RAV KOOK ON Korach Part 1: Holiness in the Midst of the Community

Judaism has an interesting concept called a minyan, a prayer quorum. Special prayers sanctifying God’s name (such as the kedushah and kaddish prayers) may only be said when ten men are present. An individual may pray in solitude, but without a minyan, certain parts of the liturgy must be omitted. The Talmud derives the requirement for a prayer quorum from God’s declaration, “I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites” (Lev. 22:32). What exactly does the word ‘midst’ mean? We find the word ‘midst’ used again when God warned the people living nearby the dissenters in Korach’s rebellion: “Separate yourselves from the midst of this ‘eidah’ (community)” (Num. 16:20). From here, the Sages learned that God is sanctified within an eidah. And what is the definition of eidah? The Torah refers to the ten spies who brought a negative report of the Land of Israel as an eidah ra’ah, an evil community (Num. 14:26). So we see that God is sanctified in a community of at least ten members.