Parshat Korach is a Parsha that was set up by Hakadosh Baruch Hu from the beginning of Creation. As the Mishna in Pirkei Avot (5:6) states:
עֲשָׂרָה דְבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, וּפִי הַבְּאֵר, וּפִי הָאָתוֹן, וְהַקֶשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, וְהַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת.
Ten things were created on Erev Shabbat at twilight, and they are: the mouth of the earth, the mouth of the well, the mouth of the donkey, the rainbow, the manna, the staff of Moshe, the shamir, the letters, the inscription, and the tablets.
In the coming three Shabbatot, we have these three mouths: the mouth of the earth, the mouth of the well, and the mouth of the donkey. This Shabbat, we have the mouth of the earth, - i.e., the pit of Korach that entered the ground. Next week, we have the mouth of the well, as it says: בְּאֵר חֲפָרוּהָ שָׂרִים, and the following Shabbat, we have the mouth of the donkey that Bilaam rode. The interesting thing is that we have three consecutive mouths – פִּי, פִּי, פִּי – and Chazal discuss these three mouths at length. There are wonderful teachings from this sequence, including related to a person who gets confused during Tefillah and has foreign thoughts enter their mind– a topic we can perhaps delve into in the future.
In a sefer called Dudaei Yaakov, I found something very beautiful. He writes that the names of the next three Parshiot each contain the letter ק – kuf. In קרח, the kuf is at the beginning. In חקת, the kuf is in the middle, and in בלק, the kuf is at the end. We usually don’t have such phenomena, and in parallel to this, we also have the three פִּי – mouths. This is very interesting, but what is the connection? Why is the kuf at the beginning in one, in the middle in another, and at the end in the third? Generally, you would say this represents the past, present, and future. That is, if the kuf is first, it’s the past; if it’s in the middle, it’s the present; if it’s at the end, it’s the future.
But there is a Midrash called Otiot D'Rabbi Akiva that discusses the system of letters and it writes that the letter kuf symbolizes קְדֻשָּׁה – holiness.
There are various letters that symbolize different things and Chazal explain and elaborate on what each represents and its essence. For example, Chazal say that the letter א came before Hakadosh Baruch Hu and asked why the Torah doesn’t begin with aleph, but rather with bet – each letter presented itself, explaining why the Torah should begin with it, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu explained why He didn’t start with each one. He said He begins with the letter bet because בָּרוּךְ – blessed, and the Torah is a blessing. On the flip side, aleph symbolizes אָרוּר – cursed, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu did not want to begin the Torah in such a way. He then said to aleph, “Since you sat quietly and didn’t protest, I will compensate you. I will begin the Aseret HaDibrot with aleph, as it says: אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ.”
It follows that each letter has a unique significance, and the letter kuf symbolizes holiness. In the name of Rav Shmuel Shmelka Taubenfeld, as cited in Dudaei Yaakov, it is said that the letter kuf signifies holiness, and Korach went out to create a dispute. Korach was a great man – one of the carriers of the Aron – but the moment he entered into a dispute, he was marked for eternal disgrace. וְלֹא־יִהְיֶה כְקֹרַח וְכַעֲדָתוֹ – And it shall not be like Korach and his congregation. When you want to mark someone as a symbol of eternal disgrace, it’s Korach who’s referred to. Yet, despite this, he came from a righteous family. His father was Yitzhar, the son of Kehat, the son of Levi, the son of Yaakov Avinu. The latter, however, requested that his name not be mentioned in connection with this dispute: בְּסֹדָם אַל־תָּבֹא נַפְשִׁי בִּקְהָלָם אַל־תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי. He asked that neither his name nor the disputes of Korach or the spies be mentioned, and thus his name does not appear at the start of our Parsha.
So, Korach’s holiness is an early holiness and his resume is filled with wonderful things; he brings beautiful elements through his lineage. But his continuation has nothing. He went into the ground, and it ended there. Thus, the ק appears at the start of the name קרח. The Parah Adumah – the red heifer – which we read about next week in חקת, has a different holiness. Its mother was not holy, and it has no children, as it is slaughtered first. So, it has no holy lineage, and no holy offspring, only it is holy. Its holiness – its ק – is neither before nor after, only in the middle, and thus, the kuf appears in the middle of the name. Finally, with regards to Balak, there is no holiness before, as Balak was a king of Moav. But, in the future, he has holiness. Ruth comes from Moav, and she is the lineage of David HaMelech. So, his holiness is only at the end, and not before or at present, and therefore, his ק appears at the end of the name בלק.
