Parshat Korach: Run From Machloket—It Burns!

In Parshat Korach, we encounter one of the most frightening moments in the Torah:

“The earth beneath them opened its mouth…” (Bamidbar 16:32)

Korach, a man of stature and immense wealth, launched a rebellion against Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen. His uprising—machlokes at its worst—ended with a terrifying punishment: Korach, his followers, and all their possessions were swallowed alive by the earth.

Interestingly, the Torah tells us that although Korach was destroyed, his children were spared. They were righteous individuals who did teshuvah in time. Yet their father’s vast fortune was not passed down to them. Why?

The Sforno explains that if Korach’s children had inherited his wealth, it would have benefitted him in the Olam HaBa, granting him spiritual merit. This is because children are considered an extension of their parents. As the Shelah HaKadosh teaches, when Heaven judges a person, the deeds of their children—both good and bad—are taken into account. A righteous child can elevate a parent’s soul; a wicked one can damage it.

But Korach forfeited even that benefit. His involvement in machloket was so corrosive, so spiritually damaging, that even the merit of benefiting his righteous children was denied to him. The Torah is making it clear: machloket is not just a disagreement—it is a spiritual fire that consumes everything in its path.

The Danger of Fire

The Gemara compares machloket to fire. You don’t try to argue with fire. You don’t get close to it. You run. The same is true with machloket. It is toxic, explosive, and spiritually deadly.

Rav Mordechai Zuckerman zt”l shared a chilling moment that occurred at the end of the Chofetz Chaim’s life. A conflict broke out in the yeshivah in Radin. One day, the Chofetz Chaim entered the beit medrash, his body trembling, his face red with passion, and he proclaimed:

“The yeshivah of the Chofetz Chaim was built on peace. Machloket has no place here—it must flee!”

Rav Zuckerman said that from that day on, he carried a deep, burning hatred toward anything that smelled of machloket. “Whoever saw the Chofetz Chaim speak with such fire,” he said, “could never again allow even a trace of discord into their life.”

A Portion of Death

There is a chilling remez in the Hebrew word machloket (מַחֲלוֹקֶת). It can be rearranged to spell chelek mot (חֵלֶק מוֹת)—“a portion of death.” When a person fixates on others’ faults and lives with bitterness or divisiveness, he brings spiritual death upon himself. We’re taught that “Kol Yisrael yesh lahem chelek l’Olam HaBa”—all Jews have a share in the World to Come. But Korach? He lost his share. He died with his argument.

This parshah is a wake-up call. We must run from conflict. Don’t nurse a grudge. Don’t fan the flames. Machloket destroys families, shuls, friendships, and souls.

Let’s instead be among the builders—the lovers of peace, the pursuers of unity. Let us be those who hold our tongues, seek understanding, and foster harmony within klal Yisrael.

Because where there’s peace, there’s Hashem.