Community Magazine July 2016

24 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Korah’s Tragic Mistake Not coincidentally, the law of the red heifer is presented on the heels of one of the great tragedies in the Torah – Korah’s revolt. Korah audaciously led a rebellion against the authority of Moshe and Aharon, questioning their right to leadership and accusing them of pretending to be Gd’s messengers. His revolt resulted in his death as well as the death of many of his followers. The Midrash describes how Korach launched his brazen attack. He and his followers dressed themselves in tallitot made entirely of techelet – the special dye that the Torah requires placing on one string of the tzitzit . (We have since lost the tradition identifying the source of the techelet , so we cannot observe this requirement nowadays.) Korah then askedMoshe whether such a tallit requires tzitzit . Moshe replied that it does, just like an ordinary tallit , whereupon Korah began ridiculing him. If one string of techelet suffices for an entirely white garment, he argued, then why should a garment made entirely of techelet require a techelet string? This does not make any sense. Korah then asked a similar question regarding the obligation of mezuzah , namely, whether abuildingfilledwithTorah scrolls requires a mezuzah . Moshe replied that it does, and Korah then retorted, “If a single piece of parchment suffices for an empty house, why should a house full of Torahs require a mezuzah ?” If the purpose of a mezuzah is to have a piece of Torah by the entrance, then it seems illogical to require this if the house is filled with Torah books. Korah’s fatal mistake was insisting that Torah law must conform to human logic and reasoning. He put the “ na’aseh ” after “ nishma ,” not before; he did not commit himself unconditionally to the divine will, and instead made his understanding a precondition for his acceptance of the mitzvot . The law of the red heifer, the quintessential hok , is the Torah’s response to Korah. It reminds us that although we are urged to learn, study, probe and explore, we will always be left with questions. Our minds are limited, and so we cannot understand everything. Torah commitment requires acknowledging our limitations and subjugating ourselves to Gd’s law even when it defies human logic. This is an especially vital message in today’s “information age,” when we are accustomed to getting answers to all questions on demand, when we expect to know everything about everything. The availability of information has made us cynical and suspicious, and has caused many to assume that we have answers for every question. The mitzvah of parah adumah does not practically apply nowadays when we live in exile without the BetHamikdash , but themessageof this archetypal hok is more vital now than ever. We should find comfort and reassurance in the fact that even King Shlomo was unable to identify the rationale underlying this mitzvah . If he was able to live a committed religious life, to thepointwherehe was endowed with ru’ah hakodesh (prophetic insight), despite not fully understanding all the Torah’s laws, then we, too, can live with unwavering devotion to Torah even when we have unanswered and unanswerable questions. We should follow his example in our own lives, and in educating our children, committing ourselves unquestioningly to every halachic detail, even as we commit ourselves to learn and understand as much as our limited human minds can. Dedicated in memory of the pure neshamot of the Sassoon children