Illustration credit: Rebecca Kerzner
What kinds of people make good leaders? What kinds of values and traits do they have?
Korah and his gang had a particular view of leadership. Here’s what they said:
וַיָּקֻמוּ לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה
וַאֲנָשִׁים מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתָיִם
נְשִׂיאֵי עֵדָה קְרִאֵי מוֹעֵד אַנְשֵׁי שֵׁם׃
וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ עַל מֹשֶׁה וְעַל אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵהֶם
רַב לָכֶם כִּי כׇל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים וּבְתוֹכָם ה'
וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ עַל קְהַל ה'׃
They rose up against Moshe,
together with 250 Israelites, chiefs of the community, chosen in the assembly, respected people.
They combined against Moshe and Aharon and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and God is in their midst. Why do you raise yourselves above God’s congregation?”
- What do you think of Korah's argument? Does it make sense?
- Why were Moshe and Aharon acting as leaders of the people if they are all holy? Who made them leaders?
- In the Torah, it's clear that God chooses Moshe and Aharon, and punishes Korah. Why do you think that is? What could that tell us about Korah's argument, or about what he really wanted?
- What positive role could leaders play in our lives? Can you think of a time when you did something good as a leader? What kind of leadership is not good? What made Moshe and Aharon the right kind of leaders?
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