The Lessons a Levite Should Have Learned
The lessons Korach did not learn
The whole subject of speaking evil in the Torah is extremely confusing, when we look at it only in the narrow context of a single story, even though well narrated. The reason why we find this important to emphasize in the very opening of our study will be made clear further on. In the following, it remains for us to explain the necessity of addressing the subject of speaking evil, which arises from the fact that there are several Scriptural passages in which it appears. It becomes, therefore, our duty to explain these passages in the overall context, since so many people are confused regarding them, despite that fact that much has been written on the subject. In the following, therefore, we would like to posit another way to look at this phenomenon that persists even today. This matter can best be understood in connection with the story of a Levite, who had been chosen for service in the Tabernacle. This is the story of Korach from the tribe of Levi, with which we will begin and keep on rewinding the time further. Our commentary of Numbers 16 may serve as a window into several major issues which the reader has already encountered in the Torah.
And took Korach, the son of Itshar, the son of Kehat, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Aviram, the sons of Eliav, and On, the son of Pelet, sons of Reuven, and they rose up in face of Mosheh, … (Numbers 16:1-2)
Why was there the necessity for the Torah to introduce what will follow beginning with “And Korach, son of Itshar …” versus simply saying, “Korach, son of Itshar …” The choice of this word by the Torah comes to teaches us something hinted at in the apparent extraneous word, “And”. The Hebrew letter vav, “and, moreover”, serves a function. Hence, the way the Torah begins the story of Korach implies that what the reader will read from that point on in Chapter 16 is closely related to what the reader has already read in the preceding story. This is a common way for the Torah to connect two stories together.
But who was Korach, and why did he rebelled against the appointed men of the Eternal?
Korach was a Levite who had a common grandfather (Kehat) and great-grandfather (Levi) with Mosheh and Aharon. This makes Korach Mosheh and Aharon’s second cousin. So, Korach was displeased that Aharon and his descendants had been singled out as priests while he (Korach) had no priestly status having been demoted to be mere assistants of Aharon. Korach must have felt that since the two sons of Amram (Mosheh and Aharon) assumed the highest offices in Israel, he should be the next in line for honor, since he was the son of Amram’s next brother in line, Itshar. But when Elitsaphan, son of Uziel, was place in charge of the Kehatite family (see Num 3:30), a position Korach felt should have been his, Korach’s resentment must have begun at that moment.
Torah previously stated that the entire tribe of Levi was distinguished from the other tribes of Israel and that they were given no land allotment; instead they were dedicated to serving the Eternal. This establishment of the family of Aharon offended Korach the Levite and voiced his disagreement, as he “rose up in face of Mosheh”. This disagreement, however, resulted in an outright attempt to overthrow Mosheh and Aharon as leaders of Israel. Moreover, he tried to attract the populace, who must have already been resentful of the decree that everyone over twenty would die in the desert after the spies’ failure to ferment rebellion. Thus, Korach took advantage of the populace’s negative feelings. And Korach took Dathan, Aviram, and On, descendants of Reuven, providing reasons for his rebellion, and brought them before Mosheh and Aharon with 250 renown men of Israel. The same reason for the rebellion applies to the arguments of the Reuvenites, who, in turn, claimed the status Ya’akov’s first-born. And when they assembled themselves together against Mosheh and Aharon, they said,
You take too much upon you, for all the congregation are set apart, all of them, and the Eternal is among them. Why then do you raise yourselves above the assembly of the Eternal? (Num 16:3)
In essence, Korach’s argument in the dispute with Mosheh was that “all the assembly is set-apart, all of them, and the Eternal is in their midst”. Korach and his followers accused Mosheh of usurping too much power implying that he made a heavy error in cutting all other Israelites, including the Levites, out of the priesthood forever, and of transferring the priesthood from the firstborn of Israel to his own tribe, and then bestowing the high priesthood upon his brother and his sons in perpetuity.
A few things we need to emphasize here in their statement. We will read it again with our comments added: “For all the congregation is set-apart, all of them” (true), “and the Eternal is among them” (true). “Why then do you lift up yourselves above the assembly of the Eternal” (not true)?” Now, while every Israelite, including the Levites, is indeed called to be a set-apart member of the assembly of Israel, not every Israelite has the same responsibility within the nation. As we will see in the development of the story, YHVH went so far as to perform miracles to show that Aharon and his sons were His elected ones, and to punish Korach and his followers for their rebellion.
And when Mosheh heard these accusations, he fell on his face and said,
Tomorrow morning the Eternal shall make known who is His and who is set-apart and bring him near to Him. And let Him bring near to Him the one whom He chooses. (Num 16:4-5)
The reader will recall that in the dire episode of the ten spies in Numbers 14, Torah describes both Mosheh and Aharon as falling on their faces (see Num 14:5). When Mosheh and Aharon saw that the people were determined to appoint a new leader and to head back toward Egypt, they implored them not to commit such a grave sin, seeing that all the people were involved in the rebellion, and that they had decided to appoint a new leader and return to Egypt immediately. So, Mosheh and Aharon prostrated themselves with their faces on the ground.
