Back in the early 1980s, while living on Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael in northern Israel, I received an invitation that seemed strangely simple.

One cold late-winter evening, Racheli—the head of the overseas kibbutz volunteers—told us to meet at the front gate with sleeping bags and warm clothing.

No explanation. No destination. Just trust.

We drove deep into the night with no idea where we were headed. By the time the bus finally stopped, darkness still blanketed the countryside around us, and we fell asleep beneath the open sky.

When morning came, we awoke to rolling hills flooded with white and soft pink almond blossoms stretching endlessly across the landscape.

Our rucksacks returned full of almonds, and with some of the harvest Racheli later baked an almond pie none of us ever forgot.

Only years later did I begin to understand why that landscape remained so deeply etched in my memory.

Parashat Korach opens with one of the Torah’s most devastating rebellions. Korach, a man of stature and privilege, rises against Moshe and Aharon in a rebellion that fractures the spiritual unity of the nation. Though........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)