Korach, Rebel or Prophet?
Korach was a prophet! Reading the verses as they are written, it seems as if he was just a rabble rouser who staged a rebellion against Moshe. But when we look at the Oral Torah, which of course is necessary to understand what the Written Torah is really saying, we see a very different picture. Yes, Korach was a rabble rouser who staged a rebellion against Moshe, but he was a prophet, and described by the sages as a “Pikeach” – a brilliant man. He was also a very prominent leader among the Levites, and the wealthiest man in the nation. (There is a well-known Yiddish saying: “Reich vi Korach” - as rich as Korach.) Korach had a prophetic vision of his illustrious descendants - the great prophet Shmuel and many other very prominent and holy Levites. He understood that to mean that he and his family had a bright future, and was therefore not afraid of failing in his rebellion. (In the end, when he and his family were swallowed up in the earth, his children repented at the last mom