Korach
How does our inner land look like?
Reflection by Ariel Yisraelah Hendelman, the Or HaLev Team:
"This week’s Torah portion is named for the rebellious Korach, who speaks out against the leadership of Moshe and Aharon. Korach believed that he should be granted the honor of becoming Kohen Gadol, and, perhaps, that all of Am Yisrael should be able to act in sacred service as priests. Moshe’s initial response to Korach’s protests is telling. Korach claims that Moshe is taking too much glory and honor for himself, and Moshe falls on his face:
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַיִּפֹּ֖ל עַל־פָּנָֽיו׃
When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.
This is an act of complete humility and surrender. One could argue that this clearly shows that Moshe is not the kind of leader who would take honor for himself, who serves from a place of self-aggrandizement. A little later in the parsha, Moshe and Aharon both fall on their faces in this same act of humble surrender.
The other leitmotif of the Torah portion is the image of the fire pan with burning incense. Moshe tells Korach, as well as the other members of the community who are inspired to vie for the priesthood, to offer ketoret (the incense that accompanies sacrificial offerings in the Tabernacle). YHVH will then accept the offering from the candidate who is chosen for the role of Kohen Gadol.
In the end, the 250 men who offer ketoret are consumed by the fire. As for Korach, he and his kin are swallowed up by the earth, in a vivid and chilling scene.
What can these two leitmotifs teach us about a mindful approach to Judaism? On the one hand, we are given this image of the act of falling on one’s face – complete surrender and humility. On the other hand, we are presented with the story of the fire pan with the ketoret – rising up to meet the Infinite Mystery.
Our mindfulness practice also contains both of these gestures. We humble ourselves enough to recognize that our minds are often scattered and that our attention is often pulled this way and that by thoughts and unconscious patterning. The act of sitting itself then, of becoming quiet and still, is one of surrender and humility. But the practice will only be effective if fueled by the fire of longing; of desire to be in union with the Endless Source of All. That fire rises up from the sitting posture so that our meditation practice can become holy, a uniting of above and below. May it be so for each of us."