The Israelite’s time in the desert was indeterminate – they had no sense of how long their wanderings would last, no sense of when they would arrive, and their patience was already short to begin with. B’midbar, the book of Numbers, retells these desert wanderings, these thrashings of a people who are hurting and afraid. The Torah would have us believe that Korach, after whom this week’s parsha is named, was in the wrong. That his questioning of Moses’ authority was tantamount to a rebellion. God punishes Korach and his followers and the incident becomes a blight upon the community for generations to come.
Later in the parsha we read the story of the daughters of Zelophechad; five women who speak up when their father’s portion is at risk of going to someone else. These characters are held up as examples of the proper way to effect change. They speak up for themselves, make their case, and while it seems they have much to risk by doing so, the truth is that they have more to risk by remaining silent.
We are left to ponder the relationship between these two modes of civil discourse: anger and righteousness on the one hand and level-headed working within the system on the other. Perhaps we need both when trying to affect real change.