But here, in our verse, it was only Mosheh who fell on his face. When the people committed the sins of the Golden Calf and the spies’ rebellion, the Supreme One threatened to wipe the people out, and Mosheh interceded successfully on their behalf. But now, Mosheh must have been afraid that Korach’s rebellion would become even worse, and the Supreme One would threaten them again and that could be final, for Mosheh might not be in a position to intercede again. As for Aharon, seeing that his position had been challenged, he kept silent throughout so as not to provide further fuel for Korach’s unsubstantiated claims.
And Mosheh told the rebels to take fire holders, put fire in them and incense before the Eternal on the morrow. And it should be that the one whom the Eternal would choose, he would be the set-apart one. And he said to them, “Enough of you, sons of Levi!” (Num 16:6-7). It is not recorded in the Torah that this was a command from the Eternal, but the use of censers and incense is peculiar, seeing that this is how Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon (Lev 10:1-3) met their death, when they brought fire in their censers; something they were not told to do. So, Mosheh might have thus intentionally wanted to allude to this event to put the fear of the Eternal in the hearts of the rebels.
And if that was not a strong argument to make, Mosheh asked Korach,
Is it a small thing to you that the Supernal of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the Tabernacle of the Eternal, and to stand before the congregation to serve them, and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you? Yet you seek the priesthood as well? … (Num 16:9-11)
Sensing that something bad would come out of the whole situation, Mosheh rebuked Korach saying that it was the Eternal who had distinguished Korach in his service in the Tabernacle, what would he (Korach) want more? It was not a murmuring against Aharon but a rebellion against Him. Aharon had not seized upon the priesthood of his own accord, but the Eternal of Israel had called him to it. And Mosheh sent to summon the other rebels, Dathan and Aviram, for they had gone away from his presence while he was speaking to Korach, as stated in verses 5-7.
Now, Dathan and Aviram’s rebellion against Mosheh and Aharon was independent of Korach’s challenge to their authority. Dathan and Aviram had their own reason for the rebellion, having lost their first-born status as members of the tribe of Reuven, the first-born son of Ya’akov.
But Dathan and Aviram refused to come before Mosheh, stating, “We are not coming up!” (Num 16:12). The choice of word here is peculiar. When the word עָלָה alah, “to come up” is used in the Tanach, depending on the context, it may mean as “going to the Land”. The Tanach always refers to going in the Promised Land as “coming up” and leaving it as “coming down”. In other words, Dathan and Aviram are saying, “We are not going with you in the Land”. Thus Datan and Aviram made it clear that seeing they did not consider Mosheh as their leader, they refused to even talk with him. They continued, “Is it a small thing that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey (they meant Egypt), to kill us in the desert, that you must also exercise authority over us? Also, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards” (Datan and Aviram referred to the men who had come out of Egypt). Datan and Aviram here paraphrased sarcastically Mosheh’s words to Korach, “Is it a small thing to you …?” but also blamed Israel’s failed entering in the Land on him. They were arrogant in their remark that even if all were as blind as if their eyes had been gouged out, they, Datan and Aviram, could not be blinded by Mosheh (see verse 14). And Mosheh became very displeased and said to the Eternal,
Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them. (Num 16:15)
Mosheh was especially angry at what they had said. Their reason for rejection had nothing to do at all with who had to offer incense. They had had their own reason for a rebellion, and that was the lost status of the first born of Ya’akov. The plain meaning of what Mosheh said to the Eternal, “I have not taken a one donkey from them”, was his response to the accusation that he had usurped power over the people, while in fact he had not taxed them, even one donkey he had not taken from them.
Then Mosheh said to Korach that each one of the rebels must bring his fire holder with incense on them before the Eternal, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, with Aharon included. And Korach assembled all 250 men, and the glory of the Eternal appeared to all the congregation. And Mosheh said,
By this you know that the Eternal has sent me to do all these works, for they are not from my own heart. (Num 16:28)
And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korach, and all those with them went down alive. And the earth closed over them, and they perished. Then a fire came out from the Eternal and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.
The plain reading of the text, “And took Korach, the son of Itshar, the son of Kehat, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Aviram, the sons of Eliav, and On, the son of Pelet, sons of Reuven, and they rose up in face of Mosheh, …”, suggests that nothing in the way Korach acted or spoke against Mosheh and Aharon implies that he rebelled against the Eternal. But is it so?
Korach’s claim that Israel has been set apart from the other nations as the Eternal’s chosen people and that He dwells among them is true, but nevertheless it does not negate the need for structure and ranks within Israel as a nation, and the need for sanctification based on personal merits. Korach referred only to the common sanctification of Israel omitting the personal one. Korach did not take into account that Mosheh and Aharon were chosen by the Supernal to confront Pharaoh and lead the people out of Egypt thought the sea and bring them to Sinai. Moreover, it was Mosheh whom the Eternal chose to come up to mountain and receive the Covenant written with His finger on the tablet of stones. But the worst thing is that by his statement Korach in fact denied the Supernal One’s will to choose whomever He desired for the service in the Tabernacle.
