Parshat Korach: July 4th, Aaron's staff and the Faith of Confronting Life's Unknowns

 

O say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

 

Francis Scott Key wrote these words while being held by the British on a ship.  He had been held on the ship all night, and in the morning, he saw Fort McHenry raise its immense garrison flag, 30 ft by 42 ft, and he knew the Americans had won the battle for Baltimore.  That flag was known as the Star-Spangled Banner, a flag originally made in Baltimore a year earlier by Mary Pickersgill.

 

The flag was the symbol of victory, of freedom renewed after this second war with England, and the latter-day version of this flag became the official flag of the United States.

 

At the beginning of our Torah reading this morning, God instructs Moses to put Aaron’s staff in the Mishkan, the Holy Place, at night.  The next morning, the staff has sprouted blossoms and almonds.  

 

Francis Scott Key sees the flag of victory flying over the Fort in the morning.  It’s a sign of victory.

 

Moses brings out Aaron’s staff in the morning, a walking stick that’s full of bright flowers and fresh almonds growing – not a sign of victory, but a sign of faith in God’s choice of Aaron and his descendants to serve as the priests for the people.

 

In both events, the outcome is unknown in the evening.  There is a time of waiting, wondering, uncertainty, anxiety, even fear.

 

And in both events, the morning brings hope and reassurance.

The Star-Spangled Banner flew in September, 1814 and continues to fly across the country.

 

And according to the midrash, the flowers and almonds that grew on Aaron’s staff never dried up and never fell off.

 

We ourselves face similar unknowns every evening.  As the sun goes down, and the darkness covers everything, we can turn on lights inside and out, put the TV on, play music.  We can do any number of things to push back against the literal and figurative darkness, but ultimately we know the way things will turn out is at least in some small part beyond our control.

 

Our ancestors write in the Book of Psalms, ba’erev yalin bechi, ve’la boker, rinah, tears may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.  That is a hopeful vision.

 

Neither Moses nor Francis Scott Key were 100% certain of the outcome.  They both had to wait and wonder.

 

It goes without saying unknowns make us feel uneasy, unsettled.  It’s hard to sleep when our minds are churning, ruminating about what happened or what may, or may not, happen tomorrow.

 

But not knowing does not mean we are helpless or powerless.  Not knowing gives us the chance to free ourselves from what may be unrealistic expectations we make on ourselves or the way we internalize the expectations of others.  

 

To help us put our worries of the unknowns, or the future, aside so we can rest at night, it’s helpful to recite the Shema, a custom that’s been around for thousands of years.  Before going to bed we say “God is One”.  We may feel fractured and unsure, but God is One, unified, and the unifier of what often appears to be a chaotic world within a chaotic universe.  That God is One means there is a wholeness, a peace, that we can fall back into like we do in a trust fall, and we can breathe deeply, knowing at that moment there’s only one truth to hold on to.

 

And we might also think about Aaron’s staff, with the beautiful, delicate white flowers, blooming for eternity, and we might also think about Francis Scott Key, looking out at Ft. McHenry to see a huge symbol of freedom billowing in the morning light.