Why Korah’s Revolt Still Resonates in Today’s Communities

The article argues that Korah’s rebellion in the Torah is not just an ancient episode, but a recurring pattern in modern Jewish communal life, especially when people try to organize “without a rabbi.” Drawing on Rabbi Shalom Vaserteil’s analysis, it says successful incitement needs money, loud publicity, and the recruitment of disgruntled followers. Dathan and Abiram are presented as the classic operators behind such agitation, repeatedly mentioned by the commentators as instigators in earlier biblical crises.

The piece reviews several moments in which Dathan and Abiram are identified with rebellion, from the dispute in Egypt, to complaints after Moses returned to redeem Israel, to resistance over the manna, the march to the sea, and the spies’ episode in Numbers 14, where the people said, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” The argument is that they knew how to exploit frustration with selective messaging and a psychological pitch that the whole community is holy, so no leader is needed.

It then moves from biblical history to halakhic and communal practice. The author cites sources including the Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch HaLevi Tannenbaum, and Abarbanel on why communities need rabbinic leadership, why a single rabbi is often preferable to multiple rival authorities, and why a rabbi should be paid from communal funds rather than by private patrons. He also quotes Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on Korah’s mistake, that Torah transmission requires a living bond between teacher and תלמיד, not direct self-sufficiency.

The essay says the warning applies today in communities that prefer not to appoint a rabbi at all, even among observant Jews. It concludes with an anecdote from the building of the Achuzat Barakfeld neighborhood in Modiin Illit, where the absence of a “eastern side” to fight over helped prevent conflict, and with a story about the Nadvorna Rebbe’s explanation of the future “circle of the righteous,” where everyone points to the same center and says, “This is our God.”