“The man who strays from the path of wisdom will find himself among the company of the dead.”
“The righteous one is a guide to his fellow, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
These verses come to mind when reflecting on the incident of Qoraḥ and his group of 250 men. There are many lessons to be drawn from this perashah, but let us highlight the theme of friendship.
Friendship is an emotional bond between two or more people. It is one of the most common interpersonal relationships most people experience throughout life. Moreover, friendship appears at different stages of life and exists in varying degrees of depth and importance. Friendships often arise from shared interests and concerns. Some friendships form within moments of meeting; others take years to develop. Above all, true friendship is one that endures a lifetime.
Our perashah deals with dangerous friendships. When we analyze the positioning of the tribes of Lewi and Re’uven in the camp, we notice that they were not actually near each other. The tribes of Lewi, Yissakhar, and Yehudah were closest to the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Datan and Aviram were from the tribe of Re’uven, which was situated far from Lewi. The rebellion of Qoraḥ stemmed from a family dispute—he was a cousin of Moshe, also descended from Qehat. He asked himself, “Why can’t I be the Kohen Gadol like Aharon?” As a Levite and relative, he had reason to challenge Moshe’s leadership.
But where did the same desire arise among the Re’uvenites? As the saying goes: If a person walks into a perfume shop, he will leave with the scent of perfume. So too, one who befriends wicked people will eventually become wicked himself. As the proverb teaches:
“Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are.”
“Happy and blessed is the man who did not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the path of sinners, nor sat in the seat of scoffers.”
May Aḏonay—blessed be He—help us choose good friends, for this world and for the world to come.