Korach’s Folly and the Power of Perspective
A beautiful idea appears in our Parsha, and Besiyata Dishmaya, we’ll explore it now. Chazal ask: What did Korach, a wise man, see in this folly we read about? What did Korach see that caused him to go out in dispute? The Ramban writes that if Korach had initially come to dispute Moshe Rabbeinu, the people would have stoned him. So, he instead found a particular place to latch onto the dispute. Where was this spot? After the spies slandered Eretz Yisrael, and it was decreed on Bnei Yisrael that they would perish in the wilderness, the spirits of the people were, so to speak, downcast. They were in a gloomy mood. At that moment when they were in a gloomy mood, he found the perfect place to latch onto them and stir up a dispute. This, the Ramban writes, is why he succeeded.
Korach’s eye deceived him – הָעַיִן הִטְעֲתָה אוֹתוֹ. What does it mean that his eye deceived him? Rashi writes, based the Midrash Tanchuma, that he saw that Shmuel HaNavi would descend from him. Shmuel the prophet was the grandson of Moshe, and in Kabbalat Shabbat we recite each week from Tehillim: מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן בְּכֹהֲנָיו וּשְׁמוּאֵל בְּקֹרְאֵי שְׁמוֹ – Moshe and Aharon among His priests, and Shmuel among those who call upon His name. Shmuel is equivalent to Moshe and Aharon – no less, no more. So, Korach reasoned, if Shmuel will descend from him, and Moshe said only one will emerge from the dispute – as it says: וְיֹדַע ה' אֶת אֲשֶׁר לוֹ (Morning, and Hashem will make known who is His) – it must mean that the one who will emerge is Korach! Otherwise, how could Shmuel descend from him in the future? He saw Shmuel as a sign that he would remain alive. But, Rashi says, he didn’t see what Moshe Rabbeinu saw. What was that? That Korach’s sons did Teshuva – they repented, and from them came Shmuel HaNavi.
What else did Korach see? He saw that twenty-four watches of Kohanim would descend from his descendants, all prophesying with Ruach HaKodesh. He said, “Is it possible that such greatness will come from me and I will remain silent here and now?” But, once again, Korach did not see clearly. Rashi once again says, he didn’t see that his sons did Teshuva, and from them came the Mishmerot Kehuna. Moshe Rabbeinu did see this. Thus, Korach was emboldened to act based on what he heard from Moshe, that all would perish and one would be chosen – וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַר ה' הוּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ.
In a sefer called Kol Aryeh, he writes that, on the contrary, because Korach entered into dispute, Shmuel HaNavi emerged. The Shmuel he received was a result of the sanctification of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s name through this dispute. Where do we find this? In the Gemara (Gittin 57b), it says that from Haman’s descendants, they studied Torah in Bnei Brak: מִבְּנֵי בָנָיו שֶׁל הָמָן לִמְּדוּ תּוֹרָה בִּבְנֵי בְרַק. How could it be that Haman’s descendants studied Torah in Bnei Brak? Because Haman united all the Jews and brought them closer. As the Gemara in Megillah (14a) says: וַיָּסַר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת טַבַּעְתּוֹ – the removal of Achashveirosh’s ring to Haman was greater than the forty-eight Nevi’im who prophesied to Yisrael; it instilled such fear in Bnei Yisrael and brought them to Teshuva.
Similarly, from the descendants of Sancheiriv, they studied Torah publicly: מִבְּנֵי בָנָיו שֶׁל סַנְחֵרִיב לִמְּדוּ תּוֹרָה בָּרַבִּים. Who is this referring to? Shemaiah and Avtalyon. It follows that when you cause the sanctification of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s name, as a result, you receive good children. Korach caused a dispute that everyone joined into, which resulted the earth swallowing the rebels and Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s name sanctified in the world. This Kiddush Hashem is what caused a son like Shmuel to emerge from him. Moshe Rabbeinu saw this, but Korach didn’t.
