When is the passion that drives a man to rise up to fight
informed by the will of God? When is his rush to arms “righteous
indignation” and when is it simply hubris, or worse? Men all too
often become consumed with their passions to right a perceived
slight; all too often afire by their quest for power. In that
heat of passion, of indignation, of perceived righteousness a
man’s ability to reason is often overwhelmed and his ability to
coolly assess his best and most appropriate way forward is too
often lost. He is awash in foolish pride. When that happens,
when the fire of the moment consume a man’s ability to reason,
he is fortunate indeed if he has a good wife by his side. And if
he has the good fortune to have a good wife, then his most
sincere prayer should be for the good sense to listen to her. As
the rabbis teach us, the Korach rebellion offers a case in
point. Our understanding of the rebellion is straightforward.
Korach, a wealthy leader of the Levites, and a cousin of Moses
and Aaron, felt slighted