Reply To: Short & Sweet

Korach: Swallowed Up

Of all ways that Hashem could have punished Korach and his followers, why did He choose to have the ground swallow them up?

The Kli Yakar explains that this is an allusion to what Chazal tell us: אלמלא מוראה של מלכיות, איש את רעהו חיים בלעו – if not for the fear of authority, people would swallow each other alive.

Korach with his complaint of כל העדה כולם קדושם sought to eliminate the role of the leader of the Jewish people. However, all of society will break down if there is no authority keeping things firmly in place. The ground opening up and swallowing Korach was a perfect illustration of what was wrong with Korach’s approach, and what following Korach’s ideals would lead to.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום