“Always on the road to holiness” Words of Torah - Parashat Korach - June 26-27, 2020 for Temple Beth-El Las Cruces NM

WORDS OF TORAH – Parashat Korach – June 26-27, 2020

Shabbat Shalom!
  We, as a congregation, are about the move into a new chapter of an ongoing story. I will conclude my service to the congregation as rabbi on June 30, and then take on the role of rabbi emeritus. Rhonda and I will continue to be members of the Temple Beth-El community. Lay leaders and student rabbi Sofia Zway will actively work together to sustain Jewish life and growth for Temple Beth-El.  This juncture of transition is a “Shehecheyanu” moment. It carries with it an air of sanctity, because we will all be seeking ways in which we can continue to create holy moments in our lives. (P.S. We are looking forward to celebrating all of our shared accomplishments tonight). 
   In the Torah portion for this week, Korach, possibly a relative of Moses and Aaron, challenged the authority of the Israelite leaders by claiming that, if all the Israelites were holy, how could Moses and Aaron put themselves above everyone else? We know that true leadership carries with it responsibility and requires an ability to adapt and change. Torah commentator Yeshayahu Leibowitz saw Korach’s assertion about the holiness of the Israelites to mean that “we have achieved our goal and nothing more need be demanded of us” to be holy.  

 It was as if he was saying, and even boasting, “I am already holy and don’t need to change.” Yet, what the Torah actually says (based on Leviticus Chapter 19, which includes the phrase, “Love your neighbor as yourself) is “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, for I, the Eternal your God, am holy.” Holiness is about the process of striving to become holy like God. It is a goal, not a present state, because we may never reach a divine level of sanctity. Leaders and people like Korach think they have nothing to learn from anyone or any new experience. Leaders and people like Moses and Aaron see their own imperfections, lament the need to stand firm in the face of overwhelming opposition, and are willing to learn something new to move along the road towards greater effectiveness and 
even holiness.
   Every milestone in life gives us a new opportunity to take note of who we are and where we are at any given moment, and where we want to be in the future. Marking a special occasion in any way makes that moment KADOSH, sacred, reminding us that embodied in our celebrations is an admission that we can continue to learn and grow along our life’s journey. May we continue together on this path of “becoming” in unity and hope!