The Great Rebellion

This week’s Torah portion tells the tragic story of the great rebellion led by Moses’ cousin Korach.

Like Moses and Aaron, Korach was a great-grandson of Levi, and his rebellion was, sadly, rooted in jealousy. “Why are my cousins Moses and Aaron the leaders?!” thought Korach. “Why not me?”

So, along with his two sons, Korach riled up the notorious Dathan and Abiram, On the son of Peleth, and 250 additional members of the neighboring tribe of Reuben. Backed by this rebellious group, Korach confronted Moses and challenged his leadership, accusing him of unfairly taking the top leadership positions—king and High Priest—for himself and his brother Aaron.

Moses proposed a test to determine who was truly worthy of leadership: let everyone bring an incense offering to the Tabernacle and let G‑d reveal His choice for High Priest.

He tried to placate the rebellious group, but they continued their mutiny, growing and expanding their ranks.

So he asked G‑d to make Korach’s punishment unique and unforgettable, which reminds me of a story I heard as a young child: Three men committed a crime that was punishable by death. They went before the king and were condemned to die. The king, however, wanting to show his benevolence, let them each choose the manner of their execution.

The first man chose to die by sword, as it was the quickest. The second man chose to die by fire, the most romantic option.

“And how would you like to die?” the king’s executioner asked the third man.

“From old age!”

Moses argued that if Korach and his minions died of old age, it would signal that he, Moses, had acted of his own accord. If their deaths were unusual, however, everyone would know that he had acted only on behalf of G‑d.

Incredibly, the earth opened up and swallowed Korach and his family, and a Heavenly fire consumed the other rebels.

The next day, the people complained that Moses and Aaron were to blame for these deaths. G‑d, understandably angered, sent a plague that killed thousands. Moses instructed Aaron to quickly take a firepan with incense, go into the midst of the congregation, and atone for their sins. Aaron did so, standing “Between the living and the dead,”1 and the plague was halted.

Take What?

The parshah opens with the verse, “Korach the son of Izhar, the son of Kehath, the son of Levi took, along with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben.”2

What exactly did Korach “take”?

Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains that he “took” the people with his words, persuading them to join his uprising.

But primarily, says Rashi, what Korach took was himself: “He took himself to one side to dissociate himself from the congregation, to contest the appointment of Aaron to the position of High Priest … He separated himself from the congregation to persist in a dispute.”

Jealousy can kill. And in this state, Korach cut himself off from the Jewish people, “taking” himself away, ultimately never to return.

We Must All Play Our Part

Korach’s claim seemed noble: “There’s nothing special about you, Moses. We all—the entire nation—heard G‑d speak at Mount Sinai. We are all on the same lofty level of holiness! You have appointed Aaron and yourself leaders, but we are all leaders!”

Korach wanted everyone to have equal roles. The absence of an obvious leader creates anarchy. Every person has a distinct role. The Kohen has his role, the Levite has his, and the Israelite has his.

Korach’s assertion that all Jews are holy was correct; his mistake was trying to take away our individuality. Every person has their own unique abilities, strengths, and talents, and it is only when we each play our part and do our jobs that we can properly serve G‑d together.

Each person must do what G‑d expects specifically from him or her. Some mitzvot can only be done by a Kohen, some by a Levite, some by a king, and some by farmers. Some are meant to be done by men, and some by women.

This doesn’t sound very democratic! We cannot serve in the Tabernacle just because we are not all priests?

Exactly right, explained the Rebbe. We are all holy, but we are not all the same. We are all unique, and we complement each other. Nobody is here by accident. We all are created by G‑d through His Divine design, and we must celebrate and maximize our individual strengths and talents.3

Marriage, The Great Partnership

One of the greatest mitzvot—part of the Rebbe’s 10-Point Mitzvah Campaign—is lighting Shabbat candles. It has its origins in rabbinic teachings and has become a hallmark of Judaism. Who lights Shabbat candles? Women and girls. Traditionally, when a girl turns three years old, she starts lighting Shabbat candles.

The question arises: if it’s such a tremendous mitzvah, why doesn’t a man light Shabbat candles? The answer, based on a fantastic teaching in Kabbalah, is that he does. How? Because his wife does it for him. What if he's not married? It doesn't matter. His wife is still doing it for him. He just doesn't know who she is yet.4

In the same vein, every Friday night we recite Kiddush—sanctifying Shabbat with a blessing made over a cup of wine. This is a very important mitzvah. And, by and large, Kiddush is said by men. Why is it not said by women? Because men say Kiddush on behalf of women.

