Week of June23 to June 27

Korach, a Levite, is a cousin to Moses and Aaron. Chapters 16 and 17 describe his challenge to Moses’ and Aaron’s authority to continue leading Israel in the desert. In this narrative, God takes the side of Moses, which ultimately leads to the destruction of Korach and his wicked followers. Part of this story points out the importance of the Levites and the Kohanim(priests).

Other tribal leaders cannot simply move forward and claim that God gives everyone a chance to be “numero uno.” This tribal society is certainly not a democracy. The Levites are in control of the proper worship of the Almighty, and no one can challenge this fact.

Where do we find the popular attribution to Korach of wealth like Croesus?

This comes from the unusual first verse in our reading. The end of the verse in Hebrew has the verb “took,” but there is no direct object. What did Korach “take?” The Midrash teaches: Korach took to himself 250 followers who would oppose Moses and Aaron. The verb “take” in Hebrew can also means “to buy.” So “Korach took…” means Korach “bought men,” an activity that requires a great deal of money!

Join us for an in-depth Torah study this Shabbat morning.