Parsha # 38: “Korach” / (Korah)
(B’Midbar / Numbers *16:1 through 18:32*)
Edition: 15f20
“The Rise and Fall of the Rebel Force"
-Greetings Sojourners, Friends, Guests and Other Readers! Welcome!
Have you ever noticed that some people seem to live in order to complain? My wife and kids have often told me that I complain a lot. I’m not sure why they say that – as I propose that I am only trying to get things done properly. However, I find myself loading the dishwasher daily, nowadays. Now my mother, oy! Could she complain! I remember writing a short article for a small booklet – it was just a couple of paragraphs discussing changes taking place in the wider church body. She read it over, looked at me ‘face to face’ and said, “Did you realize you have a spelling mistake in the first line?” (I had left the apostrophe out of “it’s”.)
Recently I had the opportunity to watch a 2013 documentary about Jewish humour. Alan Zweig was concerned that what he termed “Jewish Humour” – something that even he could not easily define, it seemed – was slipping away and would soon be lost. In the film, he interviews a number of stand-up comics, writers, directors, and others to get their opinion of what they felt about Jewish humour and what they saw of its past, present and future. Interspersed through the film Zweig had placed old clips of Alan King, Rodney Dangerfield, Henny Youngman and others. As the ‘meat and potatoes’ part of the documentary, he recorded interviews with comics such as: Shecky Greene, Jack Carter, Shelley Berman, Jackie Mason, David Brenner, David Steinberg, (All of whom I remember from “The Ed Sullivan Show”) as well as Gilbert Gottfield, and Bob Einstein, (whom I knew as “Super Dave Osborne” from “The John Byner Comedy Hour” but who was also a writer for “the Smother’s Brothers show” before that). For me it was like a trip down memory lane, and I had to admit I still like their brand of comedy.
But it was one interview in particular that caught my attention, because I suddenly realized that the roots of “Jewish Comedy” go wa-a-a-ay back. It was Howie Mandel’s comment that made my ears perk-up. If I recall, the question to which he was responding was basically: “Where do you think Jewish humour comes from?”. This was part of his answer: “I think that comedy, ultimately, comes from darkness, because a sense of humour is a great conduit of survival. I think that as Jews we culturally suffer a lot of pain… we’ve gone through the hardest and toughest time. I think other cultures have also, but I think traditionally, we have a hard time, in fact we are very comfortable in our hard times. We’re very comfortable ‘kvetching’. [I love this word! See End Note #1] Even if things are good, we even question that: ‘How are things doing?’ ‘Enh! They’re doing!’. I don’t think we are comfortable if things are fabulous… in fact that’s not even a Jewish word.”
I thought Mandel was pretty concise yet complete in this assessment.
Of course, the fact that it is a source of comedy doesn’t mean that the pain, or the concern itself is funny, nor does it mean that the pain is only related to things comical. Kvetching has to do with anguish, suffering, or – as we will see – rebellion.
Have you ever noticed that some people seem to live in order to complain? My wife and kids have often told me that I complain a lot. I’m not sure why they say that – as I propose that I am only trying to get things done properly. However, I find myself loading the dishwasher daily, nowadays. Now my mother, oy! Could she complain! I remember writing a short article for a small booklet – it was just a couple of paragraphs discussing changes taking place in the wider church body. She read it over, looked at me ‘face to face’ and said, “Did you realize you have a spelling mistake in the first line?” (I had left the apostrophe out of “it’s”.)
Recently I had the opportunity to watch a 2013 documentary about Jewish humour. Alan Zweig was concerned that what he termed “Jewish Humour” – something that even he could not easily define, it seemed – was slipping away and would soon be lost. In the film, he interviews a number of stand-up comics, writers, directors, and others to get their opinion of what they felt about Jewish humour and what they saw of its past, present and future. Interspersed through the film Zweig had placed old clips of Alan King, Rodney Dangerfield, Henny Youngman and others. As the ‘meat and potatoes’ part of the documentary, he recorded interviews with comics such as: Shecky Greene, Jack Carter, Shelley Berman, Jackie Mason, David Brenner, David Steinberg, (All of whom I remember from “The Ed Sullivan Show”) as well as Gilbert Gottfield, and Bob Einstein, (whom I knew as “Super Dave Osborne” from “The John Byner Comedy Hour” but who was also a writer for “the Smother’s Brothers show” before that). For me it was like a trip down memory lane, and I had to admit I still like their brand of comedy.
