Parshat Korach
The main slogan Korach used in order to sway people to his side in his rebellion against Moses and Aaron was encapsulated in this public declaration:
“You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and God is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above God’s assembly?”
Although the thrust of this statement was meant as a populist rallying point for his own personal hidden agenda, many commentators have pointed out that there was of course much truth in these words. When commanding Israel to build a Tabernacle for God, the Torah states in God’s name: “Build for me a Tabernacle and I will dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). Commentators point out that it does not say that God will dwell in its midst, meaning the physical structure of the Tabernacle, rather “in their midst,” in each and every person. Therefore, Korach’s claim that “God is in their midst” is very well taken. That is why his challenge was so formidable.
Further, in relating to the creation of mankind the Torah mentions twice that human beings are created “in the image of God.” There is a discussion in the Talmud wherein different opinions are raised as to the most important verse in the Torah. Ben Azai stated, “This is the book of the generations of Adam – on the day that G-d created man, He made him in His Image” (Genesis 5:1). Another related opinion stated in the Talmud as a reason God created all humanity from one human being is that no one can say to anyone else “my father is better than yours.” In other words, being created in the image of God assumes a certain equality of all human beings.
The Torah additionally states in a number of different ways that all stand equal before the law. For example: “You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show favoritism, and you shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words” (Deuteronomy 16:19); or “You shall not commit a perversion justice; you should not favor the poor and you should not under the great; with righteousness shall you judge your people” (Leviticus 19:15).
It is well known that the founders of the United States were highly influenced by what they referred to as the Old Testament. This can be seen clearly in the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
And further in the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States which reflects these values: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Despite the basis in the Torah for equality, there are likewise many laws and societal structures in the Torah based on hierarchy. Before examining some examples, it is clear that virtually every society establishes some sort of hierarchy. Whether in the family, the workplace, within religion, organizations, institutions, armies and governments, everywhere one turns one finds established hierarchy. In principle, there need be no inherent discrepancy between the principal of full equality and the natural tendency of any organized structure to include hierarchy.
Before the Torah was given on Mount Sinai, Yitro, the father-in-law of Moses, joined the Jewish people. When he saw Moses trying to judge the people by himself he proceeded to give him sound advice that if he tried to judge the people single-handedly, not only would he be worn out by the experience, but the people would as well. He advised him to:
“Choose out of the entire nation men of substance, God fearers, men of truth, who hate monetary gain, and you shall appoint over them [Israel] leaders over thousands, leaders over hundreds, leaders over fifties, and leaders over tens. And they shall judge the people at all times, and it shall be that any major matter they shall bring to you, and they themselves shall judge every minor matter, thereby making it easier for you, and they shall bear [the burden] with you. If you do this thing, and God commands you, you will be able to survive, and also, all this people will come upon their place in peace. Moses obeyed his father in law, and he did all that he said” (Exodus 18:21-24).
God established that the Jewish people would consist of Kohanim, Levi’im and Yisraelim. The Kohanim and Leviim each had certain privileges that Yisraelim did not have, while Yisraelim had advantages that the Kohanim and Leviim did not possess. Provisions are made in the Torah for rulership of a king, tribal princes, the authority of prophets, and a court system to dispense judgment. The Sages also established various protocols and hierarchies in teacher/student relations.
Differences are established in certain cases in Jewish law between men and women, adults and minors and Jews and non-Jews. Although on the surface these differences could appear to lead to inequalities, yet when properly perceived in most cases it is more a function of different but equal.
Having established that the Torah advocates both equality and hierarchy, the challenge in an individual’s life, as well as any community and larger entities of nations, and ultimately, the family of nations, is to find the right balance that ensures equality based on being created in the image of God while at the same time recognizing that everyone is not equal in ability, responsibility, talent or personality.
The positive aspects of seeing everyone as equal are obvious but the concept can be perverted just as much as natural hierarchy can lead to power grabbing, egomaniac expression, insensitive and poor treatment of others, and in extreme cases, cruelty, and various temptations of theft, sexual harassment and worse.
In the classic literary work Animal Farm, a somewhat caustic critique of communism, all are equal, but some are more equal than others. The modern attempt to encourage and at times enforce equality of course has many wonderful aspects. Throughout history many terrible inequalities and injustices arose between races, religions and the sexes. Therefore, attempts to rectify these situations are a very positive development. Nonetheless, in some cases these attempts seem to have gone too far, as for example, the effort to wipe out any difference between males and females. Certainly the two sexes should be treated equally for example in the workplace, in relationships and government, but the attempt to ignore certain innate basic tendencies between men and women is misguided. Although equal, men are, as it is said, from Mars and women from Venus.
As in all matters, finding the golden mean between an essential primordial equality between peoples and the simultaneous recognition of innate differences whether biological, cultural or in the realms of ability and talent is a worthy goal advocated by the Torah.
Although Korach seemed to advocate equality and an abolition of hierarchy in his challenge to Moses and Aaron, his claim was out of jealousy and a hidden agenda to actually replace them. Regarding Korach it could be applied the above statement that in his plan “all are equal but some are more equal than others.” It was for that reason Moses uncharacteristically stood up forcefully to claim his position of leadership as he knew this was the will of God who chose him to lead Israel. As “the most humble person on the face of the earth,” Moses knew that all are equal before God, even when some assume a position of leadership. Because of human nature though it is not easy to remain humble when in a status of authority over others. As the popular saying goes: power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. No matter how much power we have over others we must never lose our basic humanness and feel that status or position gives us rights to oppress, abuse or to lord it over others, whether blatantly or subtly.
This same thinking applies to the concept of Israel being the chosen people. We are chosen for a very unique and honored task – to be a nation of Kohanim and a holy people. This mission can also be misinterpreted as being given permission to look down or consider oneself as somewhat better than others. As discussed above, to be a leader nation entails responsibility as much as privilege. To be a light unto the nations is to show by example our belief that one day all of humanity will live in peace and harmony and to know God “as the waters cover the sea.” It is our task to do all in our power to bring this vision into reality.
