What do you hope happens to your worst enemy?
Moses has an enemy in this week’s Torah portion: Korach. Korach attempts to take Moses’ position within the Jewish people. Rivalry is one thing, but Korach also slanders Moses to get what he wants.
With elections for the President of the United States brewing on the horizon, it’s hard not to see parallels to this in American politics. Democrats and Republicans each want power and a lot of people involved are perfectly happy to sling some mud if it gets them to the top.
My parents once spoke of a time when politicians debated policies
Now, we often can’t fix how other people behave, but the good news is that God mostly cares about how you behave yourself. And not just what we do, but what we think. What we hope for.
The Torah mentions Moses’ prayers a few times in this portion. Early in the conflict, it says “This distressed Moses greatly, and he said to Hashem, ‘Do not turn towards their gift offering!’ (Num 16:15 ) Later, it says “Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take the fire-pan and put on it a fire from upon the Altar and place incense, and take it quickly to the assembly and provide atonement for them, for the fury has gone out from the presence of Hashem; the plague has begun! (Num 17:11).
The prayers seem contradictory. First, Moses prays that God reject Korach and his goals, and then Moses prays that God save the people who were working with Korach in the first place. Is he praying for them or against them?
Closer inspection reveals that there is a distinction between what Moses was praying for versus what he was praying against. In his first prayer, Moses was asking God to foil the plans of Korach. He knew his goals were corrupt and that his success would be bad for the people. In his second communication with God, he strove to protect the lives of his opponents. He was looking after their well-being.
This subtle distinction is often overlooked today. People disagree so vehemently on a philosophical point that they begin to demonize their opponents and long for their downfall in general. Yet no matter how wrong someone may be, they are still a human being and their life is priceless.
Thank you for this reminder. In light of some of the inane/evil/erroneous things that come from people of power, it doesn’t mean that something bad should happen to them. (We just need to vote them out of office!)