But it was one interview in particular that caught my attention, because I suddenly realized that the roots of “Jewish Comedy” go wa-a-a-ay back. It was Howie Mandel’s comment that made my ears perk-up. If I recall, the question to which he was responding was basically: “Where do you think Jewish humour comes from?”. This was part of his answer: “I think that comedy, ultimately, comes from darkness, because a sense of humour is a great conduit of survival. I think that as Jews we culturally suffer a lot of pain… we’ve gone through the hardest and toughest time. I think other cultures have also, but I think traditionally, we have a hard time, in fact we are very comfortable in our hard times. We’re very comfortable ‘kvetching’. [I love this word! See End Note #1] Even if things are good, we even question that: ‘How are things doing?’ ‘Enh! They’re doing!’. I don’t think we are comfortable if things are fabulous… in fact that’s not even a Jewish word.”
I thought Mandel was pretty concise yet complete in this assessment.
Of course, the fact that it is a source of comedy doesn’t mean that the pain, or the concern itself is funny, nor does it mean that the pain is only related to things comical. Kvetching has to do with anguish, suffering, or – as we will see – rebellion.
This week’s Parsha is entitled “Korach”, which is the name of a person. Out of 54 Parshiot, only 6 are named for people. Some of those people are good – such as Noach or even Pinchas. Some are not even members of B'nei Yisra'el such as Yitro or Balak. One is female, namely Sarah. But Korach is male, Hebrew, and he was born of B'nei Yisra'el, in fact, he is a member of the L’vi’im, making him a cousin to Moshé and Aharon. It seems that Korach has a bone to pick with God’s appointed leader.
But – let’s go back a few generations, because problems like those with Korach do not simply spring up overnight. Turn back to Breisheet chapter 49 for a moment. Ya’acov is on his death-bed. He calls for his sons to assemble so that he may pass on his prophetic revelations to them. Beginning in the 5th verse we read Ya’acov’s words: “Shim’on and Levi are comrades, their weaponry is a stolen craft. Into their conspiracy, may my soul not enter! With their congregation, do not join, O my honour! For in their rage they murdered people and at their whim they hamstrung an ox. Accursed is their rage, for it is intense, and their wrath for it is harsh. I will separate them within Ya’acov, and I will disperse them in Israel.” In short, the sages point out, that Ya’acov does not want his name to be associated with the offspring of [in this immediate case] Levi. It had been revealed to Ya’acov that in the past Levi had done wrong things, and that in the future his offspring would be involved in a catastrophe. [Although it is true of other lineages as well, admittedly] the lineage of Korach is only taken back to Levi’s name – there is no connection with Ya’acov. The underlying truth is that those who are named in this Parsha, (or at least their predecessors) have shown “previously existing seeds of the evil that blossomed with Korach”. We would say: “he comes from a long line of trouble makers”. That seems harsh, given that the descendants of Levi were chosen to serve in the Tabernacle. We must remember, however, that this ‘service’, along with their ‘standing in’ for the first born of B'nei Yisra'el also means they get no share in the land itself.
Furthermore, look at the three comrades of Korach. They are descended from Reuben. Reuben was the firstborn of Ya’acov, but he lost the honour and privileges that should have accompanied that position. Returning again to Breisheet 49, in the 3rd verse, we read: “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and my initial vigour, foremost in rank and foremost in power. Water-like impetuosity - you cannot be foremost, because you mounted your father’s bed; then you desecrated Him Who ascended my couch.” Ramban comments that “Reuben was punished measure for measure. He wanted to prevent Ya’acov from having children to Bilhah, who would share in the family heritage. His punishment was that he lost the firstborn’s share of the heritage.” In fact, his impetuosity caused the birthright to go over to Yosef, the Kingship to go to Y’hudah and the Priesthood to go to Levi. (SEASC Pg 276f)
The bottom line is that these 4 men, and possibly some of the other 247 men, all had an axe to grind with Moshé from away back. It’s this history which has led to some contention amongst the sages as to when the rebellion of Korach took place. The sages all put it in the ball-park as far as it being roughly after the end of the first year in the wilderness, however, some say the rebellion took place at the time (or just thereafter) of the consecration of the Tabernacle. For Ibn Ezra, this immediacy makes sense. It was at this time that Aharon and his sons were officially designated to become the Cohen Gadol and the Cohenim within the Tabernacle. This seems to be seen as the final straw for Korach, who – as a firstborn in his clan – brings his fellow conspirators (many of whom would also have been firstborns) on side with him, and they rise up against Moshé’s appointment of his own brother and nephews as Cohenim.
