https://pixabay.com/photos/light-bulb-energy-electricity-7746880/
Translated by Rabbi Émile Ackermann
To read this post in English, click here
When I was a child, the Korach theme came up twice a year. At summer camp, Korach was a biblical villain. The campers and counselors would read this parsha and learn from it lessons about holiness, jealousy, and power. In one memorable year, a group of counselors organized an unauthorized staff meeting with the goal of creating a more democratic leadership structure at camp. They were disciplined and explicitly compared to Korach, whose attempts to wrest power from Moshe take center stage in this week’s parsha.
However, Korach also came to mind in a context that could not have been more different. Every year on Rosh Hashanah, we would introduce the shofar by reciting Psalm 47 seven times :
לַמְנַצֵּ֬חַ ׀ לִבְנֵי-קֹ֬רַח מִזְמֽוֹר׃ כל-הָ֭עַמִּים תִּקְעוּ-כָ֑ף הָרִ֥יעוּ לֵ֝א-לֹהִ֗ים בְּק֣וֹל רִנָּֽה׃
For the chief of the sons of Korach, a psalm. Clap your hands, all you peoples, shout for joy to God.
Reading this psalm, I always wondered what Korach, or at least his sons, were doing at the height of the Rosh Hashanah prayer!
Based on a verse from Parashat Pinchas, our rabbis and commentators have written a more nuanced epilogue to the story of Korach. In a few weeks, we will read the second census that takes place in Sefer Bemidbar. In summarizing Korach’s rebellion, the Torah tells us :
וּבְנֵ֣י אֱלִיאָ֔ב נְמוּאֵ֖ל וְדָתָ֣ן וַאֲבִירָ֑ם הֽוּא-דָתָ֨ן וַאֲבִירָ֜ם (קרואי) [קְרִיאֵ֣י] הָעֵדָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִצּ֜וּ עַל-מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְעַֽל-אַהֲרֹן֙ בַּעֲדַת-קֹ֔רַח בְּהַצֹּתָ֖ם עַל-ה׳׃ וַתִּפְתַּ֨ח הָאָ֜רֶץ אֶת-פִּ֗יהָ וַתִּבְלַ֥ע אֹתָ֛ם וְאֶת-קֹ֖רַח בְּמ֣וֹת הָעֵדָ֑ה בַּאֲכֹ֣ל הָאֵ֗שׁ אֵ֣ת חֲמִשִּׁ֤ים וּמָאתַ֙יִם֙ אִ֔ישׁ לְנֵֽס׃ וּבְנֵי-קֹ֖רַח לֹא-מֵֽתוּ׃
The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These were the same Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the assembly, who opposed Moses and Aaron in the band of Korah when they opposed God.
The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah – when that band died, when the fire consumed the two hundred and fifty men – and they became an example. The sons of Korah, however, did not die.
Rashi (quoting Sanhedrin 110a) explains :
I am the one who is the most beautiful. , , גָּבוֹהַ :
“BUT THE SONS OF KORACH DIED NOT” – They were in the plot originally, but at the time the rebellion broke out, they had thoughts of repentance in their hearts; therefore a high place was fenced in for them in Gehinnom and they remained there.
Along similar lines, Bava Batra 74a describes the travels of Rabba bar bar Hana, who is shown various landmarks from biblical times. He encounters two smoking pits in the ground and hears the voices of the sons of Korach. What do they say? What were they saying? According to the Gemara, they were chanting and repeating the words: מֹשֶׁה וְתוֹרָתוֹ אֱמֶת – “Moshe and his Torah are true.”
These rabbinic texts suggest something both profound and unimaginable: Korach’s own sons had a change of heart. While they were initially part of the plot against Moshe and Aaron, they changed their minds and their lives were spared. The image our rabbis give of them is not entirely flattering. They are stuck in limbo, in “a high place of Gehinnom,” where they sing the truth. Yet they contemplated and even began a process of teshuva and that is why they were saved.
Eleven psalms are attributed to the sons of Korach, the most important of which are recited on Rosh Hashanah. These psalms speak of God’s kingship, but also contain themes such as forgiveness and trusting God in times of adversity. It makes perfect sense, then, that we invoke the sons of Korach during the yamim noraim, a time when we ourselves try to change our hearts. The moment we hear the sound of the shofar, we try to have our own moment, like the sons of Korach, when an alarm bell sounds and we finally turn to teshuva.
Beyond Rosh Hashanah, the sons of Korach teach us that the work of Heshbon Hanefesh, our own spiritual accounting, is ever present. We must continually seek truth, evaluate and reevaluate situations, and ask ourselves, as the sons of Korach did, whether there is another way. Such exploration requires a certain spiritual courage, for it can pit us against a larger group like Korach’s congregation, against elements of our upbringing, or against our own long-held beliefs. Surprisingly, Korach’s greatest legacy is not his dispute with Moshe, but what his children learn from the experience. The sons of Korach teach us the power of repentance and that ultimately this kind of soul-searching is essential to the survival of our people.
Daf of the Day
