Parshat Korach: To Give

When I watch the world’s strife on the television screen I long for the days of flaming fire pans and budding branches…of revealed answers. Like with Korach. An argument arose, Korach’s clan pitted against Moses and Aaron. Each side made its claim to leadership. And how simply God set the matter straight by accepting Aaron’s fire offering, by making Aaron’s staff bud green, by swallowing up the ‘bad guy’ into the pit of earth. I long for a God with such communication skills! I long for a God who expresses clearly what S/He means. 

But we do not have such signs today. And so what is God communicating in His incommunicado? 

  I am reminded of the story of the Rabbi who explained how there is a place for even atheism in the world. When pressed by his perplexed students as to how this could be, he answered, ‘You must be an atheist when a person comes to you asking for assistance. Lest you answer, ‘God will help you.’ At that moment there is no saving God who is responsible for your friend; rather it is you alone who are called to help.’ 

No Budding Branches 

Why are there no more
budding branches? 
No revelations
No flagrant answers? 

No fire pans flamed
By fuel of God? 
No loom laced by Grace?
No Force unflawed? 
Just string, swinging
slack without meaning? 
Is there now nothing
Where once there was Being? 

Is there now hollow
Where once hallowed stood? 
And if so, then why, when,
and for, pray tell, what good?  

For who will feed the famished
and who the houseless home? 
If there is no God to nod
To grant, to give, to loan 
But rather let us beat 
the flaming fire pans
Into a tool to service man 

To instruments for healing wounds
To stay the plague
To light the gloom
Take your censors
To censor self

Improve the planet
Increase global health 

If God be hidden
Then let God’s deeds
Be done by man
To fill world’s needs 
Let's cease our strife
Let compassion live 

Perhaps
God let God die
That we may
Be the ones 
to Give