(Note that men need to have candles lit where they live, and men who live alone should light candles. Similarly, women must make Kiddush or hear it from someone—even if not her husband.)

Men do mitzvot for women, and women do mitzvot for men. Kings do mitzvot for farmers, and farmers do mitzvot for kings. The Kohen and Levite do mitzvot for the Israelite, and we all do mitzvot for each other. This is G‑d’s master creation plan, in which we all play a distinct role.

A Spouse’s Gift of Life

At the outset, the verse states that Korach began his rebellion with Dathan and Abiram, On the son of Peleth, and 250 others from the tribe of Reuben. Yet when the rebels actually confronted Moses, On’s name suddenly disappeared. Where did he go?

The Talmud5 explains that bold actions on the part of On’s wife saved his life.

When Mrs. Peleth heard about her husband’s participation in the rebellion, she reasoned with him, “What could you possibly gain? You are from the tribe of Reuben. This is a dispute between the Levites. Why do you have to involve yourself in an argument that’s not yours?”

On said, “But I’m already committed! What should I do?”

So his wife said, “Leave it to me.” She gave him enough wine to fall into a very deep sleep, and then she sat at the entrance of their tent, her hair blatantly uncovered. “These people may be rebellious,” she reasoned, “but they still respect the laws of modesty, and no man will allow himself to see a married woman’s hair.”

Her plan worked. Any member of Korach’s team who approached their tent to collect On encountered Mrs. Peleth sitting there brushing her hair and quickly turned away.

By the time On woke up, it was all over. This teaches us that a wise woman can literally save her husband’s life!

A Neighbor’s Impact

At first glance, Dathan and Abiram’s partnership with Korach seems strange. Korach was from the tribe of Levi and they were members of the tribe of Reuben. How did they get involved with one another?

The tribes camped in the desert in a very specific formation, with three tribes on each side of the Tabernacle. The families of Levi surrounded the Tabernacle, with Moses’ and Aaron’s families to the East, Kehot to the south, Gershon to the west, and Merari to the north. The three tribes camped to the south were Reuben, Simeon, and Gad.

Thus, Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben were neighbors with Korach and the family of Kehot. With their backyards adjacent to one another, they would hang out at each other’s barbecues.

“Woe to the wicked, and woe to his neighbor!”6 declares the Mishnah. Neighbors can influence each other, so we must be very careful where we choose to live. Our children will spend a lot of time with the neighborhood kids, and their closeness will certainly have an impact on them.

The Mishnah in Ethics of the Fathers instructs: “Distance yourself from a bad neighbor.”7 The tribe of Reuben did not distance themselves from Korach, and some of them paid for this mistake with their very lives.

The Secret of Incense

When a plague broke out in response to the people’s complaint that the rebels had been killed, Moses instructed Aaron to take incense—ketoret—and bring it to the congregation’s midst to atone for them. When Aaron did this, the plague ended.

In the teachings of Chassidism, which are based on Kabbalah, we find that one reason incense is such a powerful tool is that it is connected to one’s sense of smell.8

When a person faints, we first try to revive them by calling their name. This is effective because one’s name relates to one’s very essence. If that doesn’t work, we take smelling salts or incense and put them under the fainted person’s nose. Why? Smell is a powerful channel to the essence of the soul.

Spiritually, the incense reaching the person’s core demonstrates that even though a person may sin, the essence of their soul always remains pure.

Where did Moses learn the secret of incense and its ability to stop a plague? The Talmud9 relates that when he ascended to Heaven to receive the Torah, the angels presented him with gifts. The Angel of Death presented him with the secret connection between incense and stopping a plague.

Ironically, Aaron the High Priest, while having his very role challenged, ran into the crowd with the incense to carry out his role!

The High Priest’s privilege and mission is to intercede and help save the Jewish people. Aaron’s role is to use incense to atone for the Jews’ sins. The High Priest brought incense to atone for the people every Yom Kippur—the holiest service of the holiest day—and would do the same thing any other time there was a need for atonement. That’s leadership. And that’s Aaron sticking to his role and contributing his unique part to the master plan.

We all have our distinct roles to play in His master plan. Without looking at others and coveting their roles, we must fulfill our respective missions to the best of our abilities.

May we merit to see our righteous Moshiach fulfilling his role—ushering in the Ultimate Redemption—and may it speedily in our days. Amen.