One of history’s lessons is that we don’t learn any lessons from history. This truism appears to be the only explanation for the rebellion of Korach against Moses, the highlight of this week’s Parsha.
Didn’t Korach know what happened week’s or perhaps even days earlier, when the spies returned from Israel and attempted to stir up a rebellion against Moses for wanting to take them to the Promised Land? Didn’t Korach and his followers know the horrible fate that they suffered? The ten spies themselves all died in a plague and all of their coconspirators (all the men from the age of 20 through 60) were destined to die in the desert — never to see the Promised Land.
How then could Korach have not learned the lesson from the immediate past history and dared to start another rebellion?
True, this question can be asked about every generation that fails to learn from the errors of its predecessors. And the generic answer to this question is that we always convince ourselves that our situation differs from the historical precedent.
But, even this explanation can hardly be applied to a man, the likeness of Korach, concerning whom our sages declared that he was a brilliant and perceptive man.
Our Sages tell us that in Korach’s case, it was actually his keen insight and foresight that lead do his downfall. Korach’s perception bordered on prophecy. He “saw” prophetically that his descendent, the prophet Samuel, would be one of Jewry’s greatest leaders. “Obviously,” Korach thought, “If I am to become the progenitor of a man of such stature, I am destined to be vindicated for my efforts here on behalf of the Jewish people.”
Here we have a rather novel approach to the art of rationalizing. Many people who commit undesirable actions will rationalize their behavior by relying on past behavior. Whether it is the exemplary behavior of their forebears or their own record of great accomplishment, good people who stray usually feel that their errant behavior now will be overshadowed by the good — and good will — they have accumulated by virtue of their own or their ancestors’ achievements.
Korach forged a new path to justifying his rebelliousness. Korach justified the actions he took because he knew that they would lead to positive results. Most people who are not prescient do not have the “luxury” of knowing the future rely on the past for their peace of mind. Korach was indeed unique.
According to the teachings of Kabbalah, Korach was ahead of his time. He realized that ultimately, in the Messianic Age, the Levite will rise to a greater level than the Kohain. His mistake was that that time had not yet arrived and that his desire to rise to higher levels of prominence was premature. Once again, Korach’s mistake was based on his ability to see into the future.
Whatever is true in the realm of evil and negativity, is paralleled in the realm of goodness and holiness. Just as there are two approaches to making the wrong choices, there should be two approaches to making the right choices. The conventional approach involves looking at the past and learning from the good of our forebears, as well as from their mistakes. Korach, however, introduced a novel approach to our pursuit of truth and righteousness.
We should behave today in ways that are consistent with the future. While we must reject Korach’s attempt at justifying rebellious activity on the basis of the positive outcome in the future — the ends do not justify the means — however, we can and must learn from Korach to base our level and manner of commitment to good on the future, not just on the past.
In simple terms this means that we should learn what the Torah says what the world will be like with the coming of Moshiach. We should try to appreciate the greatest heights that we will ultimately achieve, and then try to experience some of that in the present.
While, traditionally, the emphasis has been placed on trying to recapture the innocence, holiness and dedication of our forebears, Korach’s positive contribution was that we ought to base our behavior today on the anticipated achievements of the future. Rather than wait for the distant future, we act today in consonance with the heightened level of the future Messianic Age; an age that will be characterized by peace, unity, love and awareness of G-d. .
We can now appreciate why the Torah deemed it appropriate to name this week’s Parsha Korach, notwithstanding the evil he committed. In light of the above, naming the Parsha after Korach is intended not to legitimize his actions, but to legitimize his “futuristic” approach to life.
Always look to the future and seek out the highest ideals, and implement them into the present. While we ought to repudiate Korach’s divisive tactics, i.e., his rebellion against G-d and Moses, we should incorporate his sense of “acting now on the basis of the future,” into our lives