Parashas Korach
From Gifts alongside Gerim
Rabbi David Katz
Parahas Korach follows the Ger in Torah template to perfection,
for the Parsha doesn’t only echo, but practically cries out its roots well into
the Oral Torah. Where one person may see the story of Korach’s rebellion and
baseless argumentation [machlokes – not in the sake of heaven; influence seen
as Amalek in behavior, the evil Nation that is promised to be wiped out in the
End of Days], the true beauty of the Parsha is the wealth of Oral Torah
tradition in the peripheral of the Parsha, such that it is largely triggered by
Torah of the Ger – at root level.
Amidst the rebellion we are calmly confronted
with new concepts such as, Priestly Gifts, possessions, inheritance, Land by
Tribes, etc. such that from a few verses in the Parsha, triggers practically
all of the Oral component called “Bava” [Tractate “damages”], and when seen
from the Ger perspective [which is also rooted deep in the valleys of “Bava”;
see Tosfos 111b and the Ger Tzedek], a whole new dimension to Oral Torah
learning is illuminated before the eyes of the beholder. Just one tweak of recognizing
the Ger in Parashas Korach, and Bava Metzia [and all of Bava; - Kama, Metzia,
Basra (first, middle, and last gates)] all of a sudden becomes Parashas Korach in
Technicolor, due to the precept – “the Torah is written in the language of the
Ger.” [Zohar]
Upon first glance through the Parsha, one may be hard
pressed to spot the Ger in the text, and the obvious option to resort to would
be to make a Priestly connection, predicated on the dictum, “a Ger who learns
Torah is compared to a High Priest.” Although this is correct, and will yield
significant bounty, an undertone that registers throughout the Parsha is a
topic/character that we will become quite familiar with over the next few
weeks, one who is Messianic in nature and highly symbolic of Gerim in Torah
[history]; this is none other than Pinchas the Priest, son of Aaron. It should
send off bells and whistles just mentioning Aaron in context with Parashas
Korach, pegged alongside the entire Priestly debate, and the table is set for a
plunge into the deeper side of the Parsha.
Pinchas, who is a grandson of Aaron [who kicks the door in
to become a Priest, as he was not grandfathered in as for having been born as a
grandson at the time of Sinai, i.e. not a son of Aaron], highlights nearly all
of the Bava [Talmudic] discussions in the Parsha, such as inheritance,
possession, priestly gifts, Priests and “their Land” [which is traditionally
not given to the tribe of Levi, as the Parsha specifically points out] etc.,
yet what separates Pinchas from the traditional Priestly lot, is not the possessions
themselves, but how he came to possess in the first place!
If we think back to last week’s Parsha [which a theme of
Bamidbar is the wonderful flow amongst its Parshiot in these matters; a true
story immerges, reminiscent of Bereishit] and recall Joshua and Caleb, who had
a different spirit than the rest of the spies, it is seen that they were
successful in the Land largely, if not entirely, because they each embraced the
Ger. Caleb was seen connecting to the Ger Tzedek in the Avot, while Joshua was
mysteriously buried in Jericho which would become synonymous with him in his
Torah legacy. It was there that the spies Pinchas and Caleb [ring a bell?] met
up with a family of Righteous Gerim [and these two spies were sent by none
other than Joshua], headed by the inn-keeper Rachav, who would later become
Joshua’s wife, to which most never offer a second glance with the ramifications
of such a union. This raises issue as to who was Rachav, what was her exact relationship
with Joshua, and where/how/why/where/when does Pinchas fit into this [apparent
and odd] love triangle.
The Talmud Megilah states that Joshua married Rachav, and it
is clear that their relationship on some level began as a product of Joshua’s
conquering Israel through Jericho as a “buchor” [a young Torah scholar, to
which the Torah testifies to this distinction, as a student of Moses], through
his efforts of dropping the bow and arrow bit, and fighting through Love and
Peace as a Ger enthusiast, realizing that the World truly was desperate to hear
about the Truth of God. This is a hint of what we learn from the Torah, in that
vessels of war will become extinct in the End of Days [a time when most people
would think that we need them the most!], and that there is an alternative
method of perspective of the ancient Jewish warrior; from being a “quasi neo
ninja” to a true Man of War [as King David], which the Kabbalah learns as being
effective in the Oral Torah and prayer.
These concepts are easily seen as [in relation to the] Ger
in every way, and as they are acute Ger attributes/components, one can easily
see why David said, “I am a Ger.” An original template can be seen through
Joshua, who was the elected one to carry the essence of Torah into Israel, as
the buchor who most understood Moses’ final message [and essential philosophy
and naturally Kabbalistic message of Torah] as the departing King of Jushuron
[Israel]. [Joshua and Caleb were both said to have reached the spiritual and
righteous level called “Kruvim” (Angelic); similar to the Kruvim who are
stationed to guard the way of the Tree of Life by their fiery swords. Thus they
were operating on a Tree of Life distinction as opposed to the Korach driven
Tree of Knowledge.]
Joshua and Rachav wed at some point, and their offspring was
said to have produced the finest Priests and Prophets in Israel’s History. Yet
one function of their fertility was the lone ability to produce females, for
males would be rendered spiritually impossible due to the circumstance of
Joshua’s unique level he attained that hinted of angelic quality and caliber in
soul root. As this is true in practical spiritual terms, it is also a product
to the nature of their marriage in Torah Law, for Joshua differed from Caleb,
in that Caleb pursued the path of the concubine to enhance the tradition of the
Ger, whereas Joshua actually made his wedding canopy entirely from the seed of
the Ger Tzedek, i.e. The Family of Rachav.
