Korah’s rebellion strikes at the heart of how we view leadership. In a world without deference, when we increasingly question our leaders, it does not seem so unreasonable for Korah to question who exactly elected Moses and Aaron. Where does their authority lie; to whom are they accountable?

In Exodus 19:6, God tells Moses: “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. If we are a kingdom of priests and if we are all holy, then why do we need hierarchies?  Why can’t we all share leadership? What’s wrong with Korah?

Pirkei Avot says: “Any dispute carried on for the sake of Heaven will in the end be established… what dispute is that which is for the sake of heaven? The dispute of Hillel and Shammai. And that which is not for the sake of Heaven? This is the dispute of Korah and all his congregation” (5:17).

Korah is seen as a ba’al machloket, literally “a master of dispute”, someone who knows they are right and who are so certain of their views that  they see no need to engage in debate or to tolerate anyone with a different opinion — an ideologue and a  fundamentalist.   

Fundamentalists often say they are radicals, that they are in favour of social change, that they are on the side of the disadvantaged. But unless democracy and debate are enshrined in the revolution, the new status quo may be worse than the old.

The 18th century Chasidic teacher Meshulam Feibush takes a more generous view of Korah. He said: “Even though Korah possessed both intelligence and the holy spirit, a spark of envy remained within him.” In his view, Korah just could not conceive of Moses acting without self-interest. And it never occurred to him, that he himself might be acting from a place of personal ambition.

I think some politicians have the same blind spot. Acting out of self-interest is an inherent risk for anyone who thinks they might be the right person to do anything or lead anyone. It takes great self-awareness and self-knowledge to be a good Jew, never mind a good leader. We always need to watch out for our egos.

The Torah doesn’t always demonstrate how things should be, but it nearly always shows us how things really are. If we believe we are right the whole time and refuse to engage in true debate, we are headed for destruction, and if, with that fanaticism, we try to claim leadership, we can bring down a community too. We need to spend more time examining our own motives and less time judging others.