Tristan Brunton - Dvar Torah

Hello everyone, thanks for coming to my barmitzvah, I just want to say a few things. So my Torah portion Korach is mainly about a revolt against Moses. Korach along with 249 co-conspirators rebelled against Moses, after Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the desert. Korach and the co-conspirators rebelled because they said that Moses was leading them nowhere and that he had lied about G-d choosing him. During a very difficult and pressurized situation Moses showed amazing leadership qualities and was very calm under pressure.

In history their have been many good revolutions, like the French Revolution, standing up to Apartheid, the American revolution etc. but this was not one. This was not a good revolution, because it didn’t have a true cause behind it. Korach just rebelled because of his ego and because he wanted to be in charge of the Israelites.

During this time Moses led by example. He stood his ground firmly and humbly in the face of adversity. He had the courage of his convictions and believed that G-d was guiding him with the best interests of the Jewish people at heart. These are all qualities of a good leader which is how I aspire to live my life.

As I transition into Jewish adulthood I commit myself to leading by example; to always be fair; to always be kind; to always be honest; and to always try to be the best version of myself.