Rebellion and public discord as a tool to achieve control

The Parasha and its realization – Parashat Korach - and the war of the 'Iron Swords' 5784

Rabbi Eliezer Haim Shenvald

Dedicated to the IDF soldiers' success, to safeguard them lest any harm come to them, to the healing of all the wounded and the return of the abducted.

The Korach and his company’s dispute was an attempt to seize a public position of power and control through rebellion in the leadership and fueling public disagreement. This attempt ended in a national tragedy, with a message for generations.

Korach wanted power and hegemony. However, he was not appointed to the senior public position he wanted, and tried to get the public, in a manipulative manner, to rebel against Moshe Rabeinu, challenging his credibility and authority (Rashi in Bamidbar 16:1). He knew that the people's support for Moshe's leadership was strong and stable, and he waited for the right moment. This was created at a time of crisis:

והנה היו אוהבים אותו כנפשם ושומעין אליו, ואלו היה אדם מורד במשהה בזמן ההוא היו העם סוקלין אותו... אבל בבואם אל מדבר פארן, ונשרפו באש תבערה ומתו בקברות התאוה רבים, וכאשר חטאו במרגלים לא התפלל משה עליהם ולא בטל הגזרה מהם, ומתו נשיאי כל השבטים במגפה לפני ה' ונגזר על כל העם שיתמו במדבר ושם ימותו, אז היה נפש כל העם מרה, והיו אומרים בלבם כי יבאו להם בדברי משה תקלות. ואז מצא קרח מקום לחלוק על מעשיו, וחשב כי ישמעו אליו העם...

“…Thus, they loved Moshe as [they loved] themselves, and they obeyed him, so that had anybody rebelled against Moshe at that time, the people would have stoned him... But when they came to the wilderness of Paran and [some people] were burnt in Taberah,⁠ and many died in Kibroth-hattaavah,⁠ and when after sinning [in the matter of] the spies Moshe did not pray on their behalf,⁠ so that the decree against them was thus not annulled, and the princes of all the tribes died by the plague before the Eternal and it was decreed that the whole people would be consumed in the wilderness and there they shall die,⁠ then the mood of the whole people became embittered, and they said in their hearts that mishaps occur to them through Moshe’s words. Therefore, Korach found it an opportune occasion to contest Moshe’s deeds, thinking that the people would [readily] listen to him…” (Ramban Bamidbar 16:1)

Korach sought to get the public to rebel against Moshe's leadership by means of a false narrative:

רַב לָכֶם כִּי כׇל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים וּבְתוֹכָם ה' וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ עַל קְהַל ה'

"You have gone too far, since all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Hashem is among them; why then lift yourselves up above the assembly of Hashem?" )Ibid verse 3)

A supposedly demagogic claim that he works for equal public rights and not out of personal interest:

כל הלילה ההוא הלך אצל כל השבטים ופיתה אותם: כסבורים אתם שעלי לבדי אני מקפיד, איני מקפיד אלא בשביל כלכם, אילו באים ונוטלים להם כל הגדולות, לו מלכות, לאחיו כהונה, עד שנתפתו כולם.

“That whole night he went round to all the tribes and tried to win them over: "Do you really think that I care for myself alone? It is only for all of you that I have a care! These men come and occupy every high office: royal rank for himself, for his brother the priesthood!" – until in the end all of them submitted to his persuasion” (Rashi Bamidbar 16:19)

שפניות אנוכיות הביאו את קרח למעשיו; הוא פעל לטובת עצמו, והאופן שבו הציג עצמו כמייצג את ענייני הכלל לא היה אלא אחיזת עיניים והעמדת פנים.

"Selfish appeals brought Korach to his actions; He acted in his own interest, and the manner in which he presented himself as representing everyone’s affairs was nothing but trickery and pretense" (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch ibid).

To kindle the fire of rebellion and discord among the people, he enlisted a coalition of interested parties: Datan and Aviram and two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown:

וַיִּקַּח, אֵין וַיִּקַּח אֶלָּא מְשִׁיכַת דְּבָרִים רַכִּים, שֶׁמָּשַׁךְ כָּל גְּדוֹלֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהַסַּנְהֶדְרָאוֹת אַחֲרָיו.

“[Now Korach …] took.” “Took” can only be a word for "attracting with persuasive words," in that he attracted all the leaders of Israel and the sanhedraot [to follow] after him”. (Midrash Tanchuma Korach 1).

Each group had its own reasons:

נראה שהמרד נתהווה משתי קבוצות בעלות שתי מטרות שונות. אף על פי שהיו מאוחדים במחלוקת על משה ואהרן, הייתה מטרת קרח שונה מזו של דתן ואבירם.

"It seems that the rebellion was formed by two groups with two different goals. Although they were united in the quarrel over Moshe and Aaron, Korach’s goal was different from Datan and Aviram’s" (cont. RSRH Bamidbar 16:8).

