Thinking Torah
By Rav Alex Israel –
Parshat Korach
Aharon's Staff
The Korach rebellion lingers on and on[1]. Miracles abound, but the restlessness, the complaints and unrest will not subside. Two-hundred and fifty people have been burned by the fire of God, the ringleaders have been swallowed in an unprecedented spectacle, and yet the people continue to complain:
"The next day, the community of the children of Israel protested against Moshe and Aharon: You have killed the people of God!" (17:6)
How is calm to be restored? What can bring the instability, the accusations and recriminations to an end?
"God spoke to Moses: Speak to the Israelite people and take from them – from the Chieftain of each of their ancestral houses – one staff for each Chieftain … The staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout, and I will rid Myself of their incessant mutterings of the Israelites against you…The staff of Aharon of the house of Levi sprouted, it had brought forth sprouts, produced blossoms, and borne almonds."
Now, even this miraculous sign is followed by further criticism and cynicism, however, this act essentially brings an end to the revolution, with its enormous death toll, and with this act, the camp apparently return to a state of normality.
- How did this act, this "sign" succeed where others failed?
- What is the symbolism of a flowering stick, blossoming and growing almonds?
MEKOROT
1. Look at the parsha – 17:16-28 But it would probably be good to look at the entire chapter.
2. Many of the mepharshim focus upon the poetic language of passuk 23 as it describes the process of flowering. Why Almonds? See Rashi on passuk 23 and also the Ibn Ezra's "derech Hadrash."
- In this vein, you might wish to see Yirmiyahu 1:11-12 for another instance of an almond stick.
- See the Hizkuni who has another direction based upon the linguistic associations of the language used by the Torah here.
3. The Rashbam (#23) has an interesting reading of how the miracle took place before the eyes of the nation.
- What is the Rashbam bothered by in the depiction of the flowering of Aharon's branch
- How does his explanation solve the problem
- In your opinion is this peshat?
SHIUR
The Miracle of Aharon's staff flowering has always puzzled me. After the extreme measures taken to put an end to the Korach revolt, Aharon's flowering staff is an unexpected change. In this "sign", no one dies! Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his Torah shiurim takes this in a clearly pacifistic direction:
"The use of force never ends a conflict. It merely adds grievance to injury. Even the miracle of the ground opening up and swallowing his opponents did not secure for Moses the vindication he sought. What ended the conflict was something else altogether: the visible symbol that Aaron was the chosen vehicle of the G-d of life. The gentle miracle of the dead wood that came to life again, flowering and bearing fruit" (Covenant and Conversation 5765)
Now, for this comment to be true, we have to ask questions about God's fierce punishments from the flood, to Exile. If it is so clear that force is ineffective, then how do we respond to the subsequent plagues of the Midbar, indeed, to the entire thesis of Sefer Shoftim? Can we truly say that the lesson here is that "force never ends conflict?"
But a further problem can be raised regarding this theory. When we look at the aftermath of this particular sign or miracle, the complaints DO continue. The rebellion is not absolutely closed. The people respond:
"We are dead, condemned – we are all condemned! … Shall we ever stop dying?" (17:27-8)
And so, what is the lesson of Aharon's staff coming to teach?
MIDRASH RABBA
The Midrash offers three understandings, three approaches in which to understand Aharon's staff. We shall attempt to analyse each approach.
"The Staff of Aharon (17:21):
Some say that it is the staff that was in the hand of Judah; as it states: The Staff on your hand (Bereshit 38:18)
Some say that it is the staff held by Moses and that it flowered of its own accord, as it states: "And behold Aharon's staff flowered." (Bamidbar 17:23)
Others say: Moshe took a single piece of wood and cut it into twelve planks of wood. He said to them: You are all from a single beam of wood, take your sticks. Why did he act in this manner? …so that they not say: His (Aharon's) stick was moist, and hence it flowered." Midrash Rabba 18:23
STAFF OF JUDAH
What is the "Staff of Judah?" If you remember Bereshit ch.38 in the story of Yehuda and Tamar, Yehuda leaves his "seal, his cord and the staff that he carries" with a woman who he thinks is a prostitute. This woman is in fact, Tamar, his daughter in law, who presents these symbols to him, thereby proving to him that he is the father of her child. In this story, the staff functions as a sign of identification.
When the Midrash suggests that Aharon's staff has its origins with Yehuda, maybe we are saying that this staff was designed as a method of personal identity, like bringing up their Social Security number or their Teudat Zehut on a database. It is a precise mode of identification – like an ID card. And then, the entire exercise works in order to pinpoint Aharon as THE one, the chosen priest who may approach God. (How appropriate that this staff is kept in the Holy of Holies then.)