Ramban however, sees the rebellion taking place on the heels of the fiasco of the spies and the prophetic warning that all those counted in the census, those who are over 20 years of age, will die in the wilderness. Ramban sees that many amongst the encampment would be questioning Moshé’s words, and, because of their fear and anger, would have been easy pickin’s for him to whip into a rebellious force. Frankly I can see good possibilities for either view point. We know that at several times we have encountered situations which were recorded out of chronological order in the Torah. There is a general guideline, however, which was laid down at some point and accepted as a standard to draw on in times of doubt. That guideline states that “Ordinarily, one must assume that the events took place in the order in which the Torah records them – unless there is a compelling reason to assume that a particular passage is out of order.”
Up to this point, the children of Isra’el have brought several complaints before Moshé. There was the lack of food; (God gave the people ‘man’; (manna); There was the lack of water; (Elohim gave water from the rock which, by the way, followed the wanderers throughout their years of travel. See 1 Corinthians 10:4). There was also the complaint that the people had no meat; (God gave Quail for the people to eat.) and then there was the call for a new leader and the people urged Aharon to create a golden calf which would lead them out of their troubles. Also, we mustn’t forget that, though it was more private then these other cases, Miriam and Aharon also rose up against their brother in the guise of complaining about Moshé having taken a Cushite woman as his wife. [See End Note #2] In actual fact, they were questioning Moshé’s having such power, and having to “withdraw from normal life relations” because of his position. They did not realize that Elohim had placed that burden on Moshé Himself. In the end, Adonai chastised them for their being critical of Moshé, punishing Miriam by giving her a case of Tzara’at for seven days. (As Mandel pointed out, B'nei Yisra'el does not seem to be comfortable with that which is good, and so they like to ‘kvetch’ all the time). But this time, we are not witnessing simple kvetching. This time we have a serious threat to Moshé’s position and his authority. Here we see someone who, out of a long standing jealousy, and out of his own insecurity, gathers together a group of supporters who will back him up, as he goes to take over, or at least attempt to take over, Moshé’s role.
But – let’s go back a few generations, because problems like those with Korach do not simply spring up overnight. Turn back to Breisheet chapter 49 for a moment. Ya’acov is on his death-bed. He calls for his sons to assemble so that he may pass on his prophetic revelations to them. Beginning in the 5th verse we read Ya’acov’s words: “Shim’on and Levi are comrades, their weaponry is a stolen craft. Into their conspiracy, may my soul not enter! With their congregation, do not join, O my honour! For in their rage they murdered people and at their whim they hamstrung an ox. Accursed is their rage, for it is intense, and their wrath for it is harsh. I will separate them within Ya’acov, and I will disperse them in Israel.” In short, the sages point out, that Ya’acov does not want his name to be associated with the offspring of [in this immediate case] Levi. It had been revealed to Ya’acov that in the past Levi had done wrong things, and that in the future his offspring would be involved in a catastrophe. [Although it is true of other lineages as well, admittedly] the lineage of Korach is only taken back to Levi’s name – there is no connection with Ya’acov. The underlying truth is that those who are named in this Parsha, (or at least their predecessors) have shown “previously existing seeds of the evil that blossomed with Korach”. We would say: “he comes from a long line of trouble makers”. That seems harsh, given that the descendants of Levi were chosen to serve in the Tabernacle. We must remember, however, that this ‘service’, along with their ‘standing in’ for the first born of B'nei Yisra'el also means they get no share in the land itself.
