The Almond Staff

What comes next?

Jewish infighting— threats of extinction—and charismatic leaders making big promises. This past week’s headlines or events directly from the Torah portion? Yes, indeed!

This week’s Torah portion tells the story of Korach, rabble rouser par excellence. He’s a biblical Rorschach test. Some folks look at him and see a self-centered demagogue attempting to usurp the divinely gifted leadership of Moses and Aaron. Others see him as an inspirational figure ready to take down the system. While his story is fascinating, it’s really what follows that caught my eye this week.

But before we get there, I want to talk about Zohran Mamdani, another character on everyone’s minds this week. I am not a New York City resident, an expert in local politics, or well-versed in his own ideology. I was struck this week though by the dialogue in my social media feeds.

On one hand, the dominant voice was that he represents a direct threat to Jewish safety and he is going to be a major cause of the downfall of the Jewish community in New York City. The other voice, a quieter albeit substantial one messianically venerated him as the next great grassroots political leader, ready to tear down the establishment and the man. Your take on this might fall in one of those camps but when I find myself between two extremes, I tend to think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

As a people though, we do this a lot. We entrench in our ideological camps and get ready for war. It’s easier to fight from the extremes. That’s probably inevitable. Even now while you’re reading this, you might be scoffing at me from either side. You don’t get it, you might be thinking. Either I am a fool or a sellout.

I am more curious about what we do when the smoke clears, which brings us back to our portion.

Following the intense tragedy of the nation after Korach’s almost rebellion, the story picks up with Numbers 17:17-

Speak to the Israelite people and take from them—from the chieftains of their ancestral houses —one staff for each chieftain of an ancestral house: twelve staffs in all. Inscribe each one’s name on his staff…

They are then told to deposit each of these staffs in the tent of meeting and in 17:20-

וְהָיָ֗ה הָאִ֛ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֶבְחַר־בּ֖וֹ מַטֵּ֣הוּ יִפְרָ֑ח וַהֲשִׁכֹּתִ֣י מֵֽעָלַ֗י אֶת־תְּלֻנּוֹת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֛ר הֵ֥ם מַלִּינִ֖ם עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

The staff of the candidate whom I choose shall sprout, and I will allay Myself of the incessant mutterings of the Israelites against you.

Why is this the event that takes place right after a rebellion and why does it happen through a selection of almond blossom staffs representing each tribe?

One of my favorite answers comes from the Mei Hashiloach, the famed leader of the Izhbitz Chasidic dynasty:

The staff (or branch) hints at life as is known, as it is written (Zechariah, 8:4), “every man with his staff in his hand from many days” (long life). God commanded them to take staves for in the future God will show each one that he will arrive at his place and true portion of eternal life, and will not desire the portion of his neighbor.

For before it will be clear to each one what his portion is, he will want the portion of his fellow. It was like this in the controversy of Korach, as he longed for the portion of Aaron. This is the meaning of the staves, that God showed each and every one his place, that everyone has a good place, and that no one would complain about (be jealous of) the portion of Aaron.

He saw the events of Korach as emblematic of a society that was constantly desirous of another’s portion. The reason the Torah follows that with this ritual is that there’s a deeper linguistic connection with staffs. The Prophet Zacharia when he is foretelling about the redemptive time, illustrates that every elderly person is able to lean on their staff. He reads into that in the perfected world that arrives with the Messiah, a hallmark symbol of it is that each person is content with their lot, a seemingly simple yet ever fleeting concept.

Our work as humans, and even more acutely as Jews is to instill this practice in our lives. Can I see you and recognize that your portion is yours just as legitimately as mine is mine? After the rifts that inevitably come, can I still accept you?

It’s not so much about the content of the intra-communal debate that takes place though that leaves a lot to be desired as well. But more importantly, how do we maintain some semblance of community after the fact? Already now, the mudslinging and calling out of other Jews being Kapos has begun. This insertion in the Torah, argues the Mei Ha’Shiloach, tells us that after the rupture, there’s a possibility for hope and connection.

It goes even deeper. As biblical botanist (a very niche albeit cool area of study!) Noga Hareuveni notes, the almond is one of the first fruit trees to blossom in spring in the Land of Israel. It rapidly buds leaves, develops new branches, and forms its sustaining fruit—all before the flower’s calyx (the part that encloses the petals) drops off.

That is, the fruit and outermost petals of the blossom cling to the tree at once; the fading sepals and bitter nut, process and product, hang out together simultaneously. Its Hebrew name, shaqed, means “the early waker,” and it signifies God’s watchfulness and vigilant response. In other words, the almond symbolizes the hope in the burgeoning growth that follows desolation. Not only does it symbolize hope but it also serves as a reminder to God.

In the verse quoted above when God mentions that the sprouted blossom will indicate who is chosen, the verb that the Torah uses to describe God’s allaying וַהֲשִׁכֹּתִ֣י, is a noteworthy word that means something like abated or soothed. It’s strikingly used to describe what happens to the receding waters of the flood of the Noah story and King Achashveirosh’s anger subsiding, two powerful moments of calm following despair. Built into this moment is not just aspirational hope but an embedded reminder that that which is potentially destructive need not always remain in that state. As the Netziv, the great luminary of the famed Volozhin Yeshiva interprets this word, וַהֲשִׁכֹּתִ֣י,

potential remains for there to be quiet even after all the pain and rancor.

I’m not arguing this as a pollyanna. There will be real implications from this election as there are from all elections. What’s more important to me is how we move forward as a people. Can we take a lesson from this week’s portion? Can we see the almond blossom and remind ourselves that even after our infighting, a path remains? That path is not always going to be smooth but perhaps it is one that will allow us sooth the pains that led us to it.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Weekend!