The story of Korach is also known as Machloket Korach.
| disagreement, conflict | Machloket | מַחֲלֹקֶת |
We can gain a better understanding of what Korach tried to do, by understanding the word Machloket.
The root of the word Machloket is:.חל”ק There are other words that are related to this root, such as:
| disagreement, conflict
part To divide |
Machloket
Chelek Lechalek |
מֵחֲלוּקַּת
חֵלֶק לְחַלֵּק |
Korach approached Moshe with the question, “Who anointed you to be our leader? How can you make up all these rules that you are teaching us?” He asked these questions with the intention of creating a divide amongst the people, rather than to innocently clarifying the issue. We learn this from the word “Machloket” which has the root meaning of ‘dividing’ and ‘parting’.
In contrast to this idea, the Torah is often described in the scriptures as bringing ‘Shalom’ to the people, in many versus across the Bible. The root of the word ‘Shalom’ is של”מ which has the opposite meaning to the root of the word ‘Machloket’. Let’s see some words related to the rootשל”מ:
| peace
a whole perfect, complete To complete |
Shalom
Shalem Lechalek Lehashlim |
שָׁלוֹם
שָׁלֵם מוּשְׁלָם לְהַשְׁלִים |
This word implies that the Torah has the potential to create unity and perfection within the people and the world.