The Carrot and the Stick

Rabbi Melanie Aron

June 8, 2002

People often talk about the carrot and the stick and wonder which is more effective. Most of this week's Torah portion, parashat Korach is upon the stick. It's about the various punishments inflicted about the rebel Korah, his band, and all of the Israelites. They are stricken by plague and fire, smitten by the sword and swallowed up in an earthquake. The section we will be reading this morning Chapter 17 beginning with verse 16 is about the carrot, though in this case the carrot is a stick, or more specifically a staff. It is Aaron's miracle working staff which here buds, and flowers and produces almonds, all as a sign to the people that Aaron is indeed chosen by God for leadership.

Staffs play an important role in the Exodus story. It is through a staff that Moses and Aaron first convince the people and eventually Pharoah that they speak God's word and represent God's authority on earth. A staff also gets Moses into trouble, as it is because of the incident of striking the rock with his staff, that Moses is punished and prevented from entering the promised land.

In this part of the parashah we see the people blaming Moses and Aaron, rather than the rebels Korach, Datan and Abiran and the 250 men of reknown, or even themselves, for the misfortunes that have occurred. We also have a hint here that this particular rebellion was less about Moses, than it was about Aaron and his tribe's preeminence among the Israelites.

It is probably not a coincidence that the staff blossomed into almonds. In Israel, almond trees are the first to blossom at the beginning of the spring. They appear in many places in the bible as a sign of rebirth, and of the reviving of the dead. The prophet Jeremiah uses the almond branch as a sign to Israel that God is wakeful and watching the events of their times. "The word of the Lord came to me: What do you see Jeremiah? I replied: I see a branch of an almond tree. The Lord said to me: You have seen right, for I am watchful to bring My word to pass."

Like the fire in the Havdalah ceremony, the staff represents power - which can be used for good or evil. As Rabbi Larry Hoffman wrote: "It is like a conductor's baton or a magician's wand ... these tools produce beautiful music or magic only in the hands of the right user and in the right context". May our staff, our powers, blossom and bear fruits through right usage.