Years ago a friend and colleague, Rabbi Arthur Lavinsky, introduced me to a wonderful book entitled #Parasha by Sivan Rahav-Mer, an Israeli journalist. I will like to share with you one of her insights in this week’s Parashah, Pinchas.
“Korach’s sons, however, did not die.” (Numbers 26:11) This short verse is one of the most optimistic ones in the Torah, surprising us with the news that’s sons are alive and well. Korach had led an aggressive uprising against Moses, attracting many followers, which was quashed when the earth opened up and swallowed them alive. Korach, his family, and followers all died in this tragic end to the rebellion. Or so we thought. Rashi tells us that at the last minute, as they were about to die, Korach’s sons had a change of heart and “during the dispute they contemplated repentance." At the 11th hour, they realize what a terrible mistake the father had made and decided to abandon the rebellion, saving their lives.
“What a message of hope for us! Even when all
seems lost, we can still change course. Even if we have erred, it is never too
late to rethink our path in life. It takes a lot of courage to announce our
mistakes and our intention to mend our ways, but it can be done. We can go
against our surroundings, and our family, we can stand up to a charismatic
father, even when the battle has already begun. Just look at Korach’s sons.
They did it and did not die.” (Page 246)
We read at the very
conclusion of this Torah portion the holiday cycle including Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur as another reminder is not too early to think about the changes we want
to make in our lives to become the people we truly want to be. To paraphrase a
popular advertisement, “Change now and avoid the holiday rush!”
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