Rabbi's Message

In this week’s Torah portion, Korah, Korah and his followers engage in a rebellion, claiming that Moses and Aaron crave status above the Israelites for their own gain. The subsequent demise of Korah and his followers should have taught ordinary Israelites an important lesson. Instead, the very next day, they again take up their rebellion, blaming Moses and Aaron for what happened. Moses and Aaron appeal to God, but their plea falls on deaf ears, and a plague begins to afflict the people.

So, Moses and Aaron take matters into their own hands to avert disaster. Moses tells Aaron to take his fire pan and run to the people to save them with the incense from the expiation ritual. He does so, and lives are saved. While the Israelites tried to overthrow Aaron and Moshe because, in their view, they were in it only for themselves,  Aaron risked everything to save the Israelites. Ultimately, I believe Aaron’s love and dedication ended the horror and restored peace. 

It seems both fitting and instructive that it is Aaron and not Moses who takes the action to save the people. He is not as famous or charismatic as his brother, but these qualities do not make leaders. True dedication to and love for other people calls people to lead, and the ability to take selfless action makes that leadership effective. Anyone can do it. It turns out Korah was sort of right: all Israelites have the potential to be holy. He was wrong in thinking that holiness was about status and not about service to others.

I am thinking about this dedication to and service of others this week, having recently returned from our TBS Solidarity Mission to Israel. I hope you read the daily Facebook posts from our group, which are also posted HERE on the TBS website.  It was an incredibly powerful and important trip to Israel, and I am tremendously grateful and inspired by my 20 fellow travelers from TBS. 

In the last post of the trip, I outlined some of my main takeaways from the trip, which I especially hope you will take the time to read.  Many of them speak of this sense of service and dedication.  When it comes to our brothers and sisters in Israel, there is no us and them; it is WE.  Israelis need us, and we need them, as together we stand up and advocate for one another and offer support in any way that we can.  Today, tomorrow, and in the weeks and months to come, we walk in Aaron’s footsteps and embrace our opportunity and our responsibility to be in service to each other.  Am Yisrael Hai!