The Importance of Perspective: Two Eyes, Two Notes
The Be'er Moshe of Ozharov asks: Why did Korach’s eye deceive him? And why only one eye? Would it not make more sense to say his eyes, in the plural, deceived him? He then provides us with a beautiful answer, drawing from the sefer Yismach Moshe, and I would like to preface it with a powerful learning from the Kotzker Rebbe.
The Kotzker Rebber says that a person should carry two notes in his pockets. In one pocket, a note that says אָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר – I am but dust and ashes. In the other pocket, the note should say: כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת־הָאָדָם – For in the image of G-d He made man.
Two pockets, two notes. When do you use them? If someone comes to you and says, “Where do you live?” You say, “I live in Tel Aviv.” He says, “Is there a Tikkun Chatzot anywhere nearby?” You say, “No, at 10:30 the evening kollel ends and they turn off the electricity for the night.” He then asks, “What do you think about gathering a minyan and starting a Tikkun Chatzot at 12:30?” You say, “Forget it, I’m not doing it. If the gabbai and leaders there aren’t organizing it, why should I? Me? אָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר – I’m a nothing, a nobody.” The one suggesting the initiative then says, “Don’t say you’re nothing. Take the note that says you’re in the image of G-d. Just as Hakadosh Baruch Hu created worlds, you can create shiurim and great programs – act as Hakadosh Baruch Hu acted!”
Similarly, if someone offends you, don’t get upset. Why? Take out the note that says, “I am dust and ashes.” How can you be offended if you’re like dust. Dust gets stepped on all the time and it makes noise. It’s fine, it’s happy, it gets stronger and stronger as it’s stomped on. The dust is not offended, so why are you offended?
But, the Kotzker Rebber says, there’s a problem. People mix up the two notes. When they’re offered to do Torah activities, they say, “Who am I? I’m dust and ashes.” And when someone offends them, they say, “Do you know who you just offended? G-d Himself!” You need to know when to take out which note! Don’t get confused! When they tell you to do something, use the correct note. Hakadosh Baruch Hu created worlds, and so you create too. You have the strength. And when someone offends you, simply lower yourself.
Following this idea from the Kotzker Rebbe, the Be’er Moshe of Ozharov writes that a person has two eyes. One to see the greatness of the Creator, and the other to see one’s own lowliness. One to see how great Hakadosh Baruch Hu is and just how many miracles – Nissim Geluyim – He performed for us over these past ten days, with Siyata Dishmata. Open and obvious miracles truly beyond nature, which we will talk shortly. Additionally, you don’t need to look far; every morning you wake up, and everything works, Baruch Hashem. You move your body, and everything is fine. These too are miracles no less than the others. Every day you live, you get up, walk, and breathe, all with divine assistance. You recite each day: וְעַל נִסֶּיךָ שֶׁבְּכָל יוֹם עִמָּנוּ וְעַל נִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ וְטוֹבוֹתֶיךָ שֶׁבְּכָל עֵת – For Your miracles that are with us every day, and for Your wonders at all times. Every moment is a miracle.
Usually, you see your own lowliness – how you’re not connected to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, how you commit transgressions, how you struggle in guarding your mouth or eyes, etc. You certainly see your own lowliness, but a person must use both eyes: one for the greatness of the Creator, and the other for their own lowliness. When you come to be proud, say, “Why are you proud? Don’t you know what you have in your arsenal?” When you come to degrade yourself, saying, “Who am I, what am I?” see how great Hakadosh Baruch Hu is, who chose you to be His child. Use both tools, both eyes!
Korach’s “eye” deceived him; he closed one eye. What did he look at? Only the greatness of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. He didn’t look at his own lowliness. His eye deceived him because he didn’t use both eyes, and that was his point of failure. This is what Be’er Moshe of Ozharov writes, a very beautiful idea.
