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Moses Faced Korach and Akiva Before Midian Fell

Korach came with empty hands. Moses still wanted Midian with his own eyes, and he would not climb until the air was empty of Bilam.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Empty Hands, a Taken Heart
  2. Oil That Would Not Anoint Him
  3. What Moses Could Not See
  4. The Eyes That Wanted Midian
  5. Bilam in the Air
Moses Faced Korach and Akiva Before Midian Fell Click for full size

Empty Hands, a Taken Heart

Korach took nothing in his hands. His heart took him. He walked into the quarrel with Moses the way a man walks into a room he has already furnished in his mind. Yitzhar's son. Oil's son. Oil rises. Pour it into any cup and it sits on top.

"Aaron was anointed," Korach said. "David will be anointed. I am a son of oil, and I carry furniture. Why does the oil stop before it reaches me?" He wanted priesthood and kingship in one grab. The grievance had a shape. The shape was wrong. Genealogy is not consecration. Moses fell on his face. He did not strike. He set a test of incense and let God choose. The ground opened. The account did not close in Moses' chest. A cousin had come with empty hands and left a hole.

Oil That Would Not Anoint Him

Korach had watched Aaron's oil run and had done the math of a Levite who sleeps beside holy things he may not touch. Pour oil into any cup and it sits on top. The verse about the sons of oil names Aaron and David, the priest and the king. Korach heard his own father's name in that word and took it as a deed of title.

Moses heard the argument for forty years after the earth had already answered it. He carried the unfinished quarrel with the dead the way a man carries a stone in a shoe. He limped. He did not always show it. In the final days, when God told him to prepare, that limp was still there. Korach had been wrong. Korach had also been family. The heart that took him had been a real heart.

What Moses Could Not See

God told Moses to take a red heifer. Moses asked for the reason. God said, To you I am revealing it. For another, it remains a statute. Then a harder sentence arrived. Matters hidden from you in this world will float in the World to Come. They have already been done for Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues. What was not shown to Moses was shown to Akiva. A man not yet born would see farther than the man who had stood on Sinai.

Moses took that in the way a teacher takes a student who will outrun him. He did not pretend it was easy. The Torah he had carried down the mountain would open in a pair of eyes that were not his. Akiva's eye would see what had been obscure. Moses would die with the statute still a statute for everyone else, and with the knowledge that the seeing went on without him.

He could not have that seeing. He asked for a seeing he could have.

The Eyes That Wanted Midian

"Take vengeance on Midian, then you will be gathered to your people" (Numbers 31:2). Moses heard the order as a door and a clock at once. The war first. The death after. He asked God to let him see it with his own eyes. God does not withhold from the righteous what they desire with their eyes. Moses organized the army, twelve thousand men, and he did not climb the mountain while they were still crossing. He waited. He watched.

He told Pinhas and the captains what to look for. "I know the wicked Bilam is there to collect his payment. If the wolf comes to the flock, spread a net for him. If you see him performing sorcery and flying in the air, show him the frontplate, the tzitz (ציץ), with 'sacred to the Lord' written on it (Exodus 28:36). He will fall. Kill him."

Bilam in the Air

They found him in the air with the kings of Midian, working the old craft, flying. The priests lifted the frontplate. The Name on gold cut the spell. Bilam fell. The kings fell upon their slain. Moses saw it. The righteous one rejoiced in seeing vengeance. He washed the long account of Peor in that sight, the twenty-four thousand who had died while he stood at the Tent and could not stop the plague until Pinhas moved.

Korach's hole was still a hole. Akiva's future eyes were still not his. Midian was done. The air was empty of the sorcerer who had sold a curse against Israel and come back to collect. Only then did Moses let the clock run. He climbed. He looked at the land he would not enter. He closed the last account he had been allowed to close with his own eyes.

God waited for him. The death had a sequence, and Moses had insisted on the sequence. He faced Korach's heart and Akiva's seeing and then he watched Midian fall, and then, only then, he went.

MosesDavidMidrash RabbahKorachFinal Reckoning
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The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Bamidbar Rabbah 18:16Bamidbar Rabbah

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 · CC-BY

That feeling, that potent brew of envy and ambition, is at the heart of the story of Korah.

The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Bamidbar Rabbah, doesn't just tell us Korah argued, assembled people, or even spoke out. It says he "took." What did he take? The Midrash answers: He took nothing outwardly. Rather, “his heart took him.” It's a subtle but crucial distinction. The verse from Job says it all: “To what does your heart take you, and what do your eyes intimate?” (Job 15:12). It wasn't about a rational argument; it was about the desires that consumed him.

Rabbi Levi explores Korah’s motivations. Why did Korah, of all people, challenge Moses? He was, after all, from a distinguished family. Korah's claim, as Rabbi Levi presents it, is fascinating. "I am the son of oil," he declared, "ben Yitzhar" (Numbers 16:1). Yitzhar refers to oil. He points to the verse in Deuteronomy (7:13): “And He will bless your wine [vetiroshekha], and your oil [veyitzharekha]…” Here, vetiroshekha is wine, and veyitzharekha is oil.

Korah then makes his argument. "Every liquid into which you place oil, it is on top." Oil rises. It signifies prominence, leadership. He even references (Zechariah 4:14): “These are the two anointed dignitaries [benei hayitzhar], literally, “sons of oil,” who attend the Lord of the entire land." Does oil have children? Of course not! The Midrash explains that these sons of oil are Aaron and David, both anointed with sacred oil. Aaron took the priesthood, and David the kingship.

And here’s the crux of Korah’s complaint, the seed of his rebellion: "I, who am the son of oil, am not anointed. Shouldn't I also become priest and king?" This perceived slight, this feeling of being overlooked, led him to dispute Moses.