Joshua carries a special weight in his lineage that was put
on the line through his union with Rachav, for Joshua is the end of the line of
the First Born continuum that extended from Abraham, manifesting through Joshua
by way of Joseph and Ephraim culminating with the marriage with Rachav. By way
of Joshua and Rachav and more importantly their offspring [females to the
negation of the males as was stated], with special precedence being given to
perpetuate Priests and Prophets in potential, the stage was never more set for
Pinchas to come on board, perpetuate the seed of Joshua [and their common ancestor
Joseph, of which Pinchas also is related to on his mother’s side, as a Daughter
of Putiel, wife of Elazar, father of Pinchas]. The two [Pinchas & Joshua] represent
the secret closeness of Joseph [Ephraim] and Levi as hinted at in the
additional “yud” given to [Ye]Hoshea bin Nun by Moses in the spies, as is
explained by the Arizal as an impregnation with the Tribal head Levi as a
double [firstborn] portion. [*every spy had its Tribal Head infused in each
member’s mission]
Pinchas thus married a daughter of Joshua and Rachav [which
raised issue after Pinchas’ Priesthood over a similar (impure manner) between
Zimri and Cozbi, of the Tribe of Shimon and Midianite women], continued Joseph’s
spiritual legacy [as hinted at in Pinchas’ (messianic understood) name] and
ultimately inherited a good portion of Land from Joshua, due to the inherent
void in his lineage from a lack of male offspring; the male in laws would
inherit Joshua, i.e. through Priests and Prophets – among them was Jeremiah.
This Land would be known as Givat Pinchas [the Hill of Pinchas] located in the
Hills of Ephraim, and buried there to this day is the father of Pinchas, Elazar
the Priest, son of Aaron the Priest. This is the same Aaron who in the Parsha
was granted victory in Korach’s rebellion, was distinguished as the
quintessential Priest, and by as such, it was decreed that the Priest would not
have ownership of Tribal Land in the normative sense. The question then must be
addressed as to the nature of Pinchas’ Land.
The commentators are all in basic agreement that Pinchas was
given the Land by the inhabitants of Ephraim in close proximity to Joshua, as
an official and eternal transaction through inheriting his wife [Pinchas lived
forever as the eventual manifestation of Elijah literally, and thus was
destined to outlive any prospective wife, thus an inheritance. Parashas Pinchas
is ironically the source of such Torah Law in conjunction to our Parsha which
deals with Priestly Land.] By this acquisition, Pinchas would never lose the
Land to Jubilee, and he merited having his righteous father buried on his private
lot. This now brings a special light
onto our Parsha that deals with Priestly Land.
The Parsha is clear that no Priest is to own Land, and
Pinchas is the joyous exception to the rule [as he is for many ground breaking
areas in law and Kabbalistic philosophy such as Messianic truths], one that
stems directly from Gerim. Joshua set the stage with his unique view of Torah
Law and thought when he coupled with Rachav, a Ger Tzedek, produced by a
pre-requisite family (after 40+ years) of Ger Tzedek lineage (akin to Ruth;
listed among the three daughters of Shem/Iyov), preparing the footstool for
Pinchas and his soulful story [encoded in his name according to the Zohar].
Pinchas seized the moment, as no one would prove to better at standing as a
role model to “Pinchas Torah Concepts” than the man Pinchas himself! What is exceptional to the Pinchas saga is
that it is rooted and revealed through the prism of the Ger in our Parsha, and
as a set precedence to continue in Torah Scripture. The Land that belongs to
Pinchas will forever tell the tale of the sacrifice to Torah Truth that was dually
achieved by Pinchas and Joshua, a symbol of their close union, as essential
students to Moses and his Kingdom that entered the Land on their behalf.
We are embarking on Pinchas Torah in these next couple of
Parshiot, and Korach served as a template of the final stage before redemption
as the rebellion against the Torah that could be dubbed as the quintessential
Gog [of Magog]. Pinchas according to the Arizal and others is the soul that
will contain the messianic mission of the future, restoring the Torah as he did
numerous times with sacrificing action, and bringing an end to all opposition
to God’s truth. What is often hard to hear is that the Truth is best seen from
the objective vantage point of the Ger, and perhaps we see this the most
clearly in Parashas Korach. From a simple adjustment of perspective, a wealth
of Torah can be understood through Pinchas, to an extent of absolute revelation
to the blueprint and DNA of the Oral Torah, which came/comes from Gerim, as
often is the case.
Special is the Land of Israel in the eyes of God, coupled
with His love of Gerim; for Pinchas was given Land by means of the Ger, Caleb
delivered his portion [and his lack of sons as well] to his seed, and we all
look forward to the future, when the Temple will be built from the Hands of
Heaven, in a time that the Ger Toshav can come home to his land, enjoying the milk
and honey that comes served best, while sitting with the best point of view of
all those in the Torah. If the Jew represents the Voice of the Turtledove that
is heard in the Land, then perhaps someone was there first watching it happen,
enjoying the finest parts of the Land.
Look around, and perhaps you may stumble upon the position
of the Ger - a wondrous Torah indeed, one seen through the eyes of God. Would
the Land stand without a scribe to document His Torah, or would the Torah speak
the tongue of a Foreign Land; perhaps one should stand with those in good
standing with The Lord Himself, for does he not speak of His Love of the Ger?
Motzie Shabbos 11 P.M. - Tzfat Time - Parasha Shavua
Wed 11 P.M. - Torah of the Ger
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