The Ramban on the pasuk “And the earth opened its mouth and it swallowed them and their houses and all the men that were with Korach...” (Bamidbar 16:32) points out that any person associated with Korach was swallowed up when the ground opened. They were punished together with the rest of his property.
Ironically, however, the Ramban says that this dramatic punishment did not affect Korach’s own sons, as it is written in Parshas Pinchas “And the sons of Korach did not die.” (Bamidbar 26:11) Even though they were initially part of Korach’s assembly, there were spared because they were “great righteous men” whose merit saved them. What happened to Korach’s sons? How were they saved?
The Medrash (Yalkut Shimoni) says that their merit stemmed from the fact that when Korach was initially plotting his rebellion in the presence of his sons, Moshe came in and they covered their faces. They had the following dilemma: If we stand up in the presence of Moshe Rabbeinu (as protocol would demand for the Gadol Hador), this would shame our father, Moshe’s antagonist, and we are obligated to honor our father. On the other hand, if we do not stand up for Moshe, we would violate the pasuk “Mipnei seivah takum...” (Vayikra 19:32) What should we do?
The Medrash relates that they decided to honor Moshe Rabbeinu even though it would shame their father. At that moment, they had pangs of repentance (hirhurei teshuva), as King David said, “My heart acquired a good matter...” (Tehillim 45:2)
I will share two comments on this Medrash:
Why did they choose to give honor to Moshe Rabbeinu over their father? Why did Moshe win out in the end? I saw in the sefer Darash Mordechai that this shows the power of the chinuch (education) of a home. Rashi says that Korach was amongst those who carried the Aron Kodesh (Ark) during the travels in the Wilderness. Any person who carried the Aron Kodesh had to be extremely careful about one thing: Kavod HaTorah. Someone who does not treat the Torah with the proper deference and honor died on the spot when lifting the Aron Kodesh. It was like carrying something that was radioactive. If you did not take the proper precautions, it could kill you.
There was something that permeated the house of Korach more than anything else: Kavod HaTorah. Kavod HaTorah. Kavod HaTorah. When you get something in your mother’s milk, when that becomes the raison d’être of your house – it becomes so important to you that it trumps everything else in your life. So, when they had this dilemma – Kavod haTorah vs. Kibbud Av v’Em, Kavod haTorah won out. This is the first observation.
The other observation is recognizing how much a person can accomplish with a single minute. That one minute in the lives of Korach’s sons, in which they were overcome with Kavod haTorah, saved their lives, and – as the Ramban says – they were considered tzadikim as a result of that. Shmuel haNavi descended from them. All because of that action expressing Kavod haTorah to Moshe Rabbeinu, which transpired in one minute! That is what a person can accomplish with one minute.
We frequently mention the Gemara, “A person can acquire his world in a single moment.” (Avodah Zarah 10b) A single moment can change a person’s life, but unfortunately it cuts both ways. That which a person might do or say in one minute can cause him irreversible eternal damage as well.
How long do you think the whole story of Korach took? The whole story took place in less than a single day. How do we know that? The pasuk says that Korach had a complaint against Moshe Rabbeinu which led him to start a rebellion. Moshe responded to Korach “(Come) morning and Hashem will make known who belongs to Him...” (Bamidbar 16:5). Rashi notes: Why the emphasis on “morning”? This argument started in the evening. Why did Moshe wait until the next morning to put an end to it?
Rashi explains that Moshe’s motivation was that maybe they would sleep on it overnight and change their minds. He stated that the afternoon was a time of drunkenness, not an appropriate time for reaching momentous decisions.
What happened? On the contrary, Korach engaged his followers with mockery of Moshe the entire night. (Does a house that is full of sefarim need a mezuzah? Does a garment that is entirely techeiles require tzisis?) The earth swallowed Korach and his followers the next morning.
Korach was a tzadik, a very prestigious individual. Yet his whole life went down the tube in less than 24 hours. Consider a tale of two categories of people: The Bnei Korach changed in less than one minute. They had a hirhur teshuva. They decided to honor Moshe Rabbeinu. They got a grip on themselves and saved their lives and the lives of their descendants in one minute. Korach let it go all down the drain in less than 24 hours.
A person can acquire his world in a moment, and a person can destroy his world in a moment. This is a scary thought.
