NUMBERS XVI:1-XVIII:32
THE LIGHT OF DAWN
The greatest challenge to Moshe’s (Moses’) leadership came with the rebellion of Korach and his followers. The argument was very precise: why did Moshe and Aharon (Aaron) monopolize the most important positions of leadership? Korachthought that he must have been considered to share command, because he also belonged to the Leviyim family. He did not focus the argument on himself, but, using the principle of equity, he claimed that the whole people had been consecrated and, therefore, no one person could exercise leadership over the rest of society.
Moshe’s response was that God would decide this matter. The phrase he used was: Boker veyoda HaShem, “dawn will comeand God will make known…”. The obvious question is why Moshe decided to wait until the next day, when he could have put Korach and Aharon to an immediate test to dispel any doubts about leadership.
Different answers arise. First, Moshe wanted to give Korach the opportunity to change his attitude. Perhaps the pillow counsel would allow him to reflect on the possible consequences of challenging Moshe’s leadership in the inhospitable environment of the desert, where the nervousness of the people was a constant.
Boaz Spiegel quotes the Ketav Sofer, which notes that Jewish women never participated in the rebellions. On the contrary, women played a very important role in Egypt, as they were the first to defy Pharaoh’s orders: they procreated without fear for the fate of their children, because they had absolute confidence in Divine Providence. Therefore, by postponing the trial until the next day, Moshe wanted to involve the wives of the dissidents, so that they could positively influence their husbands, so that they would desist from their attitude of rebellion. At the same time, Moshe was giving a very important lesson for those who dispense justice in society. Before any decision, the judge must carefully weigh the case, because any immediate ruling can be influenced by the emotions of the moment and does not allow a correct evaluation of the event.
We conclude these lines by suggesting that the controversy that turns into disobedience and insubordination is often due to obscurity, lack of knowledge and prejudice, to the substitution of personal ambitions for the search for truth. The light of dawn, Boker, is also a metaphor for clarity and transparency. The healthy controversy between intellectuals and scholars is not necessarily negative; on the contrary, according to the Mishnah, the confrontation of ideas is constructive, if it is leShem Shamayim, that is, it occurs for the purpose of shedding light on the facts, for clarification, when the argument is supported by logical reasoning.
Ad hominem arguments are inadmissible because they divert attention from the search for justice and equity. In the case of our biblical text, Korach was fighting for his personal rights, a fact that may have individual validity, but the result of which can be detrimental to the collective.
Many cases can be cited in which personal interests are above the needs of society. They are the people who miss the historic opportunity to make a lasting contribution to the development of society and who are blinded by selfishness. That is why aBoker is required, the light that the new dawn always brings.
MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA
CONTAINS 5 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 4 PROHIBITIONS
388. Numbers 18:4 Caring for the Temple
389. Numbers 18:3 Kohanim should not do the service of Levites and vice versa
390. Numbers 18:4, 22 Anyone who is not Kohen cannot serve in the Temple
391. Numbers 18:5 Do not cease to care for the Temple
392. Numbers 18:15 Redeeming the Firstborn Child
393. Numbers 18:17 Not redeeming the firstborn of the domesticated animal
394. Numbers 18:23 The Levites Service in the Temple
395. Numbers 18:24 Set aside the first tithe for the Levites
396. Numbers 18:26, 28 The Levites are to give the Kohen a tithe of the tithe they receive