Furthermore, look at the three comrades of Korach. They are descended from Reuben. Reuben was the firstborn of Ya’acov, but he lost the honour and privileges that should have accompanied that position. Returning again to Breisheet 49, in the 3rd verse, we read: “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and my initial vigour, foremost in rank and foremost in power. Water-like impetuosity - you cannot be foremost, because you mounted your father’s bed; then you desecrated Him Who ascended my couch.” Ramban comments that “Reuben was punished measure for measure. He wanted to prevent Ya’acov from having children to Bilhah, who would share in the family heritage. His punishment was that he lost the firstborn’s share of the heritage.” In fact, his impetuosity caused the birthright to go over to Yosef, the Kingship to go to Y’hudah and the Priesthood to go to Levi. (SEASC Pg 276f)
The bottom line is that these 4 men, and possibly some of the other 247 men, all had an axe to grind with Moshé from away back. It’s this history which has led to some contention amongst the sages as to when the rebellion of Korach took place. The sages all put it in the ball-park as far as it being roughly after the end of the first year in the wilderness, however, some say the rebellion took place at the time (or just thereafter) of the consecration of the Tabernacle. For Ibn Ezra, this immediacy makes sense. It was at this time that Aharon and his sons were officially designated to become the Cohen Gadol and the Cohenim within the Tabernacle. This seems to be seen as the final straw for Korach, who – as a firstborn in his clan – brings his fellow conspirators (many of whom would also have been firstborns) on side with him, and they rise up against Moshé’s appointment of his own brother and nephews as Cohenim.
Ramban however, sees the rebellion taking place on the heels of the fiasco of the spies and the prophetic warning that all those counted in the census, those who are over 20 years of age, will die in the wilderness. Ramban sees that many amongst the encampment would be questioning Moshé’s words, and, because of their fear and anger, would have been easy pickin’s for him to whip into a rebellious force. Frankly I can see good possibilities for either view point. We know that at several times we have encountered situations which were recorded out of chronological order in the Torah. There is a general guideline, however, which was laid down at some point and accepted as a standard to draw on in times of doubt. That guideline states that “Ordinarily, one must assume that the events took place in the order in which the Torah records them – unless there is a compelling reason to assume that a particular passage is out of order.”
Up to this point, the children of Isra’el have brought several complaints before Moshé. There was the lack of food; (God gave the people ‘man’; (manna); There was the lack of water; (Elohim gave water from the rock which, by the way, followed the wanderers throughout their years of travel. See 1 Corinthians 10:4). There was also the complaint that the people had no meat; (God gave Quail for the people to eat.) and then there was the call for a new leader and the people urged Aharon to create a golden calf which would lead them out of their troubles. Also, we mustn’t forget that, though it was more private then these other cases, Miriam and Aharon also rose up against their brother in the guise of complaining about Moshé having taken a Cushite woman as his wife. [See End Note #2] In actual fact, they were questioning Moshé’s having such power, and having to “withdraw from normal life relations” because of his position. They did not realize that Elohim had placed that burden on Moshé Himself. In the end, Adonai chastised them for their being critical of Moshé, punishing Miriam by giving her a case of Tzara’at for seven days. (As Mandel pointed out, B'nei Yisra'el does not seem to be comfortable with that which is good, and so they like to ‘kvetch’ all the time). But this time, we are not witnessing simple kvetching. This time we have a serious threat to Moshé’s position and his authority. Here we see someone who, out of a long standing jealousy, and out of his own insecurity, gathers together a group of supporters who will back him up, as he goes to take over, or at least attempt to take over, Moshé’s role.
In essence, Korach reminds me of the school yard bully who is envious of an up and coming threat to his twisted desire for power. He gathers together those who are weak minded and who will follow his lead and do his bidding. [see End Note #3]. Korach appears to be fighting on behalf of the under-privileged, but he is not – he is simply attempting to displace someone who he sees as being in his way on the road to power.
In today’s world, we see this sort of thing happening all the time. We read of “hostile” corporate takeovers, we see protests which may start off with good intentions but oft-times go awry, disintegrating into violence and unruly behaviour. The rebel forces of ISIS, (or what ever they are calling themselves this week) are just Korach and boys on a larger scale. I know of people who have been subjected to such bullying tactics, and who have been summarily ousted from positions of leadership, simply because some individual was able to gather together “the right people” – the men of renown, the moneyed crowd, or those who appear to have prestige, (but really don’t) and bring about a ‘coup d’état’ which only ended in disaster in the end. We see it in politics, we see it in economics, and yes, boys and girls, we see it in the church. It is a sad state of affairs, but it only shows the broken-ness of the world in which we live.
But I have to say, I do admire Moshé’s patient and divinely led response to the challenge brought forth by Korach. It ran something like this – perhaps a little loosely translated, but close enough for our discussion.
“Tell you what,” says Moshé to Korach, “you could be right. I think that I have the approval and appointment of Elohim to lead B'nei Yisra'el, but we can check that out. You, along with your cohorts get your incense pans that you use in the service in the Tabernacle, and I will get Aharon, Eleazar and Ithamar to get theirs, and you can stand right here on this side of the field, and Aharon and sons will stand over there. Everyone will light up their incense pans and we will see whose smoke and fire Elohim accepts.” Now I should make note here, that Moshé showed quite a lot of compassion before this point. He tried to reach out to Dathan and Abiram (who were trouble makers from the start) as well as On ben Pelath with the hope of dissuading them from going through with their plans. The name of On is not recorded amongst those who continued, so we presume that Moshé’s appeal hit home with him. This shows us that, whenever possible, we should try to diffuse trouble directly so as to avoid a catastrophe. The others however stubbornly continued with their task.
We are told that HaShem spoke to Moshé and Aharon, saying (again loosely translated), “You two should maybe stand over there, separated from these evil men,” which of course they do. Moshé then instructed the tribes to watch and see what would happen. “If these men,” he calls to the crowd, “die a natural death, than clearly they are correct and it was not Elohim who sent me to lead you and to appoint Aharon. However, if some tragic and sudden catastrophe should come upon them, then you will know that I am the servant of Adonai.” [then I think he might have added, “M’nasheh, you might just want to get your folk to move about 3 cubits to your left, OK?”]
But I have to say, I do admire Moshé’s patient and divinely led response to the challenge brought forth by Korach. It ran something like this – perhaps a little loosely translated, but close enough for our discussion.
“Tell you what,” says Moshé to Korach, “you could be right. I think that I have the approval and appointment of Elohim to lead B'nei Yisra'el, but we can check that out. You, along with your cohorts get your incense pans that you use in the service in the Tabernacle, and I will get Aharon, Eleazar and Ithamar to get theirs, and you can stand right here on this side of the field, and Aharon and sons will stand over there. Everyone will light up their incense pans and we will see whose smoke and fire Elohim accepts.” Now I should make note here, that Moshé showed quite a lot of compassion before this point. He tried to reach out to Dathan and Abiram (who were trouble makers from the start) as well as On ben Pelath with the hope of dissuading them from going through with their plans. The name of On is not recorded amongst those who continued, so we presume that Moshé’s appeal hit home with him. This shows us that, whenever possible, we should try to diffuse trouble directly so as to avoid a catastrophe. The others however stubbornly continued with their task.
We are told that HaShem spoke to Moshé and Aharon, saying (again loosely translated), “You two should maybe stand over there, separated from these evil men,” which of course they do. Moshé then instructed the tribes to watch and see what would happen. “If these men,” he calls to the crowd, “die a natural death, than clearly they are correct and it was not Elohim who sent me to lead you and to appoint Aharon. However, if some tragic and sudden catastrophe should come upon them, then you will know that I am the servant of Adonai.” [then I think he might have added, “M’nasheh, you might just want to get your folk to move about 3 cubits to your left, OK?”]
And then it happened…. “When he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them [that is Korach and his team of ruffians] split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all the people who were with Korach, and the entire wealth. They and all that was theirs descended alive to the pit; the earth covered them over and they were lost from among the congregation. All Isra’el that was around them fled at their sound, for they said ‘lest the earth swallow us!’ A flame came forth from HaShem and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.”
WE are told that Moshé instructed the sons of Eleazar to pick up the fire pans, empty them, hammer them out flat and use them to cover the Altar as a sign to B'nei Yisra'el of the unquestionable power of Elohim. However, the next day the people come to Moshé and complain that he had killed off the people of HaShem. Moshé enlisted Aharon to light incense and to pray for their atonement but it was too late, “The Plague has begun” says Moshé. In the end, the death toll included Korach, Dathan, Abiram and their households, the two hundred and fifty ‘supporters’ of the rebellion and a further fourteen thousand, seven hundred others who had brought the further complaint against Moshé.
