This week's section is called Korah. It's the name of a cousin of Moses who led a rebellion against him. Moses was the king, so to speak; his brother Aaron was the High Priest; and Elzaphan (another cousin of both) was the leader of the Kohathim family, a family of the tribe of Levi to which Korah also belonged. Essentially, the rebellion stemmed from Korah's desire for a position of power in governing the Jewish people.
In the end, the rebellion is quelled, and Korah, along with all his followers, is swallowed up by the earth. But before this happens, Moses has a very interesting exchange with God. First, God proposes to Moses that he destroy all the rebels (see Numbers 16:20-22 and Rashi's commentary), to which Moses responds by pointing out the difference between a king of flesh and blood and God: a king of flesh and blood, when some of his court sin, doesn't know who sinned, so he punishes everyone, while God, who knows all people's thoughts, does know the true sinner. So, Moses concluded, why punish the innocent? In response to this argument, God tells Moses that He will indeed reveal who sinned and who did not.
Ahora bien, ¿Por qué Moshe comenzó hablando de «parte de su corte (en plural)» y terminó hablando de «quién pecó (en singular)?» Más aún, aparentemente, el único pecador es Koraj, ¿Por qué Moshe utilizó el ejemplo de la corte del rey pecando, que implica más de una persona?
The answer to these questions is that there are two levels of participation in the rebellion: Korah and his followers. Korah himself was the instigator of the rebellion, who convinced (along with Dathan and Abiram, as we will see later) 250 tribal and family leaders to follow them in rebelling against Moses' authority. His followers, on the other hand, were merely seduced by Korah's promises of justice. This does not mean that being seduced by Korah excuses them from the corresponding punishment for their wrongdoing, but they certainly cannot be considered in the same category as Korah.
Un dato más, y una enseñanza: Moshe pensaba que había una sólo instigador (Koraj), mientras que Di-s indicó que, en realidad eran tres: Koraj, Datán y Avirám (ver Bamidbar 16:24). Al respecto de estos últimos dos, Moshe intentó conversar con ellos antes de que la rebelión pase a mayores, y ellos no quisieron, y no sólo eso, sino que le contestaron con arrogancia e insolencia. Aquí podemos ver hasta qué punto se debe juzgar a las personas meritoriamente: aún después de que Datán y Avirám le faltaron el respeto públicamente, Moshe no pensó que ellos eran «pecadores» o instigadores de la rebelión junto a Koraj, por eso le dijo a Di-s que &quor:El (Di-s) sabía quién (en singular) era el pecador». Debemos de Moshe aprender a juzgar favorablemente a los demás.