Korach’s Motivation and the Lesson of Names
Rashi asks, what happened? Why did Korach go to war? He answers that Korach was jealous of the leadership of Elitzaphan ben Uziel. But what is the problem with that? Why didn’t Korach protest right away when Elitzaphan was appointed, back in Parshat Bamidbar? Why did he only wake up now and react? As the Ramban says, if he had said a word back then, they would have stoned him. But, he was also ashamed to say he was jealous of Elitzaphan ben Uziel’s leadership. Chazal reveal what Korach said: “My father was one of four brothers: Amram, Yitzhar, Chevron, and Uziel. Amram’s sons became both king (Moshe) and Kohen Gadol (Aharon). The next role should go to the next brother’s son – Yitzhar’s son. Me!” But Moshe Rabbeinu skipped Yitzhar and Chevron and went straight to the youngest, Uziel. He took Elitzaphan ben Uziel. So, Korach went to protest this. But, Chazal say, that wasn’t the true reason. What was at the forefront of his dispute? He wanted to be the Kohen Gadol. That’s what he really wanted and since that was the core of his argument, he wanted to hide it, and thus, he said Elitzaphan ben Uziel instead.
Right at the start of our Parsha, Rashi writes a very unique comment: פָּרָשָׁה זוֹ יָפֶה נִדְרֶשֶׁת בְּמִדְרַשׁ רַבִּי תַנְחוּמָא – This section is beautifully expounded in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma. I don’t know of another Rashi in the entire Torah where he says, “This Parsha is beautifully expounded.” Some take this and say you can expound Korach anywhere and everywhere! You know the story of the rabbi who only had one sermon, focused on Korach. He’d reach into his pocket to take out his handkerchief, search for it, and say, “I can’t find it; the earth swallowed it.” Then he’d say, “Oh, that reminds me of Korach; let me give you a sermon!” So, you can always insert Korach anywhere because there’s always a dispute!
That’s nice; this Parsha is expounded everywhere, but that’s homiletical, and Rashi doesn’t give compliments so quickly. If Rashi writes this, he wants each of us to take Midrash Tanchuma and study it this Shabbat. That’s Rashi’s lesson. There’s something to learn from this Midrash. If we could spend multiple weeks on Korach, we’d start now and finish by Rosh Hashanah perhaps. We have twelve or thirteen Shabbatot until Rosh Hashanah, B’ezrat Hashem, and so many Korach-related topics, each worthy of a shiur.
But let’s take two or three points to apply to our lives, Besiyata Dishmaya. First and foremost, flee from dispute. Second, flee from mockery. These are lessons from Korach and his congregation. In this week’s Parsha, both the Midrash Rabbah and Tanchuma say: אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי לָמָּה חָלַק קֹרַח עַל משֶׁה, אָמַר אֲנִי בְּנוֹ שֶׁל שֶׁמֶן בֶּן יִצְהָר. Rabbi Levi said: Why did Koracḥ enter into a dispute with Moshe? He said: ‘I am the son of oil, “son of Yitzhar.”
Korach was the son of Yitzhar – so, how is his father’s name shemen (oil )? Yitzhar is oil, as in דְּגָנְךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ – Your grain, your wine, and your oil. Korach claimed he was the son of oil, because in all liquids, when you add oil, it floats. Just as oil floats atop other liquids, Korach said he is above all others. Immediately, he disputed with Moshe Rabbeinu, saying they (Moshe and Aharon) were only anointed with oil, whereas he is the son of oil.
Rabbotai, you read this and ask yourself what it is all about. Because his father was called oil, he floats above all? What does he mean and what does he want? If his father was called delek (fuel), what would he have done? I don’t understand it. The Be’er Moshe of Ozharov writes that this Parsha is sealed and locked, סְתוּמָה וַחֲתוּמָה, like a Midrash Peliah (an enigmatic and paradoxical Midrash). What does oil have to do with Korach’s dispute? Just because his father was called oil, he now wants something? That’s what Be’er Moshe asks.
I saw in the Maharzu, one of the commentators on Midrash Rabbah, who writes something beautiful. Today, a person knows how to name their children. Some discuss it during pregnancy, some only after the birth; if there are grandparents, it’s the grandfather’s name. Among Sephardic communities, they name after a living grandfather; among Ashkenazim, only after 120 years. Names come up – after a grandfather, or a great-grandfather, and B’ezrat Hashem, may everyone be blessed to be grandparents and great-grandparents. A person chooses the name; some also take names from the week’s Parsha – which is nice, but they need to know there are names found within and there are also mere words. What do you do this week? You don’t name a child Korach! But still, you look for some attraction in the Parsha to draw from. Commentators write, and I’ll say it gently, a person receives some inspiration from heaven on what to name a child. I’m not talking about names people invent or strange names you find. I’m talking about names rooted in the scriptures, names with a true basis.
