The parsha of Korach introduces us to a member of the Jewish nation who sought to usurp Moshe Rabbeinu's position as leader. Under the guise of a call to equality among the entire nation, careful attention to his words indicates that he in fact was driven by jealousy and a twisted understanding of truth.
Nevertheless, his striking accusation contained an element of truth. "They assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, 'You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above the Lord's assembly?'" (Bamidbar 16:3) The entire nation was holy, and God did reveal His Will to the whole nation en masse. As it says in Mekhilta D'Shira, "The Rabbis of the Talmud said, 'At the sea, the maidservant saw even what the prophet Ezekiel the son of Buzi did not see.'"
I must admit that I find myself temporarily wooed by Korach's emotionally-charged reasoning. However, I snap myself out of his hypnotic argument and consider the bigger picture.
For instance, in addition to the content of this accusation, the manner in which something is said and the words used make the difference between night and day. Take, for example, Yisro's (Jethro's) famous counsel to Moshe Rabbeinu: "Why do you sit by yourself, while all the people stand before you from morning till evening?'" (Shemos 18:14) Is it just me, or does it sound like Yisro is presenting a challenge to authority as well? Taking this verse in isolation from the context there is room to notice a similar challenge to Moshe Rabbeinu's leadership.
What Yisro's and Korach's points had in common was the need for Moshe Rabbeinu to divide and distribute his authority to the rest of the congregation. Where they differ, however is in their motivation: Yisro envisioned a judicial multi-tier system with Moshe Rabbeinu acting as the "supreme court." Korach envisioned deposing Moshe Rabbeinu and enacting a complete redistribution of his unique state to everybody in the nation. The difference is that Yisro's vision sought redistributing power in a constructive manner, whereas Korach's was destructive in nature.
This observation may be used in successfully navigating a number of social and professional scenarios. In our dealings with our families and friends, and in larger environments such as work, this difference can be used as a methodology of constructiveness. Do we seek to build up and engage all members of the whole, or do we seek to topple and liquidate the existing structures to forcefully replace them with our own expectations?
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