Korah’s Coalition, Weekly Torah Portion by Rabbi Dov Leibel

The request by the leaders of the community to offer incense might have been accepted, but their alliance with Dathan and Abiram exposed the hidden plot. A close reading of the plain meaning of the biblical text in the story of Korah reveals a deeper narrative.

At the outset, Moses turns to the Lord and asks: "Do not turn to their offering; I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not wronged any one of them." Why was such a request necessary? If Moses had already concluded that they were unworthy, it is obvious that their offering would not have been accepted. And if there was a chance that their offering would be accepted, why ask the Lord to reject the offering of one who is deserving? How is the request connected to the claim, "I have not taken one donkey from them"? Its timing is also puzzling. Moses does not make the request, "Do not turn to their offering," immediately after Korah and his followers propose to offer incense, but only after Dathan and Abiram are summoned and refuse to come. This only deepens the difficulty. Why should the brazenness of Dathan and Abiram affect the offering of the leaders of the community, who did not speak contemptuously like Dathan and Abiram?

The secret lies in understanding Korah’s plan. He succeeded in assembling a coalition of people who were dissatisfied with Moses’ leadership, each for a different reason. One camp consisted of the leaders of the community, who also wanted to serve in the sanctuary. The second camp was Dathan and Abiram, who rebelled completely against Moses for bringing them out of Egypt and leaving them to die in the wilderness. Korah gathered both groups around him in order to advance his own personal claim to the priesthood.

This coalition was not exposed immediately. At the first stage, when Korah and the 250 men came and asked to draw near and serve the Lord as well, Moses suggested that they try to offer incense. This counsel should be understood as a serious possibility. At least from Moses’ perspective, there was a chance that the Lord would accept their service, and he is not asking that the Lord not turn to it. Only after Dathan and Abiram reveal their intention does it become clear that this coalition is not asking for holiness but for anarchy. Now Moses understands that if the offering of Korah and the 250 men is accepted, it will not mean that this one or that one is also worthy to offer, but that the claim of Dathan and Abiram is being accepted, and that cannot be allowed. And although these are different factions, in the end they joined together into one coalition under Korah’s leadership, which means that resentment over Moses’ authority was also in their hearts. לכן הוא פונה לה' ואומר 'אל תפן אל מנחתם - לא חמור אחד מהם נשאתי'. כלומר, אל תפן למנחת קורח והחמישים ומאתיים, משום שטענת דתן ואבירם שאני משתרר שלא כדין אינה נכונה.

This explanation resolves a major difficulty. In verses 16 to 17, after everything that happened with Dathan and Abiram, Moses repeats the proposal to Korah: "You and all your congregation, be before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron. Tomorrow, take each man his firepan, put incense on them, and bring them before the Lord." But this proposal appears to be identical to what he had already told them in verse 6: "Do this, take for yourselves firepans, Korah and all his congregation." Is this not unnecessary repetition? According to what has been said, it is well understood. In verse 6 there really was a possibility that the Lord would turn to their offering, but in verses 16 and 17 the proposal becomes a test against Aaron, and there they truly have no chance. Once Moses realizes that the request is insincere and is meant to undermine his leadership, he places God’s choice of Aaron on trial, and that test will have a clear result, either Aaron or them.

At the same time, it is important to note that the punishment of the 250 men was different from that of Dathan and Abiram. They were not swallowed by the earth, but were burned, and their firepans became plating for the altar. It is possible that they were genuinely convinced that their goal was holiness, and their joining the rebellion revealed a hidden layer of what lay in their hearts, even if they were not consciously aware of it.

This leads to an important lesson. If we have good arguments, they should be heard and answered properly, but we must pay double attention to the people who form the coalition with us. One who joins the wicked in order to seek holiness should be suspected of harboring malicious intentions even behind his own request.

The article was written within the Aḥavta bulletin, distributed throughout the country.