Jews can study Talmud and Qur'an Also

Torah, Talmud and Qur'an, all refer to Korakh and his rebellion against Prophets Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1-35). Studying all three perspectives can help Christians, Jews and Muslims understand their own religion's particular perspective.

The Torah focuses on the religious aspects of Korakh's challenge to Prophet Moses and Prophet Aaron's God given right to rule. "Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and certain Reubenites-Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth-became insolent and rose up against Moses with 250 well-known Jewish community leaders, who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them:

"You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord's assembly?" (Numbers 16: 1-3)

Korakh's challenge seems to be based on democratic values. We are all members of the People of Israel, and we all entered the covenant with God at Mount Sinai. So why should just Moses be the political leader; and why should his brother Aaron be the High Priest, when I am also from the tribe of Levi just like the two of you?

The Talmudic view claims that the envy of Korakh was based on his former wealth and high status in Egypt, where the family of Moses like all other Jews, was poor. "Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina said: Three treasures did Joseph hide in Egypt: one was revealed to Korakh; one to Antoninus the son of Severus (or Asviros), and the third is stored up for the righteous in the future time." (Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 119a and Sanhedrin 110a)

Rabbi Hama claims Korakh somehow found and used a part of Prophets Joseph's wealth to become a Jewish Leader; and now felt he deserved to be the leader of the Jewish People in the desert, as he had been before Prophets Moses and Aaron started opposing Pharaoh.

The Qur'an supports this view, and tells us much more about Korakh's previous character faults that were the real reason that he deserved to be swallowed up by the earth, by stating; "Korach (transliterated Qarun) was surely of the people of Moses, but he (Korakh) oppressed them, and We (God) gave him treasures, so much so that his hoards of wealth would weight down a body of strong men. When his people said to him: Exult not; surely Allah loves not the exultant. (Qur'an 28:76)

Thus, even though God helped Korakh to find a part of Joseph's great wealth; Korakh used the wