QUESTIONS AND COMMENTARY ON PARASHAT KORACH
1. "Korach separated himself . . . with Dathan and
Aviram . . . with two hundred and fifty men from Israel . . . they gathered
together against Moses and Aaron."
Numbers 16:1-3
Commenting on this incident, Pirkei Avot 5:17 says, "Any argument that is
for the sake of heaven will endure; but one that is not for the sake of heaven
will not endure." What is the difference between an argument that is for the
sake of heaven and one that is not? How
can we tell the difference? How do we know that Korach's dispute with Moses was
not for the sake Heaven?
Determining whether or not a
dispute is for "the sake of heaven" can be extremely difficult. However, this week's Torah portion provides
several indicators which can help us make an informed decision. First, we must
try to ascertain the motivation of the people involved in the dispute. If it is
evident that one party is motivated by a sinful or bad desire then their
argument is clearly not "for the sake heaven." This was certainly true of
Korach who was motivated by pride and a desire for power and prominence; all of
which were self-serving and sinful. Korach's evil motivation is highlighted by Midrash Rabba, the Talmud, and the Brit
Chadasha:
NOW KORAH . . . TOOK. What moved him to start a quarrel? He was moved to it
by the fact that Elizaphan, the son of his father's brother, was appointed
prince over his family; as it says, And the prince of the fathers' house of the
families of the Kohathites being Elizaphan the son of Uzziel (Numbers
3:30).
Numbers Rabba 18:2
Like the serpent [in the Garden of Eden] . . . Similarly do we find it with
Cain, Korach, Balaam, Doeg, Ahitophel, Gehazi, Absalom, Adonijah, Uzziah and
Haman, who set their eyes upon that which was not proper for them; what they
sought was not granted to them and what they possessed was taken from them.
b. Sotah 9b
Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak
evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when
he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling
accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" Woe to them! For they have gone in
the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and
perished in the rebellion of Korach.
Jude
1:8-11
If even the archangel Michael
did not speak despairingly of the evil Satan when they fought over the body of
Moses, how much more so, should we guard our tongue from speaking evil of other
people with whom we have a dispute.
Second, we must examine the
method of the disputants. It is clear from the Torah that Korach's method was
inappropriate. Instead of speaking with Moses directly, Korach chose to
criticize and slander Moses behind his back in order to win the support of Israel's
leaders. He then took these two hundred
and fifty leaders and publicly accused Moses of abusing and overstepping his
authority. Korach's sinful actions were
the natural outworking of his sinful intent. (For the proper way to handle
conflict see Matthew 18:15-18.)
Not only is a person's method
for dealing with conflict important but so is the manner in which they approach
a conflict or disagreement. If the tone of the argument is primarily pejorative
and disrespectful, if the content of a person's argument is primarily an attack
on the other person's character, or if they primarily present negative
information not related to the disagreement at hand, then that side is most
likely in the wrong. This manner and
method of argumentation is usually just a smoke screen to hide a lack of solid
evidence for a particular point of view. This was the approach of Korach.
Instead, one should always be respectful of the other people and should
carefully consider their point of view. An excellent example of this is Hillel
and his disciples whose argument with Shammai is the example cited above as a
dispute for the sake of Heaven:
For three years, there was a dispute between the School of Shammai and the
School of Hillel, the former claiming: the law is in agreement with our
views. And the latter claiming: the law
is in agreement with our position. And
the latter claiming: the law is in agreement with our position. Then a voice came out of Heaven and said:
Both of these views are the words of the living God, but the law goes according
to the School of Hillel's rulings. But if both are the words of the Living God,
why is law established according o the School of Hillel?
Because the School of Hillel behaved modestly and like people of good
character. They studied Shammai's rule as well as their own and even mentioned
Shammai's words before their own.
b. Eruvin 13b
Third, one should consider
the potential and actual consequences that result from each position. This
week's parasha begins by stating,
"And Korach . . . separated himself with Dathan and Aviram and On the son of
Pelethm sons of Reuben." Their actions were divisive from the start and could
not lead to any thing but a schism among God's people. Furthermore, Korach and
his cohort's rebellion could not have been for the sake of heaven for their
argument did not endure nor did IT have a "positive outcome" for themselves or
for the Children of Israel. Not only did Korach's dispute lead to his death and
the death of his followers, but it also brought about the death of 14,700 Jews
(Numbers 17:14). Korach's accusation against Moses was already refuted by God
in Parashat Nasso, where a similar
accusation is made by Miriam and Aaron, who say, "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken
through us as well?" (Numbers 12:2). In
reality, Korach was projecting his own sinful motives and bad character traits
on Moses, which is a common, yet ironic method used to undermine godly
leaders.
2. In Numbers 16:5 Moses declares to Korach and all his followers, "In the
morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have
that person come near him. The person God chooses God will bring near." Why did
Moses want to wait until morning to deal with Korach and his followers? How does God clarify to all of Israel whose
side God is on?
Moses delayed the
confrontation in hope that Korach and his followers would come to their senses
and repent. As it says in the Talmud,
It was taught in the school of R. Ishmael: If you see a scholar who has
committed an offense by night, do not suspect him by day, for perhaps he has
done teshuva (repented).
b.
Berachot 19a
In the same way, God has delayed
sending Messiah Yeshua to judge the world, for he desires as many people as
possible to repent and place their faith in him. As it is written in 2 Peter
3:8-9:
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is
as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow
concerning the divine promise, as some count slowness, but is longsuffering
toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance.
Although Korach did not
repent, we do notice something striking, however, about his descendants. If we
read further in Numbers, we see that Korach's sons did not follow in their
father's footsteps: "And the sons of Korach did not die" (Numbers 26:11).
Instead of following in their father's evil ways, they become servants of God,
and even merited the honor of authoring several Psalms (Psalms 42, 44-49,
84-85, 87-88).
Thus we learn the deeper
meaning of Parashat Korach - that redemption is always
possible. The Lord is always ready to extend the hand of forgiveness and
spiritually elevate an individual regardless of our own or family's checkered
past.
Learning 
