#953: Can Liars Repent?
Rashi and Midrash Tanhuma on Bamidbar/Numbers 26:11
Bamidbar/Numbers 26:11
וּבְנֵי־קֹרַח לֹא־מֵתוּ׃
The sons of Korah, however, did not die.
Gimme Some Torah #953
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Korah led a militia of 250 people in a rebellion against Moses. God punishes the treachery of the Korahites by causing the earth to open up and swallow them. For reasons that the Torah does not explain, however, Korah’s own sons did not die. Rashi quotes the Talmud’s take:
וּבְנֵי־קֹרַח לֹא־מֵתוּ׃ BUT THE SONS OF KORAH DID NOT DIE — They were in the plot originally, but at the moment when the rebellion broke out they had thoughts of repentance in their hearts; therefore a high spot was fenced round for them in Gehinnom and they stayed there (B. Sanhedrin 110a).
Notice that Gehinnom is different from the eternal lake of fire that Christians call Hell. It is not only a place of punishment but a place of reflection, too. Gehinnom is described as a kind of halfway house penitent sinners.
Regarding the fate of Korah’s sons, Midrash Tanhuma provides what I think is a more interesting explanation:
“The sons of Korah did not die.” Rabbah bar bar Hanah said, “One time it happened that we were travelling on the road, when a certain Arab merchant said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the chasms of Korah.’
I went and saw two fissures out of which was coming smoke. He took a ball of clipped wool, steeped it in water, placed it on a spearhead, [and raised it] over them. Then he said to me, ‘Listen, what do you hear?’ I heard them saying, ‘Moses and his Torah represent truth, but they (i.e., Korah and his community) are liars.’”
But in the future to come the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to take them out [of gehinnom]. Moreover, it is with reference to them that Hannah said (in I Sam. 2:6), “The Lord brings death and gives life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.”
Ultimately, the conflict between Moses and Korah was one of truth vs. falsehood. The midrash correctly identifies liars as unrepentant. Other kinds of sinners—such as gossipers, adulterers, thieves, and even some violent criminals—can and do repent for the damage they’ve caused and turn their lives around. But the problem that liars have is not an action but rather their bad character in general. For habitual liars, deception becomes part of their essence, just as much as love. Lies create an indelible stain on the soul.
The good news is that truth-telling can also become a habitual practice. Habit is a powerful thing that can turn us into saints or sinners.
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