06/18/2026
Korach
Two Kinds of Wives
Your choice for a spouse could make or break you.
Contention against leadership is contagious, and contentious people work hard to convince their companions to join their cause. Korah’s initial grievances against Moses and Aaron had nothing to do with the Reubenites, but through frequent conversation and the subtle manipulation of ideas, Korah was able to draw his neighbors into sedition.
Korah the son of Izhar … and On the son of Peleth … (Numbers 16:1)
Three chief Reubenites joined with Korah in his rebellion against Moses: Dathan, Abiram, and On. Dathan and Abiram met a grim fate for their part in the rebellion, but On was apparently spared. The Talmud tells a story to explain how the rebellion started and how it was that On was spared from judgment (b.Sanhedrin 109b–110a).
According to the story, Korah’s rebellion began at his wife’s instigation. She resented Moses for assigning her Levite husband the lowly status of servant. She was jealous of the wives of Aaron’s household who were married to prestigious priests. So she began to subtly undermine her husband’s loyalty toward Moses and Aaron. She would nag at him, saying, “See what Moses has done? He has made himself king and appointed his brother as high priest and his nephews as priests. He orders everyone to set aside portions for the priests.”
Read More: https://ffoz.org/torahportions/commentary/the-two-wives
