Despite the word and will of G-d, rebellion is rife in the camp. We read of Korach and his attempted coup d’état against Moshe and Aharon. Korach was a Levite from the Kehat family, the group within the House of Levi that was privileged to carry the Holy objects on their shoulders during the journeys of B’nai Yisrael in Sinai. Korach argued against what he viewed as the imperial leadership of Moshe and Aharon. Why should the House of Aharon dominate as the Priesthood of Israel? Were not all members of the House of Israel holy to G-d? Not to him. He reasoned that the laws of religious and lay leadership were being misconstrued by Moshe and Aharon for their personal glorification!

Due to his desire to “clean up” the political structure, Korach gathered two hundred fifty supporters from the people. This grew to thousands. Some were prominent leaders, like Datan and Aviram and the Reuvenites (Korach had argued that Reuvein as the eldest tribe, should perform all ritual and leadership functions, as was customary in ancient times). Others were just bandwagon followers with mob-rule axes to grind. Only a trial by fire will satisfy the group, and only a Heaven-sent plague against the conspirators can stem the tide of rebellion and anarchy in a nation on the verge of internal collapse.

As if to reinforce the irrefutable position of Aharon the Priest, the Priesthood itself, the Levitical charge, and indeed the entire infrastructure of Jewish religious life, laws pertaining to each are reintroduced at the close of this portion.