Korach, the cousin of Moshe Rabbenu, leads a rebellion against Moshe and Aaron alongside members of the tribe of Reuben: Dathan, Abiram, and On, the son of Pelet, the two sons of Eliab, and 250 community leaders. They accused Moses of usurping leadership and elevating himself above everyone else: “The entire congregation is holy; why do you consider yourselves above the rest?” When Moses hears this, he tells Korach and his followers that God will reveal who the leader is tomorrow. He then added: “Is it not enough that God has consecrated you in the community of Israel to perform the functions of the Tabernacle, and you also seek the priesthood?” In reality, Moses explained to them that they were not rebelling against him and Aaron but against the order imposed by God. Moses called the two sons of Eliab, but they refused to come, saying it was unfair that Moses felt above them and forced them to die wandering in the desert. Moses then told Korach and his followers to prepare a priestly fire and offer incense to God.
At the entrance of the Ohel Mo’ed (Tent of Meeting), Moshe and Aaron gathered in front of the rebels and the rest of the community. The Presence of God appeared to the entire assembly, and God said to Moses and Aaron: “Separate yourselves from these rebels so that I may destroy them in an instant!” Moses and Aaron fell on their faces and said: “Oh God, if one man sins, will you be angry with the entire community?” God then told Moses to tell the people: “Separate yourselves from these wicked men and do not touch anything that belongs to them, so that all their sins will not destroy you.” The people separated from them. Then Moses said: “By what you are about to see, you will know that it is God who sent me, and I am not here by my own will.” When Moses finished speaking, the ground under Korach and the other leaders split open and swallowed them with all their belongings. Then, the ground closed over them, and they disappeared. A fire descended from the sky and consumed the 250 male followers of Korach who were offering incense. Moses instructed Eleazar, the son of Aaron, to recover the utensils used for the incense offering, flatten them, and cover the altar with them as a testimonial warning to anyone who might challenge Aaron’s priesthood.
The next day, the community complained that Moses and Aaron were responsible for the deaths of God’s people. God told Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the rest of the community because He wanted to destroy them. A plague struck the nation, and many were dying. Moses told Aaron to take the consecrated incense quickly, go into the midst of the congregation, and atone for their sin. Aaron did so, standing between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.
God told Moses to take a staff from each of the twelve tribes, with the name of the leader of each tribe written on his staff. Another staff would be taken to represent the tribe of Levi, with Aaron’s name written on it. The staff were placed overnight in the most sacred place of the Tabernacle. The following day, they were taken out, and miraculously, Aaron’s staff had blossomed with almond flowers. This was further proof that Aaron was God’s choice to be the High Priest. God ordered Moses to place Aaron’s staff back in the Ark of the Covenant, which would remain as a testimony.
The Jews expressed to Moses their fear of mistakenly entering a restricted area of the Tabernacle and dying as a result. In response, God ordered the priests and Levites to strictly guard the Tabernacle to prevent unauthorized entry by those who were not priests.
The Torah then enumerates the various offerings to which the priests are entitled. These include the privilege of receiving select portions of the sacrifices, the five silver shekels for the redemption of the firstborn Israelites, a portion of all grain, oil, wine harvests, the first fruits, etc. But it also informs them that their descendants will not receive a portion in the territory of Israel, which was the most prized materially: God will be their inheritance and portion.
