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Parshat Pinchas - July 3, 2021 "Buried Alive and Surviving"

05/07/2021 09:15:04 AM

Jul5

It boggles the mind how relevant and insightful every Torah portion is to the current world in which we live. Over the past nine days, we have been glued to the tragic events which have unfolded in Surfside, Florida. For days, some 150 people missing, the plight of family members, the heroism of rescuers including a search and rescue team from the IDF, and much more. 

In a different context, today's Parsha refers to a world opening up with mass casualties and a minority of survivors:

"The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with Korach . . . The sons of Korach, however, did not die." (26:10-11)

We all know the Biblical story from a few weeks ago. We know that the deaths of innocent people last week from a building opening up is not to be compared to God opening up the earth to punish Korach and his cohorts. But there is something to be gleaned from the these two scenarios.

A major lesson is the hope that many people have held onto this past week.

 In our Parsha, how is it that the children of Korach survived? Commentaries vary.

Rashi writes that they were the first to get involved in the conspiracy, but during the dispute, they had thoughts of repentance in their hearts. Therefore, a secure, elevated area was set apart for them in the underground, and they settled there.

Some other commentators suggest that when their repentance became complete, the children of Korach emerged completely from their designated area in the underground of the earth.

Regardless, the children of Korach, who presumably witnessed their father, relatives, and many friends perish, maintained a steadfast faith and a hope for the future. They were spiritual, and they contributed to the life of the Jewish people. They became the progenitors of many Psalms and Levitical songs in the Temple. 

Take for example the beginning of Psalm 42 - " by the sons of Korach - Like a gazelle yearning, thirsting for water, so too, my soul longs to you, my God."

Take for example the beginning of Psalm 45 - "A Psalm of the sons of Korach - A song of love.

Psalms 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87, and 88 are all attributed to the sons of Korach. In them, you can see that they yearned for God, peace, and beauty. 

Psalm 49, by the sons of Korach, is recited at the end of services in a Shiva house, a passage which is meant to provide comfort to the bereaved. 

Psalm 47, by the sons of Korach, is recited on Rosh Hashanah prior to the sounding of the Shofar, a passage about singing praises to God on coronation day.

Psalm 48, by the sons of Korach, is recited every Monday morning. It harkens back to the Temple period. 

I think of Surfside's community being comparable to the children of Korach - the families, the search and rescue teams, the friends, neighbors, and strangers, the dignitaries, the ones who found their way out of a pit literally like the sons of Korach did.

We have read and seen of Jewish children of loved ones in the rubble reciting Tehilim, Psalms, and other liturgical texts, leaning on to their faith and heritage when there has been little else to hold on to.

What nation is there in the world like Israel, which sends its own IDF search and rescue team into harm's way to try and save life? After all, Pikuach Nefesh, saving life, supercedes all else.

So many people in so many ways have reminded me this week of the children of Korach, whose miraculous survival and influence on our history are indicated in this week's Parsha.

Rabbi Howard Morrison

Thu, 28 March 2024 18 Adar II 5784