Korach – Is It About Leadership or Position?

How can a highly placed, wealthy and clever individual still seek more and more, never being satisfied with the gifts already afforded him in life? This is the case of Korach who coveted Moses’ mantle of leadership and fomented a rebellion against him. His ill-considered aspirations and faulty actions resulted in his demise – but the cause was ultimately his ego. His egotistic nature led him wildly astray. Intellect is never an insurance policy against foolishness. In contrast, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, whose Yortzeit is this Shabbos, is an example of a self-effacing leader who through humility uprooted mountains in the cause of Judaism and Jewish peoplehood. The contrast and accomplishments of these two cannot be more pronounced.