Rebellion and its price

Parasha and its realization – Parashat Korach 5783

Rabbi Eliezer Chaim Shenvald

Human society, by its very nature, is in need of leadership, to lead and care of its conditions. For this purpose, society appoints people to lead and gives them power, control, and authority. People often arise from within the society who challenge the leadership for various reasons. There are cases where they struggle against it and even rebel against it, sometimes powerfully and violently, in order to take its place.

It is important to know what motivates them to fight against the leadership and challenge it. Is the good for society what motivates them, to be an alternative to a leadership that has failed, to bring a new line to society? Or is it a personal reason, jealousy, or a desire to rule and dominate what motivates them, to gain a position of power, or to enjoy the benefits of government?

Those who want to rebel against the leadership are required to get the public involved for this purpose, to be partners in the rebellion, and demand the replacement of the leadership. The method by which the rebels include the public is by convincing them that they are losing out on the existing leadership and that all the existing ills are only because of its failure. As long as the public is convinced that the existing leadership is corrupt and does not take care of its needs but only cares about itself, and solely wants to enjoy the pleasures of the government, so will the public be active in the rebellion and will also be willing to pay personal prices over it.

Human history shows that in many cases the public who participated in these rebellions discovered in retrospect that what motivated those who called them to rebel, was a personal motive. The public often paid a heavy price for the rebellion and the promised change did not happen. Or the rebel's ruling was worse than his predecessors.

In our Parasha we read about the controversy and rebellion of Korach and all his congregation under the leadership of Moshe and Aaron. The rebellion will forever be recorded as the most traumatic rebellion in the history of the nation of Israel and will be remembered forever as "a dispute that is not for the sake of Heaven and will not endure" (Pirkei Avot 5:17).

Korach longed for a dominant and powerful leadership position, and felt cheated that he was not included in the 'round' of leadership appointments:

וּמָה רָאָה קֹרַח לַחֲלֹק עִם מֹשֶׁה? נִתְקַנֵּא עַל נְשִׂיאוּתוֹ שֶׁל אֱלִיצָפָן בֶּן עֻזִּיאֵל, שֶׁמִּנָּהוּ מֹשֶׁה נָשִׂיא עַל בְּנֵי קְהָת עַל פִּי הַדִּבּוּר, אָמַר קֹרַח, אַחֵי אַבָּא אַרְבָּעָה הָיוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות ו') "וּבְנֵי קְהָת" וְגוֹ', עַמְרָם הַבְּכוֹר נָטְלוּ שְׁנֵי בָנָיו גְּדֻלָּה, אֶחָד מֶלֶךְ וְאֶחָד כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, מִי רָאוּי לִטֹּל אֶת הַשְּׁנִיָּה? לֹא אֲנִי שֶׁאֲנִי בֶּן יִצְהָר, שֶׁהוּא שֵׁנִי לְעַמְרָם, וְהוּא מִנָּה נָשִׂיא אֶת בֶּן אָחִיו הַקָּטָן מִכֻּלָּם, הֲרֵינִי חוֹלֵק עָלָיו וּמְבַטֵּל אֶת דְּבָרָיו.

"And what induced Korach to quarrel with Moshe? He was envious of the princely dignity held by Elzaphan the son of Uziel. Moshe had appointed prince over the sons of Kohath although this was by the express command of G-d. Korach argued thus: “My father and his brothers were four in number — as it is said, (Shmot 6:18) “and the sons of Kohath were [Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uziel]”. — “As to Amram, the eldest, his two sons have themselves assumed high dignity, one as king and the other as High Priest; who is entitled to receive the second (the rank next to it)? Is it not “I” who am the son of Izhar, who was the second to Amram amongst the brothers? And yet he has appointed as prince the son of his (Amram’s) brother who was the youngest of all of them! I hereby protest against him and will undo his decision”. (Rashi Bamidbar 16:1)

The personal offence motivated Korach to rebel against Moshe and Aaron. For this purpose, he mobilized the public, under the false pretense that he only cares for their benefit, and carried the banner of fairness:

רַב־לָכֶם֒ כִּ֤י כׇל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם ה' וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּֽתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל ה'׃

"You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and Hashem is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above Hashem’s congregation?" (Bamidbar 16:3)

כָּל הַלַּיְלָה הַהוּא הָלַךְ אֵצֶל הַשְּׁבָטִים וּפִתָּה אוֹתָם - "כִּסְבוּרִין אַתֶּם שֶׁעָלַי לְבַדִּי אֲנִי מַקְפִּיד? אֵינִי מַקְפִּיד אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל כֻּלְּכֶם, אֵלּוּ בָאִין וְנוֹטְלִין כָּל הַגְּדֻלּוֹת, לוֹ הַמַּלְכוּת וּלְאָחִיו הַכְּהֻנָּה" עַד שֶׁנִּתְפַּתּוּ כֻלָּם

"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)

It was at the exact time when the people were bitter about a number of difficult events: the dead in the Kibroth-hattaavah קִּבְר֧וֹת הַֽתַּאֲוָ֛ה “the graves of craving” and the punishment for the sin-of-the-spies, and he sought to take advantage of it (Ramban ibid). In different ways he sought to reach different sectors:

הבכורות הסכימו עמו בטענה שהיה משה פוסלן, גם שבט לוי בטענה שצוהו משה שיהיו נתונים לאהרן ולבניו. ושאר שבטי ישראל למה הסכימו עמו שאומר ויקהל עליהם קרח את כל העדה, דרשו רז"ל שהיה קרח אומר להן ראו מה עשה לכם בן עמרם, ראובן בכור ישראל והוא הקדים נחשון בן עמינדב לשאר השבטים בחנכת המזבח

"The firstborn all agreed with Korach’s accusation that Moshe had disqualified the firstborn from performing ritual sacrifices, whereas the members of the tribe of Levi agreed with him that they had become subservient to Aaron and his sons at Moshe’s bidding. Our sages explain that Korach had said to them: “look at what the son of Amram has done to you! Whereas by rights Reuven is the firstborn of the tribes of Israel, Moshe appointed Nachshon the prince of the tribe of Yehudah to offer the first of the inaugural sacrifices in the Tabernacle instead!” (Rabbeinu Bahya Bamidbar 16:19)

There was one wise woman there, who understood Korach's personal motive:

מאי נפקא לך מינה אי מר רבה אנת תלמידא ואי מר רבה אנת תלמידא

"Rav says: On, son of Peleth, did not repent on his own; rather, his wife saved him. She said to him: What is the difference to you? If this Master, Moshe, is the great one, you are the student. And if this Master, Korach, is the great one, you are the student". (Sanhedrin 109b)

The public paid a heavy price for the rebellion:

 למה נקרא שמו קרח? שעשה קרחה בישראל

"Why is his name Korach? He made a desolate place in Israel" (Midrash Mishlei 11). In order for us to remember him and the heavy price the nation of Israel paid for generations, we were warned that

מכאן שאין מחזיקין במחלוקת דאמר רב 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).