“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.” (Thomas Jefferson)
Korach’s rebellion was anything but “a good thing.” It resulted in more loss and devastation for a nation already reeling from the Sin of the Spies. The Lubavitcher Rebbe asks, given that Korach sinned, why name the Parsha after him? Call it Parshas “VaYikach” (the actual first word in the Parsha)? Or call it anything other than Korach! The Rebbe explains that as grievous as Korach’s mistake was, deep down it stemmed from a desire for enhanced holiness. Korach wanted to be the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) and as much as his approach was wrong, his strong want for something greater in life is admirable.
The Torah purposely calls this Parsha – “Korach” in order to highlight to us this profound lesson. Life is all about growth. It’s about acknowledging where I am (and giving myself credit for my current accomplishments) and then pushing myself further. Life must be aspirational. Where do I want to go? Who do I want to be? What can I do to become the best version of me? Korach was incredibly accomplished but to his credit – he wanted more. He wanted to do more; he wanted to be more. The tragedy is that Korach went about it all wrong. This should have been a discussion and not an attack. There should have been soul-searching and not a rebellion. Like Korach, we too must strive for more and never content ourselves with where we are. Unlike Korach, we must be self-aware enough to seek our personal greatness in a healthy, constructive, and holy way.
