Parshat Korach
"As soon as he [Moshe-Moses] finished speaking all these words, the earth beneath them [Korach and his followers] split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them … all Korach’s people…. The earth covered them up, and they were lost from among the congregation” (Bamidbar 16:31-33).
The miracle that occurred at this time should not be mistaken for a normal earthquake that would not entail Divine intervention. Therefore, “the earth opened its mouth” does not mean that there were merely enormous chasms in the ground that Korach and his party fell into. Rather, there was a suction effect from within the “mouth” of the earth that was comparable to the sucking of a liquid into one’s mouth when drinking from a cup.
Even more supernatural was that Korach’s people and their property, which at the time were not in the immediate vicinity, were still drawn into the mouth of the earth.
Another aspect to the event was the manner in which the earth closed. After a normal earthquake, the gorges simply remain open. However, in this circumstance, the earth returned to its previous state as if nothing had happened. The Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman) elucidates that there was no sign of death or disturbance. The phrase “they were lost from among the congregation” seems to be superfluous. This is meant to teach us that when they were swallowed, they were not killed. Instead, they were brought into the abyss and continued living. Thus, now they were considered as being “lost from among the congregation.” As they were swallowed, they were heard yelling, “Moshe was indeed correct. His teachings of the Torah are true and we are wrong.”
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A Polish Jew was once forced to have an extended stay in a public hospital. Given the antisemitic nature of the time, the other patients, and even the nurses and doctors, were merciless in their harassment of this sick man. One day, an old man visiting his sick son noticed the malicious manner in which the Jewish patient was treated. The old man screamed to the staff and other patients “Stop this behavior at once! I’ll tell you all a story which will make you rethink the way you treat Jews.”
Many years ago, in the Jewish village next to my town, there lived a boy named Yisroelik (who later became famous as the Baal Shem Tov), who worked as the teacher’s helper. It was known that this young man visited the ritual bath (mikveh) in my town on a weekly basis, before Shabbat. One Friday afternoon, a group of village boys decided to attack Yisroelik on his way to the mikveh. They hid in some bushes, and when he walked into our town they assaulted him. They screamed, “Get the Jew! Get the Jew!” and began to beat at Yisroelik with clubs. Suddenly, the ringleader let out a piercing wail. The other boys looked at him and to their horror, they saw him sinking into the earth. They quickly left Yisroelik alone and went to help their friend. They tried to pull him out, but to no avail. The harder they pulled, the more firmly he stuck in the earth.
In the meantime, Yisroelik continued on to the mikveh. The boys started screaming for help and ran to get shovels. They desperately tried to dig him out. But this too proved to be futile. The more they dug, the deeper their friend sunk into the earth. The villagers heard their screaming and everyone came running. When the villagers heard the story, they decided that it would be wisest to wait for Yisroelik to return.
As soon as Yisroelik came into view, everyone rushed towards him and begged him to release the boy being swallowed by the earth. Yisroelik said, “It’s his fault that he is trapped in the earth. He made the wrong decision to attack an innocent Jew. However, if he promises to never again harass a Jew, I will release him.”
The boy quickly agreed to Yisroelik’s request and immediately was able to free himself from the earth. Yisroelik added, “You’re not getting off that easily. You still deserve a punishment for what you have done and hence, you will remain you’re present height for the rest of your life.”
The old man said, “I heard this story directly from the boy himself when he was already old, and indeed, he never grew. Therefore, I advise all of you to never harass a Jew.”
And so it was.