By Shira Sedek

In parshat Korach, we can see the recurring cycle of making one of the mistakes that Adam and Chava made. While Adam and Chava were kicked out of Gan Eden because they didn’t listen to God, that is not the mistake that is shown in this parsha. Adam and Chava seem to have gotten their other punishments because of their response to Hashem. Adam and Chava blamed others for their mistakes. Since Chava was such a follower of the snake and easily swayed and helped Adam go against Hashem, how fitting is the punishment of birth pains and making her follow her husband? As for man, Hashem says, “Because you listened to your wife, I am about to give you the punishment of working the land.” Both Adam and Chava were punished for blaming others, instead of themselves. They couldn’t admit their wrongdoings, which is the case in parshat Korach.

In parshat Korach, Korach, Datan and Aviram start rebellions against Aaron and Moshe. After what happened last week with the spies, I am so confused about how anyone can rebel, but they did, and so did their followers. Why were they able to do so? Datan tells Moshe, “Is it not enough that you took us out of the beautiful land of Egypt and are keeping us in the desert? Now you also want to be in charge?” In this instance, Datan and Aviram, were able to continue to rebel despite everything because they never blamed themselves. People like Datan and Aviram who blamed Moshe for being stuck in the desert—when it was their reaction to the spies that did this to them—will continue to rebel and fight. Once we can take responsibility for our actions we can stop ourselves from doing them again, but if not, we will continue to rebel and complain. May we all take responsibility for our actions and learn from them, bringing us closer to Hashem.