People worshiped the golden calf, complained for no good reason in multiple occasions, heeded to the spies, and each time it was Mosheh who had to resolve all problems having prayed for them before the Eternal. And here in our story, it was Mosheh who tried to save Korach and his associates from sure destruction. Korach failed to consider all this blinded by the status of the High Priest, the position Korach coveted for himself. That turned out to be too much for him to swallow indeed. To challenge the chosen leaders and their authority, and endanger the unity of Israel is to challenge the authority of the One who had chosen them. Israel needs leaders, and these leaders are appointed with no one to question their legality.
Yet, there is another lesson of the story of Korach to learn.
As we remarked in the opening of our survey on the matter of Korach, Torah sees fit to introduce what will follow beginning with “And” versus simply introducing the new story. This is the way the Torah connects together two stories for a reason. So, what is the reason for this in the story of Korach?
Letter vav, “and, moreover”, with which Numbers 16 begins, connects the story of Korach with the preceding story of the twelve spies whom Mosheh sent to survey the land of Kana’an (Numbers 13 through 15). When these two fateful stories are connected in a such way, it is inevitable to the careful reader to read them together in context and contrast them.
The transgression of the ten spies, which cause Israel’s 38-year exile in the Arabian desert, was that they spoke against the land which the Eternal had chosen for the nation. The spies, who brought the evil report to Mosheh and the people, should have understood that if the Elohim of their fathers had chosen that particular land, it was a sign that this was not any land but the priceless Land, the land He promised to the patriarchs Avraham, Yitschak, and Ya’akov. The nation was punished with the exile, for they all believed the evil report, lashon ha’ra (Hebrew for “evil tongue”), the ten spies brought and rebelled against Mosheh. Even worst, they wanted to appoint a new leader and return to Egypt, in their view, the land of milk and honey. And this is what Korach and the other rebels should have learned from the spies: Do not speak evil against the Eternal’s anointed!
The story of the spies begins with the same letter vav, “and” (Numbers 13:1), which connects it with the earlier story of Miriam, who spoke lashon ha’ra against her brother Mosheh and was punished with tsara’at, a curse that caused her to be isolated outside of the camp. Miriam, likewise, should have understood, that the Eternal specifically had chosen Mosheh; he was not any prophet but a great prophet, and she should not have spoken against him for no good reason. And this is what the spies should have learned from the punishment of Miriam. The spies should have learned not to speak evil (lashon ha’ra) about the Land for any reason. The contrast of the story of the spies to that of Mirian was that since Miriam was punished for evil tongue and knowing what happened to her, they did not take lesson that immediately after her punishment, they were sent to survey the land, not to bring intelligence whether the land was conquerable or not.
Likewise, Miriam should have learned from the story of Yoseph, who was delivering evil reports to Ya’akov against his older brothers; they were his brothers.
We find four times the outcomes of speaking lashon ha’ra, and the severity of that transgression. The first is of Yosef, as the Torah relates, “Yoseph brought evil reports about them to their father” (Genesis 37:2). Second, “And Miriam and Aharon spoke against Mosheh” (Numbers 12:1). Third, the spies, “They spread an evil report among the Israelites about the land they had surveyed” (Numbers 13:32). And the fourth one is of Korach and his associates, who spoke against Mosheh and Aharon, saying, “Why do you raise yourselves above the Eternal’s assembly?” (Numbers 16:3). Each instance was dealt with accordingly, as seen in the punishments of those who spoke evil tongue, namely, Yoseph was punished as he was sold into slavery; Miriam was punished with tsara’at; the spies were punished with death by a plague. The punishment of Korach and his associates was that the earth opened and swallowed them alive.
Yoseph intended only good, when he reported his brothers, but ended in Egypt. Miriam clearly did not mean to speak evil against her brother but also did not act in a proper way, as she did not spoke to her brother directly, so that he should correct his (in her view) wrongful decision to take a second wife. Yet, despite her wrongdoing, she did not spread any bad word as the spies did, while Korach spoke evil against Mosheh and Aharon accusing them of usurping the power. Hence, the difference of the severity of their transgressions.
Korach was that he did not learn from the error of the spies. The spies did not learn from Miriam’s error, as she did not have learn from Yoseph: all consequences of the same sin: lashon ha’ra.
What is our lesson we should learn today?
Israel today is not to be judged lightly. Rather, we are to examine ourselves carefully whether we will do any better when our time comes. The challenge that faces us in these latter days is discerning who is and who is not appointed to lead Medinat Israel, the State of Israel, in these perilous times like this. The reader’s mind will settle when he/she reads our interpretation of these stories.
Suggested reading:
What Was the Sin of the Ten Spies?
When the Private Life of a Prophet Like Mosheh Matters
New Reading of Who Sold Yoseph to Slavery in Egypt
Face to Face the Eternal Spoke to His Friend
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