The discontent initiated last week continues in parashat Korach. In the principal part of the parashah, a reactionary demagogue, Korach, positions himself at the head of generalized discontent and dismay after G-d’s decree that all the males of conscription age would die in the desert. Korach, claiming that only he can set things right, is able to rally many people to his side by obscuring both reality and his true motivations, and while there’s a kernel of truth in his assertions, ultimately the resulting divisiveness leads to what amounts to a riotous assault on the center of authority – the ohel moed – as part of an attempted coup, and to the premature deaths of thousands of people. The remainder of the parashah, not treated here, is devoted to a restatement of the rights and responsibilities of the kohanim following the riots.
Parashat Korach contains 5,325 letters, 1,409 words in 95 verses, and occupies approximately 184 lines in a Sefer Torah. According to both Maimonides and Sefer HaChinuch[i] there are five positive and four negative commandments in the parashah.[ii]
So who was Korach? Korach, first of all, has good yichus. Torah (Numbers 16:1) indicates he’s a great-grandson of Levi. His father, Yitzhar, is the second eldest son of K’hat. The eldest son of K’hat, is Amram, which makes Korach a first cousin of Moshe and Aharon. Further, since Yitzhar means oil, oil floats to the surface, and oil is used for anointing the priests, Korach, as first born of Yitzhar, could have assumed he was born to the kahuna and great destiny (see The Midrash Says, pg 201).[iii] He knew, for example, that his descendants would include the prophet Shmuel, as well as fourteen groups of levi’im (The Midrash Says, pg. 202).
Apparently Korach’s pride was wounded when Moshe didn’t appoint him to any positions of power. Instead, his younger cousin, Elitzafan ben Uziel, was appointed head of the K’hat clan (see Numbers 3:30). Rather than believe that this choice might have been G-d’s will, Korach decided that this was a personal choice of Moshe, and thus an insult (see Bamidbar Rabbah 18:2); the selection was rigged. Further, the appointment of other kohanim and the assignment of other special functions within the levi’im to Moshe’s close relatives, he considered nepotism. Korach tried to make his movement a populist one, saying that every Jew should have the opportunity of serving in the mishkan, since we were a nation of priests (see Sh’mot 19:6)[iv], and that every first-born should be able to make offerings, and not be supplanted by the levi’im. If one argued that the first-born lost their privileges of serving after the incident of the Golden Calf, then Korach would argue that Aharon should not have become a Kohen, because he also was a direct participant in that sin (The Midrash Says, pg. 208). Finally, Korach argued that the laws of tithes and the various required offerings were arbitrary, robbing B’nai Yisrael of produce and animal products that were rightfully theirs.
Ultimately, midrash then blames what follows on Korach’s wife (The Midrash Says, pgs. 203, 205-206). She prods Korach regarding the laws of tzitzit, and the requirement to include a blue thread (see Numbers 15:38). She offered to make garments that are entirely dyed with t’chelet (The Midrash Says, pg. 206), and suggested that Korach, along with his 250 similarly clothed followers, challenge Moshe regarding whether such garments still required an extra blue thread. The plan was that regardless of Moshe’s answer, Korach could use it to claim that the mitzvah was arbitrary and entirely of Moshe’s invention. When Moshe said that the commandment to have tzitzit, including a blue thread, came directly from G-d, and that even garments of t’chelet required them (see Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 2.1), Korach then denigrated all of the mitzvot as being oppressive, even worse than Egypt, and invented out of whole cloth (pun intended). Korach and his followers were ready to stone Moshe and Aharon (see Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 3.1)[v], until Moshe fell on his face in supplication, denied seeking power, and offered a test – offering an incense pan at the ohel moed on the following day. Moshe hoped that an extra day would allow Korach’s followers to repent, especially since Moshe warned them that this was a suicidal test; only the one(s) suitable for making the offering would survive.[vi] Instead, however, Korach spent the day going from tribe to tribe attempting to garner additional support, so that at the appointed time not only Korach and his 250 followers showed up, but everyone in K’lal Yisrael was present to witness the test.
By this time, G-d was angry, yet again, with everyone. By casting doubt on Moshe’s words and choices, they were, in effect denying G-d’s existence (Ramban, referencing Sanhedrin 110a:10, cited in The Midrash Says, pg. 210), so G-d, yet again, wanted to kill everyone. Moshe and Aharon pleaded with G-d to be merciful towards the people as a whole, but Moshe still insisted that Korach and his followers suffer a unique punishment, lest the divine origins of Torah be cast in doubt. So the earth opened[vii] and swallowed Korach, and all his family and all his possessions.[viii] In addition, a fire fell from Heaven and consumed the 250 that had gathered with their incense pans. Interestingly, some regard Korach as suffering both punishments (see Sanhedrin 110a:14). According to The Midrash Says (pg. 226):
Why did he incur both punishments? Had he not been burned, those who were would have complained, “He was the instigator and yet he suffered a lesser punishment than we. He was merely swallowed by the earth.” Had he not been swallowed, those who were would have complained, “It is not fair that Korach, the instigator of the rebellion, suffered the lighter punishment” (since each party imagines that the other’s punishment is less severe). Now, however, everyone acknowledges G-d’s justice. (see also Midrash Tanchuma 9:1)
Aharon’s survival and the burning of the 250 validated Aharon’s selection for the kahuna, and the earth swallowing Korach and his extended family (and some of the other leaders), validated Moshe’s calling.
