Winners & Choosers

Hmm…. As I ponder this week’s Sedra & last week’s, the lessons therein seem to be diametrically opposed.

In Parshat Shlach, the majority of the greatest spiritual leaders in the nation (known colloquially as the M’raglim) conclude that the time was not yet right to enter Eretz Yisrael. Only Calev & Yehoshua, who were of lesser stature than many others around them, took a minority view & recommended Aliya. As we all know, Hashem & Moshe approved of their anti-Establishment position.

Yet here in our Sedra, Korach also goes against the Establishment when he takes on cousins Moshe & Ahron. He, too, stands up to the leadership of the nation, to men greater than he, arguing that radical changes in the system & a new direction must be followed. Yet Korach - as opposed to the dissenters of last week - is swallowed up by the Earth & condemned to eternal damnation!

So how do we decide when to go against the grain, & when to respect the existing status quo?

This is not just a theoretical issue; it involves real choices in the real world. The points of these Parshiyot are as crucial today as they were then. Do we follow the dictates & personal example of leading Rabbinic figures who do not lead us to Israel bodily or Halachically; or do we reject them & go our own way, even if that’s a minority position? How do we distinguish between a Moshe & a M’ragel?

I suggest there are times when we must follow our own spiritual compass, when we must ask a shayla of our own conscience & spirit, & have the courage to follow the answer our soul tells us is the right one. Yes, we must surely have an authentic Rabbinic backing to lean on, but even if our choice is a minority view, we may follow it if our neshama tells us that it is the proper path.

Is that not what Rav Yehuda HaNasi did when he went against tradition & wrote down the Mishna, the Oral Law? Or what Rav Yochanan ben Zakai did when he disobeyed orders from the ruling authorities & met with the Romans to plead for Yavne & its Sages?

At the end of the day we must be prepared to be accountable for our decisions. We know that it is Hashem who will judge us & ultimately rule if we acted correctly, l’shem Shamayim, or were just rebels without a cause. Hashem sees all - & sees through all.

Jewish leadership requires a combination of conscience & courage. It involves hard choices, & substantial risk. But it also determines who is a Korach, & who is a Kalev.