So, what are we to make of Korah’s argument? Was he justified in feeling slighted? The Midrash doesn't explicitly say, but it does highlight the dangers of unchecked ambition and the destructive power of a heart consumed by envy. Korah saw himself as deserving, as naturally entitled to greatness, but his focus on what he lacked blinded him to what he already possessed. A reminder to examine our own hearts, to question the motivations that drive us, and to be wary of the "oil" that might be leading us astray.

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Bamidbar Rabbah 19:6Bamidbar Rabbah

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 · CC-BY

The parah adumah, the red heifer, is famous precisely because its purity law does not behave like ordinary logic.

In Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers, we find the commandment: "They shall take to you a…red heifer" (Numbers 19:2). Now, what's so special about a red heifer? Its ashes are used in a purification ritual, specifically for those who have come into contact with death. It's a powerful, complex ritual, and honestly? Its purpose isn't entirely clear.

That's where our story in Bamidbar Rabbah 19 picks up. Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina shares a fascinating idea: God says to Moses, "To you I am revealing the rationale of the heifer, but for another, it is a statute." In other words, Moses, you get the "why," but for everyone else, it's simply a decree to be followed. A chukah, a law whose reason is beyond human understanding.

Why the secrecy? Why couldn't everyone understand the reason behind this unusual ritual? Rav Huna sheds some light, drawing on verses from Psalms and Zechariah. He points to the verse, "When I set a time, I will judge with equity" (Psalms 75:3). And then to (Zechariah 14:6), which speaks of a time "there will not be light, pleasant [yekarot] vekipaon."

Now, vekipaon is the interesting part. The text notes that yikfaon is written, similar to the Aramaic word ukfa which means "it floated" (as seen in Targum Yonatan's translation of II Kings 6:6). So, yikfaon is interpreted as "will float." Rav Huna uses this to suggest that matters obscured from us in this world – "there will not be light" – are destined to "float to the surface" [tzofim] in the World to Come.

Think of it like a blind person who can "see" [detzafi], as (Isaiah 42:16) says: "I will lead the blind on a way they did not know." The verse continues, "These are the matters that I have done, and I did not abandon them." Notice it doesn't say, "I will do," but "I have done." The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) explains that this has already been done for Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues.

Wait, Rabbi Akiva? What does he have to do with a red heifer? The text suggests that matters not revealed to Moses were, in fact, revealed to Rabbi Akiva and his scholarly circle. As (Job 28:10) says, "Everything obscured [yekar] his eye has seen" – this, says the Midrash, refers to Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues. They were able to grasp insights that even Moses, the greatest prophet, couldn't fully access!

That understanding isn't fixed, that later generations might unlock secrets hidden from earlier ones. It implies a dynamic relationship with Torah, a constant unfolding of meaning.

Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina adds one final, intriguing detail. He says that God intimated that all other heifers will eventually cease to be relevant, but "yours will endure" – expounded from the phrase "They shall take to you." This suggests a lasting significance to this particular red heifer, perhaps a symbolic one that transcends the physical ritual itself.

So, what does it all mean? Maybe the red heifer isn't just about purification from death. Maybe it's about the enduring mystery at the heart of faith. Maybe it's about the promise that even when we don't understand, there's a deeper meaning waiting to be revealed, perhaps not in this world, but in the World to Come. Or perhaps, through the insights of future generations, like Rabbi Akiva, who continue to wrestle with these ancient texts, seeking new light in their wisdom. A light that even Moses himself couldn't fully see.

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Bamidbar Rabbah 22:5Bamidbar Rabbah

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 · CC-BY

The book of Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers, explores Moses' burning desire to witness the vengeance against Midian before his death. It all starts with the verse, "Take the vengeance" (Numbers 31:2). But what fueled this desire?

Bamidbar Rabbah connects this desire to a verse in Job: "He will not withdraw His eyes from the righteous, and kings upon the throne" (Job 36:7). What does it mean that God "will not withdraw His eyes from the righteous?" It means, the Rabbis suggest, that the Holy One, blessed be He, won't withhold from the righteous what their eyes long to see. Moses yearned to see justice served against Midian, and he pleaded with God to grant him this final glimpse.

Isn't that a deeply human desire? To see the fruits of your labor, the completion of a task, the consequences unfold? It speaks to our need for closure, for a sense of justice in the world.

The text even quotes, "The righteous one will rejoice in seeing vengeance" (Psalms 58:11), specifically referring to the vengeance against Midian. It continues, "He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked" (Psalms 58:11) – and here, the text specifies, this refers to Bilam.

Now, Bilam. He was no ordinary villain. Moses knew that the wicked Bilam would be present at the battle, attempting to use his sorcery to aid Midian. So, Moses instructed Pinḥas and the soldiers: "I know that the wicked Bilam is there to collect his payment. If the wolf comes to the flock, spread a net for him." It was a clever strategy.

The instructions were specific: "That wicked one, if you see that he is performing sorcery and flying in the air, show him the frontplate on which 'sacred to the Lord' (Exodus 28:36) is written. He will fall; and kill him." That frontplate, the tzitz, inscribed with kodesh l'Adonai, "Sacred to the Lord," was a powerful symbol.

And that's exactly what happened. "They killed the kings of Midian among [al] those they slayed" (Numbers 31:8) – as they were performing sorcery with Bilam and flying. When they saw the frontplate, they fell upon [al] their slain.

The clash between the earthly and the divine, between sorcery and holiness. The power of a symbol, the tzitz, to bring down even the most powerful sorcerers.

So, what does this all mean? It also shows us the determination of Moses, a leader who, even at the end of his life, was deeply invested in ensuring the safety and well-being of his people, and that God will give us what we need when we need it. It's a powerful story about leadership, justice, and the enduring human need to see things come to a satisfying close.

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