Part III. Your Garden
Purpose of the Story
Now, it’s important to understand that this incident wasn’t put in the Torah just to fill space, to tell us a story of something that happened in the wilderness. The Torah took the trouble to describe the story of Korach at length יƒמ∆ר נ≈י¿בƒל ̇וֹ‡ ¿ל, as a sign for people who like to make trouble (Bamidbar 17:25).
It says it openly: וָֹ̇„כַﬠֲ¿ו ֹרַ ח̃ ¿כ י∆ה¿הƒי ‡ֹל¿ו – You shouldn't be like Korach and his congregation (ibid. 17:5). Some poskim even say it's a Torah law, you shouldn't follow in the ways of Korach. And included in that, you must say, is to be careful not to plant the same seeds that Korach planted; the seeds of being dan lekaf chov that inevitably lead to machlokes.
Now, it doesn’t mean that if you’re dan lekaf chov, you should expect that today or tomorrow the earth will open up its mouth and swallow you. That’s not how Hashem works in this world, but Korach is a mashal for where you’re headed. רָ ע ≈ׁ י̆¿חֹרּעו¿̇ƒי ‡ֹלו הֲ – Surely they will go lost, those who plow seeds of evil thoughts in their minds.
