Parsha Korach: When and When Not to Question & Defy

I always found Korach's punishment of being engulfed by the ground (Numbers 16:30) for questioning the current leadership to be perplexing.  Abraham questioned G-d and His justice right before He was about to wipe out Sodom (Genesis 18:25).  Moses also questions G-d when He was about to wipe out Israel for the Golden Calf incident (Exodus 32:13-14).  In the Passover Hagaddah, out of the four sons, the son who is unable to ask a question is on the bottom of the totem pole, even lower than the evil child!  And I don't need to expound upon how much diversity there is within the world of Jewish thought.

If Judaism gives us precedent to question the legal system, and more glaringly, G-d, what did Korach do wrong?

The Pirke Avot (5:17) gives us great insight into the answer.  When Hillel and Shammai were debating each other, it was done for the "sake of Heaven," or what is commonly referred to as l'shma.  Korach, on the other hand, was making a power play.  He was saying that the Jewish people were intrinsically holy (Numbers 16:3), so then why bother with all of these "silly commandments?"  The modern-day equivalent of this sentiment would be called "spiritual but not religious."  But the commandments are not antiquated rituals.  The legal system is about improving ourselves, our interpersonal relations, as well as how G-d fits into all of that. 

It wasn't enough for Korach to attempt to turn the system upside-down.  He wanted to make a power grab in the name of religion, which is what makes the move all the more repulsive.  Whether it's suicide bombers or those who initiated the Crusades, pretending that your interpretation is the "literal, inerrant" will of G-d while committing atrocities and unethical behavior in the name of religion and in His name is heinous.  This, of course, is not meant to be read as a blanket disapproval on questioning and defying.  The punishment that Korach received is to remind us that we should not question or defy in the specific context of when it's a political power play, about self-interest, or a way to satisfy the ego.  These sort of actions cannot be done so with an ulterior motive supporting it.  Our questioning or defiance can become permissible, and even obligatory, when we do so in the search for truth and in the name of Heaven.

This blog entry is a post-Shabbos reflection based on my D'var Torah given at a lay service on Saturday, June 25, 2011.