I was once at a bris; the grandfather attends my shiur and asked me to come, so I did. They named the child “Maccabi”. No less, no more – that’s what they named the child! After the bris, I went to the father and said, “Mazel tov on your son.” He said, “He was born on Chanukah.” The bris was after Chanukah, but he was born during Chanukah so they named him Maccabi. Fine, Baruch Hashem, very nice. Maccabi can also mean מִי כָמוֹךָ בָּאֵלִם ה' – you can take it in a different direction, but I said, “I hope you don’t name the next son Hapoel, or you’ll have a derby in your living room!” [In reference to Israeli sports teams named Maccabi and Hapoel, and the matchups involving rivals.] One was born on Chanukah, so I hope the other isn’t born on May 1, or he’ll be Hapoel for Workers’ Day. In short, names we use must have a root, a meaning.
So, a person gives a name, and names have a source. We all know the Gemara in Yoma (83b): Rabbi Meir analyzed names and discerned one’s future from their name. He once went to an inn and wanted to deposit his money. He asked the innkeeper, “What’s your name?” The innkeeper said, “כִּידוֹר.” Rabbi Meir said, “I’m not leaving my money with this person.” Why? Because it says: כִּי דוֹר תַּהְפֻּכֹת הֵמָּה בָּנִים לֹא־אֵמֻן בָּם – For they are a perverse generation, children in whom there is no loyalty. So, he didn’t leave his money!
Returning to the Maharzu, he says that unlike today’s choosing of names, in the past, people looked with divine inspiration and saw what would come from the child, what would happen in his generation, and named him accordingly. Where do we find this? He doesn’t provide this example, but we see a child named פֶּלֶג (Divide). Remember Parshat Noach? Why was he named פֶּלֶג? Because כִּי בְיָמָיו נִפְלְגָה הָאָרֶץ – For in his days the earth was divided. They saw that the earth would be divided in the future, so they named him Peleg. So, you see, names are given based on the future.
The Maharzu says that Korach said to himself, why did Kehat name his son oil? Why not grapes? Why did he call him Yitzhar rather than Tirosh? Tirosh is certainly a nicer name than Yitzhar! It is because he saw with divine inspiration that someone would come from him who would be anointed with oil. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have called him Yitzhar. And thus, Korach rebelled. He did not rebel simply because happened to be named the son of oil. Rather, he said, “Why did my grandfather Kehat call him Yitzhar? Because he saw that someone would come from him who would be anointed with oil!” Korach noted that it wasn’t Amram who was named Shemen – which would have been fitting, given that his son, Aharon, was the one anointed with oil. Being that his own father received the name, he deduced that it should really be him who is anointed as Kohen.
The Be’er Moshe of Ozharov – a giant of humility whose main work was focused on humility – comes and says something wonderful here regarding the concept of oil. What did Korach say? He said that oil floats above. A person in a high position must be above all, lofty and elevated, like oil floating above all. Anyone with a role must rise above. This, the Be’er Moshe says, is not true. Even a king is warned not to be haughty, despite his position as king. It’s written in the Gemara (Ketubot 103b) that Rabban Gamliel told his son: בְּנִי נְהוֹג נְשִׂיאוּתָךְ בְּרָמִים – Son, conduct your leadership with authority. He told him to instill awe in the students. The Gemara then presents a conflicting account from king Yehoshaphat, who would stand up from his throne and hug a talmid chacham who approached – showing affection rather than assertiveness. The Gemara then explains that there is a difference between doing so in private versus in public. In private, when no one was in the king’s chamber and a rosh yeshiva entered, the king stood, embraced, and kissed him. He didn’t do this in the street or in the shul, only in the palace when no one was there. But in public, he acted with strength.
The Be’er Moshe of Ozharov says: If I weren’t afraid, I’d say that privacy and publicity must be in the same person. In public, he must show strength. But inwardly, in his privacy, he must be completely humble, lowering himself. Thus, he says the word מלך is an acronym for מגרמיה לית כלום – from myself, I am nothing. Inwardly, he has nothing of his own. Like we find with David Hamelech, who didn’t even have a life. How much life did David Hamelech have? Three hours. Adam HaRishon donated seventy years to his life. Everything a king has is from others; his greatness comes from others, just as it says about the Kohen Gadol who has nothing of his own. The Rambam...
