Introduction
This week’s parsha, Korach, details the only major attempt at challenging Moshe’s position as G-d’s chosen leader and prophet of the Jewish people. Rashi tells us that this rebellion was rooted in jealousy, as Korach felt he should have been appointed the leader of the extended family of Kohath. Instead, Moshe had appointed Elizaphan son of Uzziel per G-d’s instruction. A bit of background: Kohath had 4 sons, Amram Yitzhar Hebron and Uzziel. Korach reasoned that Amram was the oldest so it makes sense that his 2 sons would be first in line for leadership. Hence Moshe was given the role of leader while Aharon was chosen to be the Kohel Gadol, the High Priest. Naturally when it came to picking the Kohath family leader the next in line should come from the family of Yitzhar, the 2nd born son. Instead that honor went to the family of Uzziel, who was the 4th born son. In truth, even Moshe and Aharon were not chosen by G-d because of birthright, but because they were the most qualified for the job. That reality extends to Elizaphan as well. He was chosen to be a leader because he was the right choice. But Korach never saw this truth. His jealousy caused him to create a warped reality in which the only thing that mattered was birthright, and therefore if Moshe didn’t follow these ‘rules’ then he must be making things up as he goes, which includes randomly appointing leaders based on personal calculations. This ‘logic’ would even extend to appointing his brother Aharon as High Priest. Korach claimed it was an act of nepotism. And down the rabbit hole of heresy went Korach. Unfortunately he took a lot of his neighbors down with him.
The Jewish people camped in a precise square formation with the Mishkan/Tabernacle at the center. The Levite families formed the ‘inner ring’, camped directly around the 4 sides of the Mishkan. The family of Kohath-which included Korach-camped on the south side. The outer ring consisted of the other 12 tribes, 3 on each side. The 3 tribes camped to the south were Reuven, Shimon, and Gad. This arrangement meant that the tribe of Reuven camped directly on the outer perimeter, exactly behind the Kohathites. Because their backyards or tents were physically adjacent, Korach was able to easily influence Reubenite neighbors like Dathan and Abiram (this is a classic example of the Jewish teaching ‘Woe to the wicked, and woe to his neighbor’). Korach also rallied another 250 other leaders of the Jewish people (most of whom were from the tribe of Reuven) to his cause.
They all came to Moshe and Aharon and said ‘Moshe, you took the leadership role for yourself. It is too much for you to also make Aharon the High Priest! Also, the Jewish people are all equally great and holy inasmuch as we all experienced the same revelation at Sinai, so why do you exalt yourselves as leaders over the people!’ Korach had his whole group dress in garments of techeiles, turquoise wool, and they confronted Moshe further: ‘does an all-techeiles garment require a single techeiles thread in its tzitzis?’ Moshe said yes. Korach scoffed: ‘If a single strand is enough for an entire garment of a different color, does it not stand to reason that an all-techeiles garment should not require one more strand?’ His goal here was to convince the people that these ‘illogical’ laws must be Moshe’s own invention, not God’s will. Once again we see that Korach is lacking coherence. On one hand he suggests that Moshe is a complete fraud, on the other hand he suggests that he’s not a fraud, although appointing Aharon as High Priest was an act of nepotism. Very much like many of the political podcasters of today, he’s grabbing onto every conspiracy theory he can as a way of riling up the people against Moshe and Aharon. Where does he really stand? We learn a lot from Moshe’s response. First he is greatly distressed by seeing a large group of Jews failing yet again. Then he says to the whole group ‘be ready in the morning. Everyone should take fire-pans and put fire in them and place incense upon them before G-d tomorrow. Then the man whom G-d will choose — he is the holy one’ Moshe then said to Korach, “Is it not enough for you that the G-d has segregated you from the assembly of Israel to draw you near to Himself, to perform the service of the Tabernacle of Hashem, and to stand before the assembly to minister to them? And He drew you near, and all your brethren, the offspring of Levi, with you, yet you seek priesthood as well! Therefore, you and your entire assembly that are joining together are against Hashem! And as for Aaron — what is he that you protest against him?” Moshe understands that Ultimately Korach and his gang want the position of High Priest. So Moshe gives them the chance. Tomorrow everyone will do the daily incense offering in the Mishkan and only the real High Priest will survive. This is an incredible moment. Over 250 people all think that they will be the one person chosen by G-d to serve him. It’s such an act of delusion that our Sages ask, clearly everyone in the group was crazy on some level, but we know Korach was a very wise man. What made him fall for this? Rashi explains that he saw through a vision that he would have great descendants like Shmuel the prophet. He mistook this to mean he’d be the last man standing. In truth it was his sons who survived as they repented from the rebellion in the last moment.
