Silence
Thoughts on Parashat Korah 2019
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Silence is not merely negative; it is
not the mere absence of speech. It is a positive, complete world in itself.
Silence has greatness simply because it is. It is, and that is its greatness,
its pure greatness.
(Max Picard)[1]
And
Korah, son of Yisshar, son of Kehat, took… (Bemidbar 16:1) – He attracted the Sanhedrin
amongst them by fine words.[2]
Korah
emerged on the scene with his mouth open and full of words. “You have too much”
he exclaimed to Moshe and Aharon, “For all the community, they are holy, and in
their midst is God, and why should you raise yourselves up over God’s
assembly?” (16:3). Initially “falling on his face” in shock, Moshe then
promised Korah and his followers that God would settle their claim in the
morning (16:4). And, so it was. Instead of articulating a response to their
protest, Moshe kept quiet, setting the stage for God’s punishment of the
rebels.
In
stark contrast to Moshe’s silent part in this controversy, the Hakhamim
envisioned Korah as engaged in constant speech: “The whole night he went around
to all the tribes and tried to win them over: “Do you really think that I care
for myself alone? It is for all of you that I have a care!”[3]
It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that he was dealt his death from a
silencing mouth: “And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them
and their households and every human being that was Korah’s, and all their
belongings” (16:34).
Why
didn’t Moshe issue a verbal response to Korah and his followers? Although God was
in no need of help to serve up their punishment, a spoken rebuttal by Moshe
could have provided clarity for the people of Am Yisrael who were undoubtedly
shaken and confused by the sudden affront to their leaders.
I
remember the first time that I learned to be attentive to silence. It was from
my Talmud teacher in the ninth grade. Upon reaching the punchline of a
brilliant interpretation of HaRambam’s opinion on a particular matter, R. Zelig
Prag exclaimed: “The greatness of this approach is that more than taking into
account the words that Rambam did write, it notices those that he did
not!” Indeed, the great scholar and rabbi, Prof. Isadore Twersky z”l commented:
“One must be attuned to the silences as well as to the sounds of
Maimonides’ writing.”[4]
It was, as well, this very trait that the great German philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche noticed in Socrates, remarking that Socrates was not only “the wisest
chatterer of all time,” but “equally great in silence.”[5]
While
many of the situations that we encounter in life are best communicated with
words, others are better expressed in silence. HaRambam wrote, for
example, about how it is impossible for people to articulate God’s praise in
words. Pointing to the pasuk “Silence is praise to Thee” (Tehillim
65:2), he posited that it is therefore “more becoming to be silent, and to be
content with intellectual reflection” of God.[6]
And the contemporary psychologist Benjamin Epstein similarly commented on our
expressions of affection: “No matter how many times you repeat the words ‘I
love you,’ no matter how hard you try to find the exact phrase to describe the
emotion, you will inevitably come up short…while it definitely exists and can
be deeply felt, no description can suffice.”[7]
As
Korah and his followers assailed Moshe and Aharon with claims of “national
holiness,” Moshe met their claims with silence. How could he possibly
articulate words to defend a concept so abstract as kedushah? And so, as
he listened to them babble on with a rational approach to God and sanctity, the
contrast of his silence reminded all those assembled of matters that lie beyond
the realm of speech.
Moshe’s
silence transmits to us a lesson that extends beyond the specific errors of
Korah and his followers. It teaches us that many of life’s most important
realities transcend the application of words, and are perceived instead in the world
of experience. While we may dream of an appropriate verbal expression of the depth
of our connection to God and others, or the exact nature of our joy, pain and
so many other emotions, Moshe’s wordless reaction taught about the “pure
greatness” of silence.
[1] The World of Silence (Chicago, IL, 1952),
pg. I.
[2] Commentary of Rashi to Bemidbar 16:1, s.v.
va-yikah.
[3] Commentary of Rashi to Bemidbar 16:19, s.v.
va-yakhel.
[4] Isadore Twersky, Introduction to the Code of
Maimonides (New Haven, CT, 1980), pg. 235.
[5] Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science (Cambridge,
UK, 2001), pg. 193.
[6] R. Moshe ben Maimon, Moreh Nevukhim 1:59.
[7] Benjamin Epstein, Living in the Presence: A
Jewish Mindfulness Guide for Everyday Life (Jerusalem, IS, 2019), pg. 118.