Parashat Korach

Korach is one of the most interesting characters in the Torah and this week's parsha has many lessons for contemporary Jewish life based on his personality and on his actions.

The Talmud divides arguments into two groups: arguments 'for the sake of heaven' and arguments 'like Korach's.'  The former are encouraged. They are integral to Jewish life. We need to argue in order to find the best answer, to push ourselves into greater clarity, to define our position and be sure that we understand all its implications, to seek Truth and to be empathetic. Arguments 'for the sake of Heaven' may seem divisive at the time but ultimately they raise the level of the entire community.

Arguments 'like Korach's' are quite different. They are couched in rational language and seem like genuine exchanges of opinion but scratch the surface and the subject of the debate is not the issue at all. They are about point-scoring, accumulation of power, self-aggrandisement and, ultimately, control of the other. Korach would use any argument - even one he knew to be untrue - to challenge Moshe's leadership. He knew that many people would be impressed with his clever arguments, skilfully put, regardless of the content. He also manipulated people with his great wealth, which bought him position. He knew that many people are so concerned with challenging authority that they lose perspective and forget that sometimes authority has been earned.

In this week's parsha, the follower all suffer terrible consequences for their poor decision in following a demagogue. We know that the earth opened up and swallowed all the followers of Korach. The 'pshat' (straightforward) reading of the text leaves us wondering whether Korach himself eludes all the punishments that his beguiled followers suffered.