Torah to Go - Parashat Korah Last summer, I was a chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. I spent my summer visiting with patients and helping them through difficult times through prayer, good listening, and finding ways to help them feel more at home. I remember one patient in particular, with whom I spent a great deal of time with during his stay at Cedars Sinai. He was very sick, and while I was with him, received a diagnosis from his doctor that meant he was going to die. The patient chose to go home on hospice, and die with dignity and with his family. He told me later that he treasured our time together because I was the only one willing to acknowledge reality and listen to what he was feeling. When I would sit and talk with him, I felt like I was standing between life and death, trying to hold on to this mans life, while recognizing that he was going to die in the near future. In this weeks Torah portion, Korah, we find Aaron, the high priest, in a similar situation. In the aftermath of Korahs rebellion, the Israelites complain to Moses and Aaron, accusing them of killing Gods people. As a result, God sends a plague to punish the people, and Aaron goes out among the sick with his firepan and incense to try and stop it. The text describes Aaron as standing between the living and the dead. He saw the people suffering, and he set out to do what he could. Commenting on this verse, Rashi writes that Aaron stood between the people, suffering from the plague and clinging to life, and the Angel of Death, urging the angel to stop the plague. The plague stopped, but not before 14,700 Israelites perished. Aarons actions teach us a valuable lesson. There are those in the community who are ill, some of whom will heal, while others will not. It is our obligation, without knowing their outcome, to stand with them as Aaron stood with the Israelites as the plague ravaged. Aaron could have chosen to stay in the Tabernacle while the plague ravaged the Israelites as a punishment from God, but he chose to go out and provide for their spiritual needs, literally standing among the living and the dead. We too face a choice with the sick of our community. We must make the choice to stand with them, providing spiritual and emotional support and comfort, letting them known that they are a part of this community in sickness and in health. This knowledge might make the struggle to heal just a little bit easier, or make the path toward death a little less lonely. May we all merit to follow Aarons example and show those in our lives who are ill that we are with them. Shabbat Shalom, Ilan Schwartz
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 19:15:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015