July 5th: Korach
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
“The lunatics have taken over the asylum.”
With all due respects to the mentally ill and those who care for them, I find the above expression fascinating. According to Wikipedia, it originated in a 1919 remark by Richard A. Rowland about the founding of United Artists—perhaps as an allusion to the 1845 Edgar Allan Poe short story, The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.
Whatever its origin, it has been used in a variety of contexts and generally expresses the view that those in charge have no idea what they are doing—that those who should be managed have somehow pushed out those in rightful authority and established themselves as managers.
In some ways, this is a highly ironic statement—inasmuch as most people in charge will, upon sober reflection, realize they too have no idea what they are doing. We may have training, experience, and insights, but we are all “works in progress” and often find that we must “fly by the seat of our pants.” While phrases like “fake it till you make it” are unsettling, the fact is that most of us recalibrate, reevaluate, and rethink our habitual patterns on a regular basis. Reality has a way of changing in unexpected ways, and we are often left to our best guesses.
That being said, there are some people whose training, experience, and wisdom give us more confidence in their abilities to be in charge. We would rather put our lives—or HVAC systems or transmissions or government—in their hands. They are the ones we prefer to trust.
Thus do we arrive at the essential questions of Parshat Korach. Who should be our leader, and who/Who gets to decide? Whether or not Moses is the best leader possible or always makes the right call is at a certain level irrelevant. He is doing a pretty good job, and God seems generally pleased with him. Whatever problems there may be (and what leader does not encounter difficulties?), are generally beyond his control. The people’s craving for the foods of Egypt, for instance, or their fear of advancing into the Promised Land seem to be out of Moses’ control. So, when Korach challenges Moses and offers himself as a replacement—“You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and the Lord is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the Lord’s congregation?!” (Number 16.3), is it a serious attempt at democracy and improvement, or is it a duplicitous power-grab? Does the system need changing? Should the Israelites get to decide for themselves? Should the “lunatics” be in charge?
The problem with reading Korach’s story is that we believe in democracy. Despite the relative ignorance with which many voters go to the polls and the less than stellar results many elections elect, we believe in the people’s right to self-government. In fact, when we are offered various theocratic options, most of us recoil. We may believe in God and seek God’s Presence in our lives, but we want to make social and governmental decisions ourselves.
There is another reason Korach may sound reasonable. Sometimes, the “lunatics”—that is, the people being led, managed, treated, or taught—have valuable insights that those in charge should hear. Health care professionals are taught to listen carefully to what their patients have to say. Teachers are urged to pay attention to the way their students react and process information. Management systems such as W. Edwards Deming’s Total Quality Management insist that those on all levels of the hierarchy be incorporated into decision-making. And, of course, democracies have frequent elections—opportunities for the governed to communicate to those who govern.
So, when someone demands more democracy, our tendency is to favor their thinking. The problem, however, is that the unscrupulous can manipulate our feelings of fairness to gain authority and then do some very undemocratic things. History is full of such catastrophes.
And then, there is God. As I mentioned above, most of us resist the idea of theocracy, but not necessarily because of Who is at the top (God!). We worry because those who claim to speak for God may or may not be godly: they may or may not be doing God’s Will on earth. How many times, in Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish history, have we seen those who purport to speak for God pursue profound ungodliness? As wonderful as God’s Presence can be—enlightening, inspiring, and guiding us, it can also be an intoxicant that makes people think that their own thoughts are God’s. As Rabbi Lawrence Kushner counsels, we need to separate our egos from the voice of God. Or, as he imagines the Deity reminding us, “I’m God, and you’re not.” Let us beware Yetzer HaRa / the Evil Inclination taking over. Let us remember that it is God’s influence that should enter our thinking—rather than foisting our selfishness or evil or ignorance onto God.
There are so many levels to the Korach story. There is the question of democracy: who gets to decide on leadership? There is the question of sincerity and truth: is Korach to be trusted, and is Moses behaving in a trustworthy manner? There is the question of earthly authority: who decides how God’s instructions are to be interpreted and followed? And how do we derive guidance from ancient, time-bound, and culture-bound words? We seek God’s influence and inspiration, but it takes some serious wisdom and understanding.
According to the Rabbis, a take-over by Korach would be disastrous. Dominated by ego and selfishness, his communication of God’s Will would be slanted to his own power and self-aggrandizement. Moses, on the other hand, is “a very humble man, moreso than any other man on earth.” (Numbers 12.3) He is a clear channel for God’s Will, one unimpeded by human ego. Perhaps this is why God comes down so strongly for Moses and against Korach. “The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up…all Korach’s people and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol, with all that belonged to them; the earth closed over them and they vanished from the congregation.” (Numbers 16.31-33) God seems pretty clear on this—which leaves the reader searching for flaws in Korach’s case. God sees through him. Can we learn to see through the rhetoric of those who seek to lead us?
Perhaps a lesson we can take from this disturbing story is that the lunatics are probably not best suited to run the asylum. That being said, they may not be completely without wisdom, and those in authority should consider what the patients, students, employees, and citizens have to say. Wisdom can come from many places, and humility and open-mindedness are hallmarks of good leadership.