ויקח קרח בן יצהר בן קהת בן לוי ודתן ואבירם בני אליאב ואון בן פלא בני ראובן
“Korach son of Yitzhar son of Kehat son of Levi separated himself . . .” (16:1) Rashi z”l comments: The verse does not, however, mention Levi being “the son of Yaakov,” because Yaakov offered a prayer that his name not be mentioned in connection with Korach’s quarrels, as it is says (Bereishit 49:6), “With their assembly let my honor not be united.” [Until here from Rashi] R’ Menachem Mendel Hager z”l (Rebbe of Kosov; died 1825) writes: We read in Tehilim (3:1), “A song by David, as he fled from Avshalom his son.” The Gemara (Berachot 7b) asks: Given that King David was fleeing from his son Avshalom, should it not say, instead of “A song”–“A lamentation by David”? The Gemara answers that King David was praising Hashem that the punishment for his sins involved being pursued by his own son, who surely would show him mercy if he caught him, rather than by a renegade slave, who would not be likely to show King David the same mercy. [Until here from the Gemara] R’ Hager suggests another answer to the Gemara’s question: When King David saw Avshalom’s rebellious nature, he feared that his son had inherited that nature from him. King David then examined his own deeds with a fine-tooth comb and concluded that Avshalom’s rebelliousness was not due to any character flaw on his (David’s) part. Having thus “fled” from Avshalom, he gave praise to Hashem. This, suggests R’ Hager, is the meaning of Yaakov’s prayer that his name not be connected with Korach’s quarrels. Yaakov was praying that he be saved from the negative character traits that lead to Machloket / being involved in disputes, so that Korach’s quarrels could not be associated with, or blamed on, his (Yaakov’s) character. (Ahavat Shalom)
