(א) וַיִּקַּ֣ח קֹ֔רַח בֶּן־יִצְהָ֥ר בֶּן־קְהָ֖ת בֶּן־לֵוִ֑י וְדָתָ֨ן וַאֲבִירָ֜ם בְּנֵ֧י אֱלִיאָ֛ב וְא֥וֹן בֶּן־פֶּ֖לֶת בְּנֵ֥י רְאוּבֵֽן׃ (ב) וַיָּקֻ֙מוּ֙ לִפְנֵ֣י מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַאֲנָשִׁ֥ים מִבְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים וּמָאתָ֑יִם נְשִׂיאֵ֥י עֵדָ֛ה קְרִאֵ֥י מוֹעֵ֖ד אַנְשֵׁי־שֵֽׁם׃ (ג) וַיִּֽקָּהֲל֞וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶם֮ רַב־לָכֶם֒ כִּ֤י כָל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם יְהוָ֑ה וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּֽתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל יְהוָֽה׃
(1) Now Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, betook himself, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—descendants of Reuben— (2) to rise up against Moses, together with two hundred and fifty Israelites, chieftains of the community, chosen in the assembly, men of repute. (3) They combined against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and the LORD is in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the LORD’s congregation?”
(א) ויקח קרח לשון לקיחת אנשים ומי לקח דתן ואבירם בני אליאב ואון בן פלת בני ראובן, וי״ו דודתן יתירה היא וכמוה יש הרבה.
“Korach took, etc.” Korach acquired people, sympathisers; which people did he acquire specifically? Datan and Abiram, sons of Eliav, as well as On, sons of Pelet, members of the tribe of Reuven, and other discontents.
Why are all of these people listed?
"[Korach] 'betook himself' to oppose Moses. So did Datan. So did Abiram. As did On, as did each of the 250 others who challenged Moses. There wasn't one rebellion; there were (at least) 253 separate rebellions. The singular verb...confirms it.... The conjunction 'and' preceding the names of each of the other malcontents ('and Datan and Abiram...and On') must be 'Torah shorthand' for the same verb..., suggesting that these dissenters were not unified: each rebelled in his own way, for his own purpose."
-- Rabbi Kenneth J. Weiss, 2004 in Voices of Torah, page 412-413.
-- Rabbi Kenneth J. Weiss, 2004 in Voices of Torah, page 412-413.
Why does Korach rebel?
"...Korach is the first one to seek and undermine Moses's conception of Israel's holiness."
--Rabbi Yossi Feintuch, 2000 in Voices of Torah, page 409-410.
--Rabbi Yossi Feintuch, 2000 in Voices of Torah, page 409-410.
What is Moses's conception of Israel's holiness?
(מ) לְמַ֣עַן תִּזְכְּר֔וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֺתָ֑י וִהְיִיתֶ֥ם קְדֹשִׁ֖ים לֵֽאלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God.
"What it means is that the people of Israel is not holy but is rather required to attain holiness. Israel's holiness is not a reality but a purpose and goal that Israel aspires perpetually to achieve. Israel's holiness is contingent upon 'to observe all My commandments' -- a stipulation that clashes with human nature." -- Rabbi Yossi Feintuch
So what is the difference between Korach's conception of Israel's holiness and Moses's?
"While Korach sees Israel's holiness as inherent, a given fact, Moses demands that the people seek it continuously without the guarantee that they will attain it." --Ibid.
What do we learn from this?
We learn that each one of us has to take it upon ourselves to work at being Jewish, just as each of the rebellers took it upon themselves to rebel. We follow Moses's idea of holiness because Judaism is difficult and requires thought and overcoming challenges. There may be set commandments, but the way we fulfill them are our own. We each need to explore that and not just look at Judaism as convenient and a given like Korach does. Instead, Judaism should be seen as a task and a mission that we are continuously blessed to discover -- that's what makes us a holy people.