Maybe
- Leann Shamash
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
#parshatkorach #firepans #250 #revolutions #populism #revolution #seferbamidbar #aaron #moses #imsorry #apologies #mistakes #learnfrommistakes #riseabove
In the eventful Parshat Korach we read about failed revolutions and revolutionaries and their subsequent punishments. We learn about the 250 revolutionaries carrying copper fire pans who challenged the system along with Korach, who are swiftly consumed by fire. Following this strange and alarming event God instructs Elazar to take copper fire pans which were held in the hands of the 250 and melt them down and then cover the altar (mizbeach) with a thin coating of this copper.
GOD spoke to Moses, saying: Order Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to remove the fire pans—for they have become sacred—from among the charred remains; and scatter the coals abroad. [Remove] the fire pans of those who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar—for once they have been used for offering to GOD, they have become sacred—and let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel. Eleazar the priest took the copper fire pans that had been used for offering by those who died in the fire; and they were hammered into plating for the altar, as GOD had ordered him through Moses. It was to be a reminder to the Israelites, so that no outsider—one not of Aaron’s offspring—should presume to offer incense before GOD and suffer the fate of Korah and his band. Bamidbar 17:1-5
In his D'var Torah on Parshat Korach, Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz uses commentary by the Bechor Shor to help us understand this puzzling occurence:
“When they will see the copper plating covering the altar, they will remember what happened to those who objected to the priesthood and they will not rebel. Neither will they be like Korah nor will they suffer the same punishment.”
The copper fire pans used for rebellion will become a sacred reminder to the people. This concrete symbol becomes necessary as a sign to future generations.
Rabbi Berkowitz continues:
This symbolic act is profound. The moment in which the Israelite seeks to come close to God through the offering of sacrifices becomes a time of reflection. Copper fire pans that were employed in an attempt to undermine Moses are now considered “kadosh” (sanctified). Torah’s teaching and the Bekhor Shor’s commentary provide an invaluable lesson in contextualizing tragedies and mistakes throughout our lives. Though the human desire is to “cover up” blemishes in ourselves and in our past, God, Torah, and the Bekhor Shor are all teaching the potential for the blemish to become sacred in our lives. If the blemish can be used as a teaching tool, then each of us will succeed in building a more hopeful future."
And so this week, I write about mistakes and their repurposing for Parshat Korach.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,
Leann
MAYBE
Maybe there are no sidewalks paved with gold,
and there is no such thing as a unicorn
and maybe there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
If no one is in the forest, no one hears the sound of trees crashing
and history is written by the victors.
The world is divided between the winners and the losers,
optimists and pessimists,
the tranquil and the angry.
And sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose
and sometimes we are not sure if we have won or lost?
But there is hope.
Losers can become winners if they dig deep enough.
Maybe.
Sometimes mistakes are stuffed deep in coat pockets
and sometimes revolutions succeed,
but sometimes they fail,
either way,
the wake they leave behind stretches on for generations.
Sometimes we read words and they stretch on and on
like a ticker tape parade
and sometimes God catches us by surprise.
Truly.
Was Korach surprised
and what sound did 250 fire pans make as they hit the ground
as their owners paid their price?
Some mistakes are coated with sugar
and some are fired red hot
until they melt and are shaped anew.
This is brilliant.
Maybe mistakes can be repurposed.
Like walking through a musty consignment shop
or a recycle center
where we re-discover
her clumsy stumble ,
his wrong intentions,
their sudden fall from grace
and repurpose them.
Place them on our kitchen windowsills,
try them on for size;
look in the mirror even if it is hard.
Give mistakes a new life,
But this time a better life;
lose the bitter,
find the sweet.
"Start again," they say.
"You can always do more."
Sometimes I think the purpose of day and night
Is not when to say the sh'ma, but to
provide stumblers and bumblers
hope that today can be better than yesterday.
That we can learn from mistakes
and maybe find a golden lining.
I don’t know.
Maybe there is such a thing as a unicorn.
Maybe there is a pot of at the end of the rainbow
and maybe it is filled with recycled copper coins.
Maybe?
More on Parshat Korach From Words Have Wings
מַּחְתֹּת Fire Pans
❤️