In the meantime, Moshe reached out to Dathan and Aviram for the sake of making peace but they rejected the gesture.
What happens the next day? The ground famously split open and swallowed up Korach, Dathan and Aviram and their camps. Then a flame came forth from G-d and consumed the 250 men who offered the incense. So ended Korach and his entire rebellion. The parsha continues but we will stop here to focus on some of the many lessons to learn from this part of the parsha.
Our ‘Story’
Right from the beginning we see that Korach’s rebellion was built on a false premise. He is convinced that there is a birthright that must be adhered. Moshe ignored that birthright, therefore a rebellion is warranted. But the truth is there was no such rule. G-d had Moshe appoint the most worthy people.
How many times in life do we choose to see reality based on our own understanding of a version of events? How many mistakes have we made because od said reality. It is for this reason that the Mishna teaches us that we must judge everyone favorably. Because the truth is almost always very different than what we assume it to be.
Leadership and Responsibility
The Maharal points out that Korach ultimately wasn’t really after Moshe’s position as leader, rather he was after Aharon’s role as High Priest.
Why is that? When the Jewish people approached the prophet Shmuel to ask G-d for a Jewish king, they said ‘we want a king that go out in front of us’. Shmuel was not happy with the request. Even in the language they used it seems that they wanted a king so that they could shirk all the responsibility on to him. Indeed, it is the king’s role to be responsible for the whole nation. The tribe of Yehudah was chosen for kingship for this reason, because Yehudah took responsibility to return his brother Binyomin to their father Yaakov at all cost, even if it meant giving himself up as a slave to Pharoah. Shmuel didn’t like the request for a king because ‘Hashem your G-d is your king’. The ideal is every Jew taking responsibility for his own relationship with G-d, not leaving it to a king to lead the way of passive sheep who just follow the crowd.
Korach really had no issue with Moshe being the leader with all the responsibility. Let Moshe deal with leading the difficult Jewish nation. Let him deal with the wars to come. No, Korach wanted to be High Priest, a prestigious spiritual position that seems all glittery on the outside. He’s happy to do the work, he just doesn’t want the heavy responsibility. The truth is that to fulfil that role required a great degree of character perfection, one which we see Korach did not have. Though he convinced himself that he was on that level, partially because of the vision that he had.
This idea is just as applicable to us. Everyone runs from taking on more responsibility. They all want kavod/honor. But it’s really the opposite. It is the people who look to live a higher life, they take on more and more responsibility. And because of that people recognize and honor them. The Mishna teaches us that it’s the people who seek and run after honor, honor will always elude them. It must be earned. The truly honorable person does not care for honor.
Two Forms of Dispute
The Mishna says that the great Sages Hillel and Shammai were the example of a dispute for the sake of Heaven. They had many debates and disputes in the Talmud, but the ultimate purpose was to get clarity in understanding G-d’s Torah. Because of that their disputes are reverently recorded forever. The same Mishnah uses Korach as the example of a dispute not for the sake of heaven. Korach wasn’t looking for truth. He was looking for power. His end was the opposite. His life was cut short and remembered with eternal shame. Life has a way of trying to entangle us in many disputes. It is essential to ask ourselves every time what is really motivating us. Are we taking a side because we really believe it’s the right thing? Or is there a deeper bias involved? I think we all know that many times our motivations may be suspect. The Mishna reminds us that when we do things for the right reasons we will ultimately have success. When we do them out of ego or other negative drives, the end if shame and failure.
Korach’s Argument
Korach, seeking to usurp Moshe and Aaron, poses a clever argument – every Jew is holy, every Jew has a relationship with God, so why do you elevate yourselves above them? With this argument, Korach was perhaps the first of many to adopt the egalitarian outlook – that everyone is equal and should be treated equally.