The point is that when we rebel out of our own personal needs, greeds, or desires, against God’s appointed ones, we are actually rebelling against God Himself. It is Elohim who places, and it is Elohim who removes. Once again, just before I end this reflective study, I want toecho last week’s theme, and ask… “When will mankind finally stop rebelling against the One True God – Elohim Adonai? He is El Shaddai, the All Powerful One, El Elyon – God Most High and He is Adonai Tzva’ot , the Lord of Hosts. He is Creator and He alone, in Messiah, is Redeemer.
Shema Yisra’el, Adonai Elohaynu, Adonai Echad.
Baruch shem k’vode mahlchootoe l’olam va’ed.
Baruch ahta Adonai, Elohaynu, Melech h’Olam;
Asher natahn lanu et derech h’y’shooah, b’Meshiach Y’shua. Amain!
Shavua Tov!! - Have a Great Week!!
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WE are told that Moshé instructed the sons of Eleazar to pick up the fire pans, empty them, hammer them out flat and use them to cover the Altar as a sign to B'nei Yisra'el of the unquestionable power of Elohim. However, the next day the people come to Moshé and complain that he had killed off the people of HaShem. Moshé enlisted Aharon to light incense and to pray for their atonement but it was too late, “The Plague has begun” says Moshé. In the end, the death toll included Korach, Dathan, Abiram and their households, the two hundred and fifty ‘supporters’ of the rebellion and a further fourteen thousand, seven hundred others who had brought the further complaint against Moshé.
The point is that when we rebel out of our own personal needs, greeds, or desires, against God’s appointed ones, we are actually rebelling against God Himself. It is Elohim who places, and it is Elohim who removes. Once again, just before I end this reflective study, I want toecho last week’s theme, and ask… “When will mankind finally stop rebelling against the One True God – Elohim Adonai? He is El Shaddai, the All Powerful One, El Elyon – God Most High and He is Adonai Tzva’ot , the Lord of Hosts. He is Creator and He alone, in Messiah, is Redeemer.
Shema Yisra’el, Adonai Elohaynu, Adonai Echad.
Baruch shem k’vode mahlchootoe l’olam va’ed.
Baruch ahta Adonai, Elohaynu, Melech h’Olam;
Asher natahn lanu et derech h’y’shooah, b’Meshiach Y’shua. Amain!
Shavua Tov!! - Have a Great Week!!
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End Notes
1 ‘Kvetch’ is a Yiddish word with not just a variety of related meanings, - but with no changes what-so-ever - the one word can be a personal noun, an impersonal noun, or a verb. It derives from the high German “quetschen”, meaning “to squeeze”, which is interesting in itself, because generally a “kvetch”, when he (or she) is kvetching, shrugs their shoulders up, pushes their neck and head down, and maybe cocks it to one side, they raise their arms and hands to at least shoulder height in an open handed, yet tense, gesture, they screw up their face, shut their eyes until their face is all wrinkled up so that they seem to be trying to ‘squeeze’ out the answer. The sense of the word is a) a chronic complainer; b) a nagging complaint; or c) to complain or grumble, especially incessantly (or habitually) usually in a whining voice. Related nouns include: Grumbler, moaner, sniveller, bellyacher and crybaby.
2 Although some translations seem to take the idea that the term Cushite actually means Ethiopian, we know that Zipporah did not come from that area at all. Scholars and sages agree that this is meant to be a derogatory term used against Zipporah. The wife of Moshé was the daughter of Yitro, who was a leader of the Midianite tribes. The Midianites lived in the Sinai Peninsula somewhere near Sinai itself. (You will recall that Moshé was pasturing Yitro’s flock beneath Sinai when he saw the ‘burning bush’) The term is used here euphemistically because of Zipporah’s great beauty, to ward off the ‘eye of envy’. Furthermore, this was not the true reason that Miriam and Aharon spoke against Moshé.
3 The power of the bully comes from those who surround him in his challenge of authority. We are told that the followers of Korach were “leaders of the assembly, those summoned for meeting, men of renown”. In other words, they were members of the “inner core” we might say today. Korach knew that the rest of the camp would consider these men of great import and they would be swayed by their ‘notoriety’, thus inevitably transferring power to the challenger. That is why a bully, or in this case, a usurper, will never confront when he is alone. The bully – whether of Biblical times or of present day times – must have some sort of crowd from which he can gain energy and courage. It is no different than an alcoholic who gets strength from liquor. It is false courage, false power, and it will soon dissipate along with the deserting crowd.
