Cold as Korach

 

I like it cold. I think air conditioning is one of humanity’s greatest inventions.

Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chasidic movement, would often say to his disciples, “Everything a Jew sees or hears should serve him as a lesson in his service of his Creator.”

One winter day, the Baal Shem Tov’s students witnessed a group of peasants who had gathered on the surface of a frozen river, from which they carved a block of ice in the shape of a cross to use in a religious procession. They asked their master what lesson they could possibly derive from such an “un-Jewish” scene. The Baal Shem Tov replied, “In the Torah, water has spiritually cleansing properties; but when it is frozen into ice, even the purest substance can be made into an icon of heresy.”

Like Korach.

The Midrash links the name Korach (spelled קרח) with the Hebrew word which means “baldness,” spelled with the same Hebrew letters. I’d rather avoid that topic…Seriously, though, the Midrash connects Korach, who divided the nation and tore people apart, with the prohibition against tearing one’s hair out and creating a bald spot when mourning for the dead.

It is much “cooler” to note the similar spelling of Korach and kerach (קרח), ice.

Korach “threw ice water” on the leadership structure of the Jewish nation. He challenged Moshe’s leadership and also questioned the relevance of Torah laws. This is analogous to skepticism or cynicism diverting us from passionate religious engagement. Ice makes it harder to enter the water. It creates an obstacle. Korach was a roadblock in the Jewish nation continuing its journey led by their God-appointed leader following Torah and mitzvot. Korach crossed the line from genuine questioning and skepticism to aggressive attacks and froze out any attempt at reconciliation.

A Jew should never be cold.

A Jew who is religiously cold - who prays by rote, who is dispassionate about the rituals and who is unmoved by Torah - is on a slippery slope. There is a Chasidic saying, “A narrow divide separates coldness from heresy.”

We are people of action more than emotion and passion, but a cold Judaism isn’t complete. We need to try to blend the body and the soul of Judaism, the law with the spirit, and the religious obligation with the religious experience.

As it gets warm outside, it is natural to try and cool off. Korach reminds us not to get too cold on the inside. There are plenty of opportunities to fire things up to combat the cold: prayer, study, charity, kindness. When the Torah warns us not to be like Korach, it doesn’t only envision us as rebels who want to tear the community apart. The Torah is also concerned lest we embrace the ice-cold attitude of Korach in tearing people and practices apart.

Stay cool on the outside but warm and passionate on the inside.