As is often the case with false outlooks, there is some truth to Korach’s words – indeed it is true that every Jew is holy and has his own relationship with God. However, the Be’er Moshe starkly outlines the disastrous consequences of this approach.
He cites a Gemara that states that Jerusalem was destroyed only because they equated the small with the great. The Gemara brings proof of this from a verse: “And the nation will be like the Kohen…” meaning that non-Kohanim will want to be like Kohanim. The obvious question is why was equating the small with the great such a serious sin that it resulted in the Destruction of the Temple?
The Be’er Moshe asks further that this Talmudic statement seems to contradict another statement in the Gemara that Jeruasalem was destroyed (in the time of the second Temple) because of baseless hatred (sinat chinam) which was the ultimate cause of the Churban. Moreover, if the prevailing attitude was that everyone was the same, then on what basis did they have mutual resentment and hatred? The Be’er Moshe answers that this question is based on the mistaken premise that when one believes everyone is the same that there will not be baseless hatred. The truth is the exact opposite: When there is a prevailing mindset that everyone is the same, that is when there will be baseless hatred. Because, each person will argue that if we are equal then why are you above me, “why do you get more honor than me, why do you have more privileges than me?”
In the words of Rabbi Yissachar Frand:
Baseless hatred and egalitarianism are two sides of the same coin. Why are you the boss, the leader, the rabbi etc? I am as good as you are! The Be’er Moshe brings an example: A person has a body. Every part of the body is important. But not all body parts are the same. Given a choice between losing a pinky and losing one’s heart, what would a person choose? The pinky, the finger, and even a leg are not limbs without which life cannot be sustained. However, a person cannot live without a heart or without a brain. We are all one body, and all body parts are working with one goal – to keep the person alive. But there are differences. There is a hierarchy of priority, of importance.”
This is not to say that the pinky is of no importance. Rather, the pinky has its role and it can fulfill its potential, so-to-speak, by fulfilling that role to the fullest.
The same is true with regard to the Jewish people. The very success of the Jewish people is that there are different roles for different people. Not everyone is supposed to be the leader, not everyone can be a Kohen, and not everyone merits to be a Torah scholar. In the time of the Destruction, people did not accept this fact, which lead to jealousy and ultimately baseless hatred. This was exactly what happened in the story of Korach. His argument that everyone was holy was the direct cause of the terrible dispute that caused so much harm to the Jewish people at that time.
This issue continues to cause harm to the Jewish people – when people don’t accept their standing, they can become jealous and resentful, leading to hatred and dispute. When people are willing to accept the idea that there are leaders and there are followers; people who are supposed to make the decisions and people who are supposed to accept the decisions, then society can function.
This does not mean that each person cannot strive for greatness, just that each person’s greatness is only dependent on their free will, not on the external honor, respect or power that they receive from others. May we all merit to reach our own potential, and not worry about the position of our fellow
Making Peace
After Korach, Dathan and Aviram flagrantly initiated the dispute with Moses and Aaron, Moses attempted to make peace with them. He first tried to appease Korach, and when that failed, he turned to Dathan and Aviram.
“And Moses called for Dassan and Aviram the sons of Eliav…” Rashi, citing the Midrash Tanchuma, tells us that Moshe was attempting to appease them with divrei Shalom (words of peace). The Midrash derives from here that one should never persist in a dispute, rather he should try to make peace.
It is noteworthy that the Torah taught this lesson in the context of the dispute between Korach’s group and Moshe. This was a dispute in which Korach’s group were clearly guilty for initiating the dispute and had conducted themselves in a deplorable manner. Nonetheless, Moshe did not hesitate in attempting to appease them. Moshe’s actions in this incident serve as a powerful lesson for all other disputes. In almost all disputes, each protagonist tends to place all the guilt on his adversary. Consequently, they both refuse to compromise, insisting that the other side must give in, or apologize. They must learn from Moshe’s conduct in his dispute – he tried to make peace even though he was genuinely free of blame.
