“…And he shall not be like Korach and his Assembly…”
This verse is telling us not to be like Korach and his followers; not to get involved in a dispute. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz Z”tl tltells us another lesson from this verse. The verse can also be read: There will not be other quarrels like that of Korach and his followers. In this instance, Moshe was one hundred percent right and Korach was one hundred percent wrong. But in most arguments and fights, even if one side is more correct than the other, both sides are usually making mistakes.
When two people quarrel, each person usually tries to blame the other for what he did or said. But it would be more productive for each person to ask themselves what they did to contribute to this quarrel. For example, you might have spoken in a slightly angry tone or could have been a bit sarcastic and then the other person greatly over reacted. Even if it is ninety percent the other’s person fault and only ten percent your fault, you should make every effort to eliminate your ten percent in the future. If you sincerely want to bring peace, you will have to work on your tone of voice and what you say or do to stop your part of the fight.
Another lesson that may be learned from this incident: Even though Moshe was
one hundred percent right and Korach and company were completely wrong,
we find that Moshe came to Korach and his comrades-in arms Dassan and
Aviram in order to try to appease them and reconcile with them! Surely, if we
find ourselves in dispute and we share some of the blame, we should try to
reconcile with the other party.
By Rabbi Sharaga Thav
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