The Big Kahuna Or Kehuna (כְּהֻנָּֽה)?

the torah portion korach- beginning at numbers 16- utilizes the word, כְּהֻנָּֽה, kehuna. hawaiian contains a similar word- kahuna. beyond sounding alike, their meanings bare similarity; in hebrew, kehuna refers to priesthood while the kahuna in hawaiian refers to a wise man or shaman.

for some, being a kahuna is not enough. thus, we have the “big kahuna”. per wiktionary, this elevated status can mean “a boss, leader, chieftan or top-ranking person in an organization.” the thesaurus provides synonyms such as the big cheese, the big enchilada, the bigwig, the big wheel, the grand poobah, the head honcho, the kingpin, the muckety muck, the top banana, and the top dog.

the korach portion tells of the insurrectionist korach and his kehuna aspirations. in the heat of this rebellion, the scripture tells that “moses said to korach, “please listen, sons of levi. is it not enough that the god of israel has distinguished you from the congregation of israel to draw you near to him, to perform the service in the mishkan of the lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? he drew you near, and all your brothers, the sons of levi with you, and now you seek the kehunah as well?” numbers 16: 8-10.

thus, we must ask, “what compels individuals to seek leadership roles?”

authority is a natural trait. animal and insect societies have power structures and leadership. within these societies, each group has an established means of determining leaders. some do it based upon age and knowledge (elephants), others do by highly developed social skills (primates), and still others by brute force (primates).

the children of israel’s powers structure, however, was not one of nature. the creator and master of the universe hand-picked moses and aaron as their leaders. the levite tribe members were also assigned roles.

with korach, unlike a battle of two alphas in a primate setting, the children of israel’s leadership would be subject to the authority that assigned power, the almighty. korach’s fate was in the hands of the ultimate power broker. korach, however, was no match for the likes of moses and aaron who had proven themselves repeatedly. as such, korach, and his followers, in biblical fashion were dispatched in sinkhole-like fashion by the master and swallowed up into the ground.

arguably, korach lacked respect for the power structure. in the big scheme of things, understanding who is truly in control should shape one’s ambitions. korach serves as an example for all seeking to be the big enchilada or the top banana. korach’s timing was poor as moses and aaron remained in the good graces with “upper” management. korach’s haftarah reading from samuel, however, offers the prelude to the children of israel’s arguably most important management decision. the haftarah has saul being appointed as king over the children of israel. this leadership appointment, however, was the one in which there was a true fall from grace. as a result, david ascended to the monarchy. as such, korach and david’s stories serve as the dos and don’ts of political ambition.

be well!!

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