Villains - Qorakh/Korach

(17) Every dispute that is for the sake of heaven, its end is to endure. But if it is not for the sake of heaven -- its end is not to endure. What is a dispute for the sake of heaven? The dispute of Hillel and Shammai. What is a dispute not for the sake of heaven? The argument of Korach and all of his congregation.

[Qorakh's wife said to him:] And furthermore, with regard to that which [Moshe] said to you, prepare sky-blue dye [for your ritual fringes. Then one could answer Moshe:] If it enters your mind that using sky-blue dye is considered a mitzva, take out robes of sky-blue, and dress all the students of your academy [in sky-blue without ritual fringes,,,] This is the meaning of that which is written:... “Folly plucks it down with her hands” (Proverbs 14:1); this is referring to the wife of Korah.

(1) Va-yiqakh Qorakh (Numbers 16:1) "Now Qorakh took..." There is no 'taking' except in terms of a disagreement to which his heart took him, as it is said: How your heart has taken you (Iyov 15:12). This was that which Moshe said to them, Is it so little to you that the God of Israel has set you apart...?, etc. (B-Midbar 16:9) Of that entire matter, until like the death of all humankind (loc. cit. 29), the sages said that Qorakh was a great sage, and Qorakh was among those who bore the ark, as it is said: And he gave none to the sons of Qohat, for the service of holiness was upon them, they carried it upon their shoulders. (op. cit., 7:9).

And Qorakh the son of Yitzhar son of Qohat - when Moshe said: And they shall put a blue twist on the corner fringe (op. cit., 15:38), what did he do? He immediately ordered that they make 250 blue tallits, and wrapped in them those same 250 heads of the sanhedras who rose against Moshe, as in the matter where it is said: And they arose before Moshe. [And the 250 persons from Bnei Yisrael, etc.] (op. cit. 16:2). Qorakh stood up and made a party for them, and they all wrapped themselves in the blue tallits. When the sons of Aharon came to take their gifts - the breast and the right thigh, they stood against them and said to them: "Who commanded you to take thus?" They said, "Moshe." They replied: "We give you nothing which the Holy One (blessed be He) has not commanded."

They came and informed Moshe. He went to appease them. Immediately they stood against him, as it is said: And they arose before Moshe. And who were they? Elitzur son of Shdeiur and his friends, people who were pointed out by name (op. cit. 1:17), even though the verse does not publicize them, it gives indicators for them and from among the verses one can understand them.

A parable: What does this matter resemble? A son of good family who stole vessels from the bathhouse and the owner of the stolen goods did not want to publicize it. He began to give indicators. They asked him, "Who stole your vessels?" He said, "A son of good family, tall, with nice teeth, nice hair." When he gave his indicators, they knew who he was.

Even so, here - when the text occludes them, it does not specify their names but comes and gives their indicators. You know their names. It says below, These were those who were called to the assembly, the presidents of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the thousands of Israel (loc. cit., 1:16). There it is written: So Moshe and Aharon took these men who were pointed out by name. Here it is written: Princes of the assembly, elected by the congregation, men of renown.

...Va-yiqakh Qorakh...But this matter occurred in the Paran Desert at Qadesh Barnei'a after the incident with the spies. And it is correctly expounded that Qorakh was angry about the rise of Eltzafan, as in our rabbis' discussion (Tankhuma Qorakh 1). And he was also jealous of Aharon, as it is said: And do you also seek the priesthood? (V. 10) And Datan and Aviram were also drawn along with him - and not about [the status of] the first-born's birthright, for it was Ya'aqov their father who had taken it from Reuven and given it to Yosef. But they also spoke their claim - [that Moshe had led them out of Egypt] so that we will die in the wilderness (V. 13) and you have not brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey (V. 14). And lo, during Israel's time in the desert of Sinai, nothing at all bad happened to them. For even though the matter of the calf was the great and renowned sin, the dead were few and they were saved through the prayer of Moshe who prostrated himself for them forty days and forty nights. And lo, they loved him like themselves and listened to him. And were there to be anyone who rebelled against Moshe in that time, the nation would have stoned him. And therefore Qorakh suffered through the greatness of Aharon and the first-born suffered through the elevation of the Levites and all of Moshe's deeds. But upon their coming into the Desert of Paran, where they were burned by the fire at Tav'eira and many died at Qivrot ha-Taavah and, when they sinned with the spies, Moshe did not pray for them and did not set aside the decree from them, and the princes of all the tribes died in the plague before God, and it was decreed against the whole nation that they should come to an end in the desert and die there - then, the soul of all the people was bitter and they said in their hearts that all that had come to them from Moshe's words were snares. Then Qorakh found space to disagree about his deeds, and thought that when the nation listened to him and this issue of "killing us in the desert", they would say: "here you have brought us to this place and have not fulfilled for us that which you vowed....

