Korach

📜 The Story

Korah was a Levite, and he was Moses' own cousin. He was jealous that Moses and Aaron were the leaders, and he got 250 important men to join him. They came to Moses and Aaron and said, 'All the people are holy. Why do you put yourselves above everyone else?'

Moses answered them humbly. He suggested a fair test. Everyone would take a fire pan, put incense in it, and bring it before God the next morning. Then it would be clear whom God had chosen. Moses also called Dathan and Abiram, two of Korah's friends, to talk, but they refused to come.

The next day, Moses told the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Suddenly the ground split open and swallowed them, with their families and everything they owned, and closed back up over them. At the same time, a fire came from God and burned up the 250 men who had brought the incense. Moses had said that this would be something new, never seen before.

Afterward, the people blamed Moses and Aaron for these deaths, and a plague broke out. Moses told Aaron to take incense and stand between the living and the dead. The plague stopped, but 14,700 people had already died.

To show once and for all whom God had chosen as High Priest, Moses put twelve wooden staffs, one for each tribe, in the Tent of Meeting overnight. Aaron's staff stood for the tribe of Levi. In the morning, only Aaron's staff had sprouted. It had buds, flowers, and even ripe almonds! Now everyone knew that God had chosen Aaron and his family. The parsha ends with the gifts, like terumah and maaser (tithes), that the people give to the Kohanim (the priests) and the Levites.