However, the next day, the people were in shock, and accosted Moshe and Aharon, accusing them of knowingly causing the deaths of the 250 incense bearers (see Numbers 17:6-15). G-d was angered yet again, and immediately instituted a plague. Moshe called upon Aharon to make a special incense offering to stop the plague. Aharon did so, standing between the dead and the living and interceding with the Angel of Death, but not before an additional 14,700 people died.
In sum, this was a terrible series of events for B’nai Yisrael, all caused by the actions of a demagogue who refused to accept that he wasn’t chosen to be one of the leaders, who then promulgated a series of lies and partial truths in order to win people to his side and cause an insurrection, all in an unsuccessful attempt at gaining personal power and glory.
The sages don’t look favorably on this. As we read in Pirkei Avot (5:17):
Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure. But one that is not for the sake of Heaven will not endure. Which is the controversy that is for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai. And which is the controversy that is not for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korach and all his congregation.
Ultimately, B’nai Yisrael survive, and even thrive, despite numerous and ongoing travails, as we ourselves are witness. I only hope our country can survive the silent civil war that is tearing it apart.
L’shalom,
SRP
Compiled by Steven Pearlman
Main resource:
Weissman, Rabbi Moshe. 1983, new printing 2014. The Midrash Says, the Book of Bamidbar. Bnay Yaakov Publications, Brooklyn, New York
Additional sources:
Wikipedia – Korach, and various topical and bibliographical entries
Sefaria.org
Etz Hayim chumash
Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals
Thanks for reading!
Questions or comments? Please leave a comment or email me directly: steve.pearlman@sbcglobal.net
Notes:
[i] Sefer HaChinuch is an anonymous rabbinic text dating to 13-century Spain that discusses each of the 613 mitzvot in order. It is based on Maimonides list contained in Sefer HaMitzvot, from which it differs slightly. Also, while the organization of Sefer HaChinuch considers each of the commandments in order, Sefer HaMitzvot separates the positive and negative commandments, and doesn’t list them in parashah order, but rather by category or type of law. (For a listing of mitzvot in order from Maimonides perspective, see the Wikipedia article “613 Commandments” and expand the Canonical Order section). It’s worth noting that while these two sources agree on the mitzvot, they don’t necessarily agree on which Torah verse is the source of the commandment, and thus the number of mitzvot for each parashah may differ.
[ii] This post is a minor update to one that was previously posted to midrashsrp on 28 June 2022. The update consists primarily of more detailed referencing and inclusion of hyperlinks to sources when available, a switch in footnoting from Bookmarks to Endnotes to facilitate better navigation, as well as editorial corrections. Please note that on the occasions where I cite “The Midrash Says” as the source, it’s generally because the references to primary sources in that volume either can’t be found, or don’t have translations available. Specifically, for this parashah, references to The Midrash Says are to volume 4 of the 5 volume series: The Midrash Says – The Book of Bamidbar.
[iii] Note, however, that midrash suggests (see Bamidbar Rabbah 18:5) that the given genealogy doesn’t go all the way back to Yaakov, because Jacob had already disavowed himself from the future actions of the scouts (from last week) and of Korach.
[iv] Of course this ignores the tense of the passuk, which indicates a future or conditional status based on fulfillment of the mitzvot and the Covenant. Since Korach was, in essence, arguing against the Covenant, invoking this verse is misleading and deceptive. But that’s what demagogues do – twist reality to promulgate disinformation.
[v] This is an early example of what is now known as DARVO, and acronym for ‘deny, attack, reverse victim and offender’ – a technique that is used by demagogues and narcissists throughout the world, and even in our own country today, to incite others to violence in order to overthrow the existing order. See here for more information.
[vi] Surprisingly, no one seems to remember what happened to Aharon’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, when they attempted to make an inappropriate incense offering at the time of the initial ordination of the Kohanim.
[vii] According to Ramban, the earth acted like a living creature, opening and closing its mouth as it devoured what it wanted, then looked as smooth as it had before (see The Midrash Says, pg. 227). According to Pirkei Avot (5:6) the “mouth of the earth” was one of the ten things created on erev Shabbat.
[viii] According to many sources, including Torah (see Numbers 26:11), the sons of Korach didn’t die, but were caught on a high shelf in Gehinnom (The Midrash Says, pg. 227), where they sang. Several psalms are attributed to B’nai Korach, and midrash suggests they were later among the levi’im who sang in the Beit HaMikdash (The Midrash Says, note on pg. 227).
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