(1) ויקהלו על משה ועל אהרן Va-yiqhalu 'al Moshe v-'al Aharon. Korach, Datan and Aviram assembled in order to make a commotion against Moses and Aaron in the presence of 250 princes of the congregation who had gone there upon the advice of these commotion-makers, at a time when there would be people from among Bnei Yisrael who had come to judgment before Moshe. Those 250 assembled there - as if they were simply going to Moshe to take a stand with him there - in order that, when Korach, Datan, and Aviram assembled against Moshe and Aharon afterwards, they would all as one agree with the words of those assembled before those people from Bnei Yisrael who would be found there. And they chose an hour when there would be a throng in order to publicize and send word in the camp, in order to multiply those who would rise up with them.

...V-la'amod li-fnei ha-'eidah le-shartam - "And to stand before the assembly to serve them." In every matter between humankind and heaven in prayer and similar things, as it is written in Dvarim 10:8, the love of God engenders all these things. And despite all this, "you seek the priesthood!"

And if so, this is a sign that it is not because you seek kindness and love of God that you have entered into this reproach, but rather because of the honour of the priesthood.

And is it an easy wrong in your eyes to seek to use the crown of [priestly] service for one's own honour? And this in itself would be enough to withhold this desire from you. For in truth the gradation of the priesthood is not fit except for one who merits to do his deeds only for the sake of heaven and not for one's own honour. And see what is written in Shmot 28:35.

...And the sons of Qorakh did not die. And Shmuel and his sons and his sons' sons established that they were the singers and they are the ones called the Qorakhites, A psalm for the sons of Qorakh. Also, in the Torah is written the Qorakhite family, and the text mentions And the sons of Qorakh with the sons of Reuvein, because the sons of Datan and Aviram - great and little - died, and that was because the evil of Datan and Aviram was harsher than the evil of Qorakh.

(1) ובני קרח לא מתו U-vnei qorakh lo meitu. "But the sons of Qorakh did not die." They were in the counsel at first, but in the hour of dispute, repentance stirred in their hearts. Therefore a high area was fenced around for them in Gehinom and they settled there. (Sanhedrin 110a)

The Sages taught [in a baraita (Tosefta 13:9)]: The assembly of Korah have no share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And the earth closed over them” (Numbers 16:33), in this world, and: “And they were lost from among the congregation” (Numbers 16:33), in the World-to-Come - a statement of R. Akiva. R. Yehuda ben Beteira says: They are like a lost item that is sought, as it is stated: “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your mitzvot” (Psalms 119:176).

...Raba expounded: Why is it written: If God should create a creation (B-Midbar 16:30)? Moshe said: Master of universes, "if [You] created" Gehinom, good. And if not, "God should create" it. Why? If you say, [he asked God] really to create it, the verse says: There is nothing new under the sun. (Qohelet 1:9) But rather [he asked] that the opening be brought near.

And the children of Qorakh did not die. (B-Midbar 26:11) It was learned from our rabbi that a place was fortified for them in Gehinom. Raba bar Khana said: One time he was walking in the way and the traveller said to him: Come and I will tell you the place of those who were swallowed with Qorakh. He went and saw two clefts and there emerged from them a wisp of smoke. He picked up a fleece clipping, dipped it in water, and placed it on the head of a spear. He lifted it in there, and it was charred and fell. [The merchant] said to him: Listen, what do you hear? He heard that they were saying: Moshe and his torah are truth, and they are liars. He said to me: Every thirty days, Gehinom returns them here like meat on a spit and they say this: Moshe and his torah are truth. And in the future to come, the Holy One (blessed be He) will take them out, and about them Hannah said: God puts to death and gives life, sends down to Sheol and brings up. (Shmuel I 2:6)