The Chasam Sofer develops the idea that one must make every effort to make peace. He points out that it was very unlikely that Dathan and Aviram would be appeased by Moshe’s words, given their history of constant antagonism towards him. There is a concept in Torah known as chazakah, whereby we presume that the past situation will continue in the same way as it has in the past. According to this principle, there was no need for Moses to try to appease Dathan and Aviram given the minute chance of success. Nonetheless, the Chasam Sofer writes that we learn from Moses’ attempts at conciliation, that we do not follow the principle of chazakah with regard to disputes. This is because disputes are so damaging that we must make any effort we can to make peace, no matter how unlikely the chances of success.
Dathan and Aviram’s response to Moshe’s attempts at appeasement demonstrates exactly how one should not conduct himself in a dispute. “And they said we will not go up…even if you would put out the eyes of those men, we will not go up!” The Chofetz Chaim writes that these words demonstrate the extent of the stubbornness of Dathan and Aviram in their refusal to even speak to Moshe. He explains that when they told Moshe that they would not speak to him “even if you put the eyes of those men,” they were referring to their own eyes, and that they would rather have their eyes put out than make peace with Moshe.
The Chofetz Chaim teaches from here that some people can become so entrenched in a dispute that they prefer to endure great suffering over ‘losing’ the argument. In this vein, he tells of the story of a dispute which threatened to destroy one of the protagonist’s lives and result in his family being imprisoned. When his desperate wife implored him to give up this destructive dispute, he replied that he was prepared for himself, his wife and his children to go to prison, as long as he would ‘win’!
Why is it so difficult for protagonists of disputes to attempt reconciliation? One reason is that it is very difficult for a person to recognize that he should assume at least part of the blame for the development of the dispute. Human nature tends to push people to focus on the failings of others and their own strengths. Accordingly, when a person is in the midst of a bitter argument, it is extremely difficult for him to accept any level of culpability for its escalation. The words of the Malbim on this matter offer a penetrating insight into the erroneous nature of this attitude.
The Malbim once found himself in the midst of a bitter dispute. His beleaguered students asked him how such a terrible argument could take place, given the Torah’s words with regard to the dispute between Korach and Moshe. The Torah tells us: “There will never be like Korach and his assembly.” The students understood that this means that there will never be such a bitter quarrel again in history. Accordingly, they could not understand how the Malbim could be embroiled in such a bitter disagreement. He explained to them that the Torah’s words that there will never again be such a dispute have a different meaning.
The Torah is telling us that the dispute of Korach against Moses was the only one in history in which one side was totally in the wrong and one side was completely in the right. Korach and his associates were totally wrong in their arguments and were fully guilty for the development of the disagreement. Moshe, in contrast, acted in a completely correct and justified manner. When the Torah says that there will never be such a dispute again, it is telling us that there will never be another case in which one side is totally justified and the other is completely guilty. The Malbim, in his humility, was thus acknowledging that he had to assume some guilt for the disagreement he was involved in. The Malbim’s explanation teaches us that anyone involved in a dispute is wrong to believe that he is totally in the right, because the Torah testifies that this cannot be the case.
Accordingly, it behooves everyone who finds themselves in a dispute to accept responsibility for his role in its escalation. When one does this, it will be easier for him to focus on his guilt in this regard, rather than that of his adversary. By doing this, he should recognize that he needs to rectify his mistakes, and ignore the failings of his ‘enemy.’ This attitude will help him emulate Moshe’s actions in appeasing Dathan and Aviram.
During the course of a person’s life, it is inevitable that he will come into some form of conflict with other people. When this happens, the person has a vital choice to make: He can validate his own behavior and stubbornly refuse to admit any failing; or he can swallow his pride, be the ‘bigger’ person, and initiate reconciliation. By taking the second option, the person emulates Moshe – he was willing to approach Dathan and Aviram despite the fact that they were totally at fault. All the more so this should be the case in all other disputes when both sides must assume responsibility for the dispute. Such conflicts are not limited to major arguments; they also include common ‘disagreements’ between spouses, and small spats amongst friends, colleagues, students etc. When a person refuses to budge in such incidents, he only succeeds in prolonging and increasing the bitterness. However, by emulating Moshe, a person will ensure that the Shalom will prevail. May we all merit to always find the path to peace.
