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 moment.  Since “there is nothing that stands in the way of Teshuva,” they were saved from death and it was their descendants that Korach had foreseen.)

Prophecy, Rambam tells us, is reserved for truly holy people.  How could a holy prophet fall so low and go against Hashem?  Well, Rashi tells us, it started with jealousy.  Korach was bypassed for the position of President of the tribe of Levi, which was given to his younger cousin.  He felt that he should be the one to get the leadership position.  Then, in order to get the people to buy into his rebellion, he made up a whole thing about all the people being equally holy and questioned why Aharon was chosen to be the High Priest.  (Based on a teaching of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.)

So let’s examine what happened here.  There are several angles we can look at.  First of all, jealousy can destroy the greatest person.  Another thing is what true leadership is.   If someone really wants to be a leader and is jealous of another, he is probably not the right person for the job.  

Another area that I find very interesting is how we look at the world and others through our own lens.  Korach believed that Moshe’s decisions in leadership appointments were based on his own self interests.  The fact that he “took” the top position for himself and “gave” the next spot to his brother, and then chose his younger cousin for the next position, Korach felt, were all arbitrary and self-serving.  Every decision that Moshe made was following Hashem’s direct instructions, but because Korach was overcome by self-interest, he attributed the same to Moshe.  

A true leader is one who cares only about the people, whose decisions are never self-serving and are always purely for the benefit of the people.  A true leader is reluctant to lead, and does so only because he is the right person that Hashem has given the talents and has the humility to lead.

This Shabbat, we mark the 28th Yartzeit (anniversary of passing) of such a leader, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, our Rebbe.  You can read more about this day here.  If you are in town, please join us for dinner on Friday night, (register here) and a full lunch and farbrengen on Shabbat.  

May we soon merit the coming of Moshiach and Techiyat Hameitim (the Resurrection of the dead), and we will then all be reunited.