Parshat Korach, 6th Portion, (Numbers 17:25-18:20), 7/8/2016

The staff is placed in front of the tent to remind the rebellious ones of what happens when they lose faith.

What is faith? It allows us to walk down the street without the fear that the ground may crumble beneath us.

It allows us to completely and throughly trust another human being. This is completely irrational, yet without it, we cannot have a relationship. The opposite of faith is always being cautious that something bad will happen. When we don’t have faith, we believe that the sky will fall.

We read here about the responsibility and rewards of being a kehunah (Cohen). These priests should get offerings, but will not own or inherit land. This seems to be a good way to prevent the priests from straying from their job. They have to serve their people well to be fed. They will only acquire what is given to them day-by-day.

In a Buddhist temple, the ceremonial robes belong to the temple. The monks own a needle, a robe, and a begging bowl. That’s it. And they can’t store food. If they get too much for one meal, they have to share it.

This, as well, keeps the monks on their toes.