Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
It's difficult when our spouse is not satisfied with us, and the wife of Korach was not satisfied with her husband. This week's Torah portion, parashat Korach, speaks about the controversy between Korach and Moshe and Aharon. But behind the scenes, petty motivations are revealed. Why did Korach decide to rebel against the leadership of Moshe and Aharon? After all, he had a significant leadership position, came from a good family, and had lots of money (from here the expression "as rich as Korach" is derived). Our sages tell us that Korach's wife would complain to him night and day: Why do Moshe and Aharon have more senior positions than you? Why are you not progressing in life? Korach heard -- and was effected.
But within this tragic controversy, another figure appears: the wife of On Ben-Pelet. Her husband had already begun to drift towards Korach, but she succeeded in preventing him at the last minute from joining him and thus saved her husband's life.
The world is full of controversies, ideologies, and dramatic proclamations. When we look closely, we discover how much those in our household influence us, how much the nuclear family stabliizes us – in everyday conversations between the kitchen and the living room. Our commentators learn from Korach how important it is to check the people closest to us –their tone, the atmosphere they create, and in which direction they are pulling us.
Shabbat shalom.
