Korach 5786: Political Incense

GOOD MORNING! With the United States’ semiquincentennial (i.e. half of five centuries or the 250th year) anniversary coming up in a few short weeks, it seems like an appropriate time to step back and take an accounting of where we are as a country. Indeed, many studies have been published recently regarding what Americans think of their country and the current political environment.

Unfortunately, recent polls and studies paint a depressing, if nuanced, picture of serious divisions in the USA. While the partisan rift between the political left and right remains severe, fresh data highlights that Americans are also growing increasingly exhausted by the two-party system itself. The data shows a country dealing with double-layered polarization: bitter, hyper-partisan warfare at the fringes and an increasingly angry, alienated majority in the middle who feel entirely abandoned by the political system.

Unsurprisingly, a record 45% of Americans now identify as political independents. This disgust with both the inter-party fighting and the intra-party dissension has hollowed out huge swaths from both major parties; nearly half of the country refuses to formally affiliate with either major political party (with both Democrats and Republicans tied at just 27% each). This disdain for both parties is proven by the fact that, when pushed, those polled admitted that they lean either Democrat or Republican; only 10% are true independents.

This likely has to do with the fact that a staggering 80% of American adults say that Republican and Democratic voters not only disagree on policies, but they also cannot agree on basic facts. In addition, 85% say that elected officials don’t care what people like them think and only 17% trust the federal government “to do the right thing most of the time.” Congress remains one of the least popular institutions in America; Gallup measured congressional approval at 12% in May 2026 with an 80% disapproval rating. Bottom line: Americans feel that politicians have broken the political system.

Even though the progressive far left and the nationalist far right remain relatively small (7% and 9% respectively), according to a Harvard Kennedy School study in 2016 only 10% of political reporting is actually on policy issues. Everything else is focused on political maneuvering and who is winning or losing.

This total breakdown in real reporting feeds into a rising fear of instability; the majority of Americans see both left-wing (53%) and right-wing (52%) extremism as major national problems, with most agreeing that politically motivated violence is on the rise. It’s no wonder that polls show over 43% of Americans think we will experience a second civil war in our lifetime.

All this nonsense reminds me of a joke. A boat capsizes and three people wash ashore on a deserted island: a progressive left organizer, a no-apologies right populist, and a stressed sideliner independent. The independent says, “Okay, we have no food, no water, and the tide is rising. We need to build a raft and try to get out of here.”

The progressive shakes their head: “We can’t just build a raft without auditing the timber industry’s historical exploitation of the local ecosystem, and quite frankly, the term ‘raft’ centers a Eurocentric seafaring narrative.” The populist scoffs: “The raft is a hoax invented by globalist elitists to make us give up our beachfront sovereignty. What we actually need to do is build a wall against the sharks and deport the coconuts.” The progressive begins focusing on unionizing the sand while the populist is busy holding a press conference for the crabs.

Meanwhile, a rescue ship pulls up to the shore. The captain yells, “Hey! Do you guys want a ride back to civilization?” The progressive refuses based on the fact that the ship’s diesel engine is an environmental hate crime. The populist is too busy planning his beachfront hotel/condo project to even consider the offer.

The independent looks at the rescue ship, looks back at the two partisan idiots who are now trying to litigate who owns the rights to fire, and is about to leave when he suddenly realizes that without access to any news media on the island neither of his companions will have any idea what they are supposed to be angry about in a couple of days. He tells the captain, “Leave us. It’s the closest thing to national unity I’ll see in my lifetime.”

One of the core values of Judaism – perhaps its highest – is unity and peace. It is no coincidence that perhaps the most famous Hebrew word (after Shabbat) is “shalom – peace.” It comes from the root word “shalem – whole” because when you have a oneness you have peace. This is also why shalom is the greeting used for both hello and goodbye.

In this week's Torah reading we find what the sages term the quintessential example of disunity; the story of Korach and his adherents challenging Moses and Aaron.

The full story of of Korach and his followers taking on Moses and Aaron appears in Numbers (16:1-35). I recommend that you read it in its entirety to get the full picture of what happened.

A brief summarization: Korach challenges Moses’ authority in appointing his brother as the High Priest. He manages to gain support from some of Moses’ prior antagonists and some 250 families. Moses is very disturbed to be accused of blatant nepotism (Aaron had, in fact, been appointed by Divine command) and grows angry (see Numbers 35:15) and challenges all the disputants to a showdown the next day with his brother Aaron.