But we are not certain that everyone in society had a "staff." In our chapter it is the leader of a tribe who bears a staff. The staff has further significance as a status symbol and a sign of honour. If this is so, then we can suggest that the "test of the staff" is telling us that (at least for the time being, in the Midbar), the true leader and authority figure in Bnei Yisrael is Aharon, by virtue of his being head of the Tribe is Levi. And here there is great significance in Aharon bearing Yehuda's staff in particular. After all, Yehuda[2] leads the camp. The Tribe of Judah is the tribe of "Malchut Beit David." If the Midrash claims that Levi bears Yehuda's staff, they are saying that at this moment, the political power has been removed from Yehuda and transferred to Levi. That is quite a big step. The issue is, who bears the sceptre, the Malchut?
If this reading is correct, then there is a fascinating ending to the Midrash which matches very suitably:
"That selfsame staff was held by every king that reigned until the Temple's destruction. It was hidden in a secret location, however it will be restored to the hands of the King Messiah, may he come speedily in our days …" (end of Bamidbar Rabba 18:23)
The leadership is currently, in Midbar times, in the hands of Levi, but it will not always be that way. In a later period of History, the kings will be the official leadership.
MOSES' STAFF
Moses' staff [3] is the instrument of miracles and wonders. We have seen it function throughout the negotiations with Pharaoh, and the ten plagues[4], through the Red Sea, and the war of Amalek.
It would seem to serve in one of two functions. Either it creates a plague, a punishment (as in the plagues/Yam Suf) or it may be used to demonstrate something about the presence of God (as in its transformation to a snake, it hitting the rock, or its presence in the Amalek war.) Whichever way, it is an instrument of God's will.
But there is no doubt that Moshe's staff is associated with Yetziat Mitzrayim. People are saying, well Moshe was good to take us out of Egypt, but he cannot take us INTO the land. And so, if Moshe's staff flowers now, then what are we saying? Maybe it is a symbol that the process is still underway, that the work begun at Yetziat Mitzrayim has still to flower and that Moshe's stick, far from being dead and lifeless is alive and progressing, producing fruit. Moshe is not a man of the past, but a leader of the present and a key to the future. It would be a grave error to reject him now. This is an essential rejection of Korach's claims that Moshe is unsuitable for leadership.
And yet, maybe the staff says something about the texture of Yetziat Mitzrayim. Moshe's staff is an almond branch, and as we all know (from the song, "Hashkedia Porachat") the Almond blossom is the first to bloom, the first tree to bring out its signs of life. The almond tree represents "Chipazon", the speed of redemption. And this speed is a double edged sword. It is the source of our success. We emerged from Egypt partially because it was such a quick process, people were swept up in the Exodus. But the problem of Yetziat Mitzrayim is that when change happens that fast, people have not had time to accommodate that new situation, the new realities. Maybe the flowering staff reminds people just how far they have come in a short time. And gives people patience to hold out for the "long haul."
UNITY
Obviously the problem with each of these explanations is that Aharon had unfair advantage. He had a "special" staff. According to the third explanation, it is a controlled contest. All the staffs are extracted from a single tree trunk. And now, when they compete, each tribe has an equal, level chance. This is an objective test method. And when he wins, Aharon wins objectively. The Midrash here focuses on the need to remove any claims of unfairness in the test method. And hence, everyone takes a branch from the selfsame tree, and we put the branches in the Kodesh Kodashim, we throw the decision into the hands of God. Nobody can dispute this contest.
However we cannot fail to read the imagery here. All of Israel comes from a single root, a single source. We all make up the same tree. There is irony here, for it is Korach who says "For all the community are holy and God is in their midst, so why do you preside over the community of God?" And yet, here we are saying that rather than our collective past, our single source becoming a source of friction, it should be a means to settle dispute, a method to resolve disagreement.
Shabbat Shalom!
APPENDIX: The Structure of the Parasha and the problem of the sticks.
Broadly, when we look at Parashat Korach, one may divide the parsha into 3 sections – matched by the three chapters.
Ch.16 – The rebellion of Korach, Datan and Aviram.
Ch.17 - The aftershock
Ch.18 – A comprehensive list of all the Gifts of the Kohanim and Leviim.
If we want to understand the parsha in a global perspective we should note the following.