דתן ואבירם מרדו ישירות במשה; מטרתם הייתה להפסיק את מנהיגותו המדינית. האיבה למשה – הישירה או העקיפה – הייתה הדבק שאיחד את שתי הסיעות. משום כך רצה משה לדבר עם דתן ואבירם בפני עצמם, אך הם השיבו: ״לא נעלה״.

"Datan and Aviram rebelled directly against Moshe; their goal was to stop his political leadership. Enmity with Moshe - direct or indirect - was the common denominator that united the two factions. That is why Moshe wanted to talk to Datan and Aviram privately, but they replied: 'We will not go up'" (ibid. Verse 12).

Moshe Rabeinu, the humble one, put his pride aside, and went to Datan and Aviram to try to resolve the disagreements:

ויקם משה וילך אל דתן ואבירם... מכאן שאין מחזיקין במחלוקת

“And Moshe arose and went to Datan and Aviram”… From here we derive that one may not perpetuate a dispute" (Sanhedrin 110a:6)

However, they refused to meet and discuss it so as not to reveal that it was all under a false narrative.

Moshe was not naive. From the first moment he understood what was hidden behind their claims:

וישמע משה... משה שמע, או ליתר דיוק, הבין את מה שהביא לתביעות ולהאשמות שהוטחו בו, ואת מטרתן.

“When Moshe heard this… Moshe heard, or more precisely, he understood what led to the claims and accusations that were hurled at him, and their purpose" (cont. RSRH ibid.16:4).

A substantive discussion would not have solved the problem:

אילו הגיעו לדעה זו על ידי חשיבה מוטעית, היה ניתן להעמידם על טעותם ולתקנם. אך הם הגיעו אליה מתוך קנאה ורדיפת הכבוד. על ידי העמדת פנים של ייצוג טובת הציבור, הם ביקשו לתת סיפוק לשאיפותיהם האנוכיות, ולשם כך השתמשו בפלפולי סרק מחוכמים המחניפים לאהבתו העצמית של העם.

"If they had come to this opinion through mistaken thinking, it would have been possible to point that out and correct it. But they came to it out of jealousy and the pursuit of honor. By pretending to represent the public good, they sought to satisfy their selfish ambitions, and for that they used clever idle tricks that flatter the self-love of the nation" (ibid.).

The controversial parties argued with an offensive populist argument, that Moshe and Aharon were not leaders serving the needs of the nation but their own interests:

לכן וגו׳ – בטענתכם ״ומדוע תתנשאו על קהל ה׳⁠ ⁠״, האשמתם אותי ואת אהרן בחטא הגדול ביותר כלפי ה׳: שימוש לרעה בשמו ובתוקף מרותו של ה׳ עבור מטרות אנוכיות שאפתניות.

"In your claim, ‘Why then do you raise yourselves above Hashem’s congregation?’, you accused me and Aaron of the greatest sin against G-d: abusing His name and His authority for ambitious selfish goals". (RSRH Bamidbar 16:8-11).

This false claim against devoted leaders was particularly offensive:

ויחר וגו׳ – ״בער״ בקרבו ופגע בו עמוקות, שהם העזו לדבר אליו כך; שכן הם האשימו אותו שניצל את מעמדו למשול בשרירות לב וללא חוק ומשפט.

"And Moses was furious – hurt in his heart and deeply insulted, that they dared to speak to him like that; for they accused him of using his position to rule arbitrarily and without law and justice" (RSRH Bamidbar 16:15).

‘Controversy' has its own dynamics. Once it starts, it is uncontrollable:

והיינו שנמשל נזק המחלוקת לנזק אש.... וכידוע הלשון ׳אש המחלוקת׳, ללמד כי כמו שנזק אש איתא בב״ק (י,א) שמועדת לאכול בין שראוי לה בין שאינו ראוי לה, כך מחלוקת עושה דברים שאינם ראויים מצד השכל, וקולט אנשים יקרים שאינם ראויים לכך.

"And let us liken the damage of a dispute to 'damage of fire', as is known, to teach that the same as fire consumes everything it finds on its path, so too is how discord and disagreements goes beyond the mind’s limits and picks up precious people that are not worthy of it." (Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin -Netziv - Haamek Davar ibid)

The fire of the controversy was a historical tragedy. It overturned over Korach, Datan and Aviram and the 250 people who died because of it. Another 14,700 people died in the epidemic that broke out later.

The enormous damage of the dispute was immortalized in the name of the Parasha:

"Why is his name Korach?

שֶׁעָשָׂה קָרְחָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.

“Korach: he has made Israel bald-headed” (Midrash Proverbs 11:27).

That is why we have been warned for generations that

כל המחזיק במחלוקת עובר בלאו שנאמר ולא יהיה כקרח וכעדתו

“Anyone who perpetuates a dispute violates a prohibition, as it is stated: “And he will not be like Korach and his assembly” (Sanhedrin 110a:6).