach, and his band of conspirators. With heavy handed rhetoric they incite a significant number of nobles to challenge the exclusivity of Moses' role as leader and the special nature of his brother Aharon as priest. G*d, speaking through Moses, insists that they face off with their fire pans against Aharon in front of the Tent of Meeting. Things do not go well for the rebels and, as Moses foretells, they are swallowed by the earth.

Burning, earthquake, thwarted coup. G*d executes supernatural judgment with a heavy hand.

There is, however, a much quieter miracle with which this story concludes. Moses collects twelve staves, one for each tribe including the Levites and on the Levite staff writes the name of his brother, Aharon. These are left with the Ark of the Covenant within the Tent of Meeting. In the morning only the staff representing Aharon and the Levite tribe burst into almond flowers, the dry wood sprouting like a living tree.

Perhaps the symbolism is not subtle - Aharon is indeed special and Korach’s aborted attempt to supplant him is even further buried. However, the miracle brings deeper significance. Aharon has no special staff other than that of the Levites and while his name is carved into it, the entire tribe is lifted just when such a blow against their reputation has been leveled. At the same time, the fruiting staff is an alternative to the gaping earth, something more fitting with nature. Not just an end of terrifying chaos but even a sign of fertility and fruitfulness.

The end of the Korach story is not perfect and does not make us forget the harshness of both the rebellion and the response. Instead, the flowering of Aharon’s staff is a more realistic image of moving from destruction to the first buds of healing. Korach, as a rabbinic teaching emphasizes, did not make his claim against Moses in good faith (l’shem Shamayim or “for the sake of heaven”) and therefore the actions he undertakes do not endure. The ensuing renewal, however, springs forth from a more fruitful and lasting place

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