The rebellion in chapter 16 is essentially a double rebellion. The verses alternate between the two rebellions but they are distinct and are propelled by different issues. A table might assist us in differentiating the two:
Group 1 / Group 2The Protesters / The Leviim / Datan Aviram
The Issue / Moses' Leadership
They oppose Moses' leadership. They want a new leadership. / Aharon's status
They oppose Aharon's status of Kohein Gadol. They want access to the Avoda of the Mishkan
Pesukim that articulate the complaint. / 16:8-10 / 16:12-14
The test / The bringing of Ketoret/ Incense / The opening of the earth
Place of test / Ohel Moed / The tent ("Mishkan") of Datan and Aviram
Outcome / Burned / Swallowed
Obviously certain loose ends need to be cleared up. One example relates to the 250 heads of Tribes; where exactly do they fit in. Although 250 people are burned at the Ohel Moed, they are not Kohanim. Some say that they are Bechorim who have been recently denied their role as priests and thus want to depose Aharon and the caste system of the Kohanim. But, this breakdown is reasonably solid.
[For articles that explain this approach in the context of the Torah text, the pesukim, see Rabbi Leibtag at or, in greater detail, Rav Elchanan Samet at:
In response t Chapter 18 as a whole reaffirms the hierarchy of Yisrael-Levi-Kehuna. It restates as a legal code the entire series of laws related to priestly gifts (Matnot Kehuna) and thus codifies their special role. This acts as a Halakhic stopgap, giving a well needed legal boost to the status of the Kohanim and Leviim. Clearly this is a reaction to the Korach rebellion, in particular the "first group" who targeted Aharon, the Kehuna, and the ketoret.
So we understand ch.16; the rebellion. We understand ch.18; The legal epilogue.
What of ch.17 in the middle?
Chapter 17 contains two "signs", symbolic acts, which are designed to end the Korach rebellion and to deter future trouble of this sort. They are:
- The altar covered by the copper of the fire pans
- The flowering staff
The altar being covered by fire pans:
"Remove the fire pans of those who sinned at cost to their lives, and let them be hammered as plating for the altar – for they have been used to offer up to God, and have become sanctified – and let it be a sign (ot) to Bnei Yisrael …. a reminder to Bnei Yisrael so that no outsider, who is not one of Aharon's offspring, should presume to offer incense before the Lord and suffer the fate of Korach and his band." (17:1-5)
Clearly the issue here is a "group 1" issue – the question of who has access to the Mishkan, who can be a Kohein. Immediately afterwards this is followed by a plague. Aharon puts an end to this plague by using the ketoret itself! (Thus demonstrating that Ketoret doe not simply kill, but it can save lives when used appropriately.)
What about the second "sign" of the flowering staff? On the one hand, it is clearly stated that this symbolis
"a sign (ot) to the rebels so that their complaints against me may cease, lest they die." (17:25)
But how does this sign work?
It doesn't counter "group 2" who challenge Moses' leadership, because it is about the Tribe of Levi, and Aharon! And whereas, it would appear to demonstrate that Levi are elevated over all the tribes, the issue here would seem be the Kehuna, and in particular Aharon. Now, it DOES reaffirm Aharon as the Kohein Gadol, but why was the first sign not enough? And is there only need to reaffirm Aharon's place and not Moshe's? After all, was the whole Korach rebellion JUST about the Kehuna?
So this needs some working through, because ch.16 seems an attack as much on Moshe as Aharon. Suddenly the issue seems to be ONLY Aharon.
Last of all, let us mention that even AFTER the sign of the staff, the people say:
"We are dead, condemned – we are all condemned! … Shall we ever stop dying?" (17:27-8)
So did it work at all?
[1] See the Appendix to this essay – The structure of Parashat Korach.
[2] Interestingly, Yehuda's status a s King is also traced to a passuk that deals with a staff, but there it is a called a "Shevet." See Bereshit 49:10
[3] Here it is called Aharon's staff (not Moses'), but this is probably a result of its association with Aharon in this chapter. The Midrash says "When Aharon performed miracles with it was called by his name …
Here is the text of the Midrash:
ומטה האלהים בידי, אמר לו מטה זה בידי שאמר המקום יהי בידך לעולם, ד"א ומטה האלהים בידי, כשעשה בו אהרן נסים נקרא על שמו שנאמר מטה אהרן, ובזמן שעשיתי אני בו נסים נקרא על שמי, ובזמן שהקב"ה עושה נסים נקרא על שמו שנאמר ומטה האלהים. שמות רבה פרשה כו
Now there is a certain ambiguity in the text to the identity of this stick.
In 17:18 it is referred to as "the staff of Levi."
In 18:23 it is called "the staff of Aharon.:
And later, when this stick is taken from its storage place "before the (ark of the ) covenant," (17:25) and used by Moses – see 20:11 – it is referred to as the staff of Moses!
Even in Sefer Shemot, there is more than one staff, and it is difficult to distinguish between them. Moses throws his staff on the ground and it becomes a snake (Shemot 4:2-4). Aharon throws his stick to the ground (7:12) and it becomes a Tanin.
Are there two sticks/staffs or one? It is certainly very ambiguous.
[4] It functions in plagues 1,2,3,7 and 8.