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1 ‘Kvetch’ is a Yiddish word with not just a variety of related meanings, - but with no changes what-so-ever - the one word can be a personal noun, an impersonal noun, or a verb. It derives from the high German “quetschen”, meaning “to squeeze”, which is interesting in itself, because generally a “kvetch”, when he (or she) is kvetching, shrugs their shoulders up, pushes their neck and head down, and maybe cocks it to one side, they raise their arms and hands to at least shoulder height in an open handed, yet tense, gesture, they screw up their face, shut their eyes until their face is all wrinkled up so that they seem to be trying to ‘squeeze’ out the answer. The sense of the word is a) a chronic complainer; b) a nagging complaint; or c) to complain or grumble, especially incessantly (or habitually) usually in a whining voice. Related nouns include: Grumbler, moaner, sniveller, bellyacher and crybaby.
2 Although some translations seem to take the idea that the term Cushite actually means Ethiopian, we know that Zipporah did not come from that area at all. Scholars and sages agree that this is meant to be a derogatory term used against Zipporah. The wife of Moshé was the daughter of Yitro, who was a leader of the Midianite tribes. The Midianites lived in the Sinai Peninsula somewhere near Sinai itself. (You will recall that Moshé was pasturing Yitro’s flock beneath Sinai when he saw the ‘burning bush’) The term is used here euphemistically because of Zipporah’s great beauty, to ward off the ‘eye of envy’. Furthermore, this was not the true reason that Miriam and Aharon spoke against Moshé.
3 The power of the bully comes from those who surround him in his challenge of authority. We are told that the followers of Korach were “leaders of the assembly, those summoned for meeting, men of renown”. In other words, they were members of the “inner core” we might say today. Korach knew that the rest of the camp would consider these men of great import and they would be swayed by their ‘notoriety’, thus inevitably transferring power to the challenger. That is why a bully, or in this case, a usurper, will never confront when he is alone. The bully – whether of Biblical times or of present day times – must have some sort of crowd from which he can gain energy and courage. It is no different than an alcoholic who gets strength from liquor. It is false courage, false power, and it will soon dissipate along with the deserting crowd.
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Acknowledgements – A General List
For these weekly reflections at least some of the following sources are used to resource basic and foundational information which augment’s the reflections offered.
Alexander, D and P, et al, The Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible, William H. Eerdman Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI 1983
Ausubel, Nathan, The Book of Jewish Knowledge, Crown Publishers, New York, NY, 1970
Gehman, H. S. The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA 1970
Zweig, Alan (Director), (Video) “When Jews Were Funny”, Sudden Storm Productions, (et al), “First Run Features” Toronto, 2013
Barker, Kenneth, General Editor, The New International Study Bible, (NIV) Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985
Scherman, R. Nosson; and Zlotowitz, R. Meir; Editors, Stone Edition Art Scroll Chumash, (SEASC) Mesorah Heritage Foundation / Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, New York, 2008
Stern, David, The Complete Jewish Bible, (CJB) Jewish New Testament Publications Inc, Clarkville, Maryland. 1998
Zodiates, Spiros, Exec Editor, The Hebrew Greek Key Word Bible (New American Version Bible) (NASV) AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 1977
Wikipedia and other Internet sources for background information and some images. Other images are from personal files.
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For these weekly reflections at least some of the following sources are used to resource basic and foundational information which augment’s the reflections offered.
Alexander, D and P, et al, The Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible, William H. Eerdman Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI 1983
Ausubel, Nathan, The Book of Jewish Knowledge, Crown Publishers, New York, NY, 1970
Gehman, H. S. The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA 1970
Zweig, Alan (Director), (Video) “When Jews Were Funny”, Sudden Storm Productions, (et al), “First Run Features” Toronto, 2013
Barker, Kenneth, General Editor, The New International Study Bible, (NIV) Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985
Scherman, R. Nosson; and Zlotowitz, R. Meir; Editors, Stone Edition Art Scroll Chumash, (SEASC) Mesorah Heritage Foundation / Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, New York, 2008
Stern, David, The Complete Jewish Bible, (CJB) Jewish New Testament Publications Inc, Clarkville, Maryland. 1998
Zodiates, Spiros, Exec Editor, The Hebrew Greek Key Word Bible (New American Version Bible) (NASV) AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 1977
Wikipedia and other Internet sources for background information and some images. Other images are from personal files.
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