So, it’s worth revisiting the legendary
and well-known dispute between Korach
and his first cousins, Moshe and Aharon,
which set the paradigm for everything
that has followed. The episode opens with
an unusual verse: “Korach, ben Yitzhar,
ben Kehas, ben Levi, took, and Dasan and
Aviram b’nei Eli’av and Ohn ben Peles,
b’nei Reuven.”3 Although the Torah explicitly states that 250 men joined Korach in
his rebellion against Moshe and Aharon,
only Dasan, Aviram and someone named
what exactly did Korach take? He “took”
counsel. In other words, this was not
some spur of the moment decision on the
part of Korach. This was a well-planned
and thoughtfully executed coup – the very
first in the history of the Jewish people –
but, unfortunately for all of us, by no
means the last.
And our Sages are quick to point out
that the motivations which brought about
this coup were entirely self-serving and
selfish.6 This wasn’t a dispute that was
RABBI KURTSTAG
MAINTAINS THAT THERE
HASN’T BEEN UNITY
AMONG THE JEWISH
PEOPLE SINCE THE FAMOUS
REBELLION OF KORACH…
AND THAT KORACH
ACTUALLY ADDED A NEW
TRAIT TO OUR JEWISH DNA
– A GENE OF MACHLOIKES
(ARGUMENT), WHERE
PEOPLE FIGHT SIMPLY FOR
THE SAKE OF FIGHTING.
Ohn are explicitly named. And lest we
think that Korach and the men who joined
him in this rebellion were from the proletariat – from t