By Avner Friedmann
Our Parsha states,[1] “Moshe heard and fell on his face.” What was it that he heard? The Midrash[2] says that Moshe heard that Korach and his rebels suspected him of having relations with their wives, as king David said,[3] “They were jealous of Moshe in the camp”. Their claim was that this would occur when their wives came for advice at Moshe’s tent. They even took their wives to be tested with the water of Sotah- “the wayward woman” who is suspected of being with a man other than her husband[4]. Now, how could Moshe, the redeemer and savior of Israel, who brought us to Sinai to receive the Torah, be suspected of such a thing!? Our rabbis give several reasons:
The Talmud says[5] that a haughty person is regarded as though he indulged in all forbidden relationships. Korach and his assembly accused Moshe and Aharon of being haughty and of raising themselves above the people; they said,[6] ”Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of HaShem?” The Talmud further states that a person who is haughty of spirit will ultimately fall into the sin of cohabiting with a married woman. Korach therefore deduced that if Moshe set himself above the people, he must have also failed in the area of sexual immorality, G-d forbid. They completely ignored what HaShem said about Moshe,[7] “Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth” and[8] “In my entire house he is the trusted one”.
Another reason brought in the Talmud is that after hearing the prophecy of Eldad and Meidad that Moshe would not enter the land of Israel[9], Korach and his cohorts started to suspect Moshe. They knew that the land of Israel does not tolerate sexual immorality. Thus they assumed that this applied to Moshe.
There is a deeper, Kabbalistic reason explaining Korach’s suspicion. Moshe’s soul came from Abel[10], whereas Korach received his soul from Cain[11]. In Parshat Bereshit we learned that Cain, the elder of the two brothers, was born with one twin sister, whereas Abel was born with two. As there were yet no other people, these sisters were meant to be their wives in order to populate the world. Cain came to Abel with the claim that as the first born he deserved a double portion (according to the laws of inheritance). He demanded that Abel give him one of his twin sisters as a wife, but Abel refused. Cain then murdered him and then took his sister.
Korach suspected that perhaps Moshe wanted to take back his wife, who had been taken away from him in their previous lifetime. This odd suspicion indicates how far astray haughtiness and self-interest can take a person, leading to a terrible dispute that is not for the sake of heaven.
The Misrash states[12] that whoever clings to a dispute transgresses a negative commandment, as our Parsha states[13], “And he shall not be like Korach and his assembly.” Trusting in Moshe Rabbeinu and our Rabbinical leaders is a most important and fundamental principle in Judaism. Our sages stated[14] that whoever who disputes his Rabbi, it is as if he disputes the Divine Presence, whoever quarrels with his Rabbi, it is as if he quarrels with the Divine Presence, whoever who is angry with his Rabbi, it is as if he is angry with the Divine Presence, and whoever suspects his Rabbi, it is as if he suspects the Divine Presence.
As a result of their dispute, Korach and his cohorts descended alive into the pit of purgatory. The moment they entered the pit, they recognized their awful mistake. The Talmud reports[15] that after being swallowed alive, until today, Korach and his men can still be heard to be crying, “Moshe is true, and his Torah is true and we are liars”. They are eternally assigned to the role of affirming that Moshe is a true prophet and that the Torah is from heaven.
[1] Bamidbar 16:4
[2] Tanchuma Perek 10
[3] Psalms 106:16
[4] Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel.
[5] Sotah 4b
[6] Bamidbar 16:3
[7] Bamidbar 12:3
[8] Bamidbar 12:7
[9] Bamidbar 11:26
[10] Tikunei Zohar, Tikun 69 P. 117a (Abel was reincarnated in Seth and later in Moshe, which is hinted in Moshe’s name. The letters of his name- משה are an acronym of הבל -Abel, שת –Seth, and משה-Moshe).
[11] Sha’ar Hagilgulim, Hakdama 36
[12] Tanchuma Perek 10
[13] Bamidbar 17:5
[14] Tanchuma Perek 10
[15] Bava Batra 74a