The test consists of bringing the very special incense offering known as the ketores to the Tabernacle and seeing whose offering God would accept. Long story short, God appears to the entire assemblage accepts Aaron’s offering, destroys the 250 conspiratorial families with a heavenly fire, and Korach and his family are swallowed alive as the ground miraculously opens up beneath them.

However, there is an amazing – and shocking – sequel to this story. The following day the rest of the Israelites gathered to berate Moses and Aaron, “You have put to death the nation of God!” (Numbers 17:6). The Almighty finally loses His patience, “Stand clear of the congregation and I will destroy them instantly!” (17:10).

Both Moses and Aaron bow before God and pray to prevent anything from befalling the nation. Moses turns to his brother Aaron and tells him that it is too late, the Divine wrath had set a plague on the people. He instructs Aaron to quickly prepare a pan of ketores and to stand in the midst of the people.

The famous Biblical commentator Rashi (17:11) quotes the Talmud that states that when Moses ascended to Mount Sinai to retrieve the Torah, he was informed that the ketores had the power to stop the angel of death. So, Aaron stood between the living and the dead and created a barrier that the angel of death was not permitted to cross, thus ending the plague and saving the rest of the nation. So, in this week’s portion we have two remarkable stories featuring the sublime power of the incense. What exactly is the secret to its power?

The ketores was a VERY special part of the worship in the Holy Temple – arguably the most important part of the service. The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 18:7) describes the ketores as “the dearest (to God) of all the services in the Holy Temple.”

What attribute of the ketores service makes it so powerful? To begin, we must understand that even the animal sacrifices are repeatedly described in the Torah as having a pleasing smell to the Almighty. Whether it was an animal sacrifice or the incense service, clearly it all revolves around the sense of smell. But what is it about the sense of smell that is different from all the other senses?

Additionally, the Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban, which comes from the root word “karov – to draw near.” In Aramaic, the word ketores means “bound together,” also denoting a deep connection. Clearly, the purpose of Temple services is to bring us closer and bind us to the Almighty. How is this related to the sense of smell?

According to Jewish tradition, the only one of the five sense that was left unspoiled by Adam and Eve’s sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge was the sense of smell. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve corrupted four of their senses. They heard the serpent’s alluring words; they saw the fruit was “a delight to the eyes;” they touched it by taking from its fruit; and they tasted it. But their sense of smell remained untarnished.

Consequently, the nostrils represent the one sense that still allows us to connect directly to our souls. It is through this connection to our soul that we are able to be revived. We find a similar concept in the natural world – when a person loses consciousness and is administered smelling salts, which induces him to breathe and revives his physical body.

This is also why it is called ketores, as it to “re-tie” our connection to the Almighty. We connect with the Almighty through the last remaining sense that is as God intended – smell. This is why on the holiest day of the year the High Priest is permitted to enter the Holy of Holies and place the fragrant ketores opposite the Ark of the Covenant.

The life force within man came when the Almighty “blew into his nostrils the soul of life and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). It is for this reason that the word soul – neshama – is rooted in the Hebrew word for breath – nishum. This is why the nose, used for breathing and smelling, is the organ through which the soul enters and leaves. It is this connection to the Almighty that brings everything into a perfect balance of the universe and a unity with all of creation. God did not allow Korach’s political and divisive agenda to poison His holy unity; so too we should not allow politicians to ruin the beauty of our “more perfect Union.”

Korach, Numbers 16:1 - 18:32

There are two rebellions this week. First, Korach, a Levite, is passed over for the leadership of his tribe and challenges Moses over the position of high priest. No good rebellion can be “sold” as a means for personal gain, so Korach convinces 250 men of renown that they must stand up for a matter of principle – that each and every one of them has the right to the office of high priest (which Moses had announced that God had designated his brother, Aaron, to serve).

Fascinatingly, all 250 followers of Korach accept Moses’ challenge to bring an offering of incense to see who God will choose to fill the one position. This means that every man figured he would be the one out of 250 to not only be chosen, but to survive the ordeal. Moses announces that if the earth splits and swallows up the rebels it is a sign that he (Moses) is acting on God’s authority. And thus it happened!

The next day, the entire Israelite community rises in a second rebellion and complains to Moses, “You have killed God’s people!” The Almighty brings a plague that kills 14,700 people and only stops when Aaron offers an incense offering.

To settle the question once and for all, Moses has the head of each tribe bring a staff with his name on it. The next morning only Aaron’s staff had blossomed and brought forth almonds. The people were shown this sign. Aaron’s staff was placed in front of the curtain of the ark as testimony for all time.