Rebellious Motivation
In what ways are you defined by what you are against as opposed to a vision of what you stand for?
How do we discern someone's intentions?
(1) Now Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, betook himself, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—descendants of Reuben— (2) to rise up against Moses, together with two hundred and fifty Israelites, chieftains of the community, chosen in the assembly, men of repute.
(ג) וַיִּֽקָּהֲל֞וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶם֮ רַב־לָכֶם֒ כִּ֤י כׇל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם יְהֹוָ֑ה וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּֽתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל יְהֹוָֽה׃ (ד) וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַיִּפֹּ֖ל עַל־פָּנָֽיו׃
(3) They combined against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the LORD’s congregation?” (4) When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.
There has been much grumbling and discontent by B'nai Yisrael directed against Moses. Why not complain to God?
(8) Since it is the LORD,” Moses continued, “who will give you flesh to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to the full, because the LORD has heard the grumblings you utter against Him, what is our part? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD!”
Holiness
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.
וְהִ֨תְקַדִּשְׁתֶּ֔ם וִהְיִיתֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֑ים כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(א) רב לכם...די לכם מה שהשתררתם עלינו עד היום, כי עד עתה היינו צריכים לכם, ומעתה שהוקם המשכן אין לנו צורך בכם...
It is too much for you...it is enough for you that you have ruled over us until today. For until now, we needed you, but since the establishment of the mishkan, we don't need you...
Is attaining a state of holiness an automatic? In what way do the texts above provide a roadmap to holiness?
Genuine holiness is the altruistic striving for good for its own sake, not out of self-interest. Rav Kook, Ein Eyah vol. I, p. 104
(יב) אַל־תְּ֭בוֹאֵנִי רֶ֣גֶל גַּאֲוָ֑ה וְיַד־רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים אַל־תְּנִדֵֽנִי׃
(12) Let not the foot of the arrogant tread on me, or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
Rav Sala said, "Every arrogant person will eventually sin ..."
Rav Nachman said, "It is evident that an arrogant person is one who has already sinned"(Talmud, Taanit 7b). Rav Sala and Rav Nachman disagree. Does being arrogant cause one to sin, or is it the other way around? [Abraham Twerski]
(יז) כָּל מַחֲלֹקֶת שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, אֵין סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם. אֵיזוֹ הִיא מַחֲלֹקֶת שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, זוֹ מַחֲלֹקֶת הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, זוֹ מַחֲלֹקֶת קֹרַח וְכָל עֲדָתוֹ:
(17) Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; But one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure. Which is the controversy that is for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai. And which is the controversy that is not for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korah and all his congregation.
(ג) וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה עָנָ֣ו מְאֹ֑ד מִכֹּל֙ הָֽאָדָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ {ס}
(3) Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any other man on earth.
With regard to the verse: “And Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram” (Numbers 16:25), Reish Lakish says: From here we derive that one may not perpetuate a dispute, as Rav says: Anyone who perpetuates a dispute violates a prohibition, as it is stated: “And he will not be like Korah and his assembly, as the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses to him” (Numbers 17:5). Even the aggrieved party must seek to end the dispute. Dathan and Abiram accused Moses and by right should have initiated the reconciliation. Nevertheless, Moses was not insistent on this; he went to them.
The greatest leader is therefore the most humble. The name given to this is servant leadership, and its origin is in the Torah. The highest accolade given to Moses is that he was “the servant of the Lord” (Deut. 34:5). Moses is given this title eighteen times in Tanach. Only one other leader merits the same description: Joshua, who is described this way twice. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Mussar...
Whenever you notice a fault in other people, check where you yourself have that fault.
We have a strong tendency to notice our own faults in others (see Kidushin 70b). This provides us with many opportunities to learn about our own shortcomings, since it is easier to see a fault in someone else than in ourselves. ~ R' Chaim of Volozhin zt"l
Women's role in this parsha through Midrash: [via Jewish Women's Archive]
This explains his name: “On,” because he sat in lamentation (be-onenut) for having participated in the rebellion against Moses and Aaron; “Peleth,” because wonders (pela’ot) were performed for him and he was saved from death by virtue of his wife. The Rabbis apply to this woman the first part of Prov. 14:1: “The wisest of women builds her house,” for she saved her household with her wisdom. This is contrasted with the second part of the verse—“but folly tears it down with its own hands”—which the Rabbis use to depict the wife of Korah, since the latter was responsible for the downfall of her house (BT Sanhedrin 109b–110a; Tanhuma [ed. Buber], Korah 24).
The consequences of jealousy....
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female slave, or his ox or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
What were Datan and Aviram's considerations? They first considered that as descendants of Reuben, the firstborn amongst the tribes, they were entitled to high positions. As a result they perverted justice by denying that Moses was a prophet, i.e. his having been appointed as leader rightfully. Their sin was the greed which causes a person to lose his life in this world and the World to Come, the exact reverse of the recipe for riches: counting one's blessings, as we have learned from Ben Zoma in Avot. They had thought that Moses had secured his leadership position only to enrich himself and his family, that he appointed Aaron and his sons Priests and the members of his tribe as Levites only so they could live off the various gifts that the Israelites had to hand over to them. They also thought that they had wanted to monopolize these positions since the bringing of incense enriches those who offer it (Yuma 26). This is why they complained saying: "did you give us the inheritance of field or vineyard" (16,14)? This is the meaning of: "they assumed an upright position at the entrance of their tent, etc." (16,27). They failed to remember that the mezuzah's metaphysical dimension is sufficient to assure financial security, as pointed out earlier. I have already outlined that the three negative virtues of jealousy, greed, and the pursuit of personal honour, correspond to the problems associated with power, wealth, and wisdom respectively. The three areas in which man has to achieve a degree of perfection are his body, his financial resources, and his spiritual resources (his soul). The three commandments which provide help in achieving these perfections are ציצית, מזוזה, and תפילין.
One way the Talmud responds to 'eternal punishment'....
The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 13:9): The members of the assembly of Korah have no share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And the earth closed upon them” (Numbers 16:33), meaning in this world, and also: “And they perished from among the assembly” (Numbers 16:33), meaning in the World-to-Come; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: Although it says that they perished, they are like a lost item that is sought, ultimately found, and rehabilitated, as it is stated: “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant, for I do not forget your mitzvot” (Psalms 119:176).