They taught the same regarding a king (Ta’anis 17a). He must shave daily, because as a king, he must be take greater care to resist excessive desires. Hence, he was commanded not to accumulate wealth, horses, and wives. Similarly, a kohen-gadol shaved weekly to minimize excesses. Regarding Korach, he was extremely proud of his exceptional riches and possessions—which are only temporary. Hence, he mocked Moshe for shaving the leviim and removing their hair with a razor. Thus, his fate was sealed.
In Tiferes YehoNasan (Nasso), he applies this rationale to explain the instruction HKB”H gave the kohen regarding a “sotah” (ibid. 5, 18): "ופרע את ראש האשה"—and uncover the woman’s head. It is because hair reflects excesses. Abundant hair is associated with the desire of excesses. Therefore, Eisav, who was very hairy, was gluttonous. In truth, a desire to eat and the like are necessary for the survival of the world. It must, however, be within limits and measured and not excessive.
This is also consistent with what they expounded (Berachos 61a) on the passuk (ibid. 2, 22): "ויבן ה' אלקים את הצלע"—that HKB”H braided Chava’s hair—meaning that He tied her hair (into a neat, confined bundle) so that the excesses would not burst outwards. On the other hand, this is why the kohen was instructed to take apart the sotah’s braided hair.
We can now postulate that these righteous levite parents foresaw via their “ruach hakodesh” that this son would have a tendency to pursue the excesses associated with hair. We see from his attitude toward his wealth and riches that this was true. They also foresaw that Moshe Rabeinu was going to order the leviim to shave off all of their body-hair with a razor—to remove any allusion and connection with excesses and overindulgence. Hence, they deliberately named him Korach thinking that it would exert a positive influence on him—to remind him constantly that it was his sacred duty to be hairless—free of physical, bodily excesses.
This illuminates for us the insight of the Chasam Sofer. These leviim made an egregious error by giving Korach the name of a known rasha—one of the eleven chieftains of Edom—Aluf Korach. This name caused him to elevate the power of the klipah over the power of kedushah. Hence, his name has a derogatory connotation (Sanhedrin 109b): "קרח שנעשה קרחה בישראל"—he was called Korach, because a bald spot was made in Yisrael on account of him.
Now, it behooves us to make an important point. Not only did Korach not learn a lesson from the fact that Korach was the name of an evil person—that the removal of body-hair reminds a person to abstain from overindulgence and seeking extra kavod—but, on the contrary, it caused him to ridicule Moshe Rabeinu for removing all of the hair on his body with a razor. Here is a pertinent Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 18, 4):
“Korach took”—he took his tallis and went to take advice from his wife. After HKB”H instructed Moshe to take the leviim aside and purify them . . . and to pass a razor over their skin, he immediately did so to Korach. Korach began to wander among the people of Yisrael, and they did not recognize him. They inquired, “Who did this to you?” He said to them, “Moshe did this to me. Not only that, but he took me by my hands and feet, twirled be around, and told me that I was now tahor. Then, he brought his brother Aharon and adorned him like a kallah and placed him in the Ohel Mo’ed.” Immediately, those who opposed (hated) Moshe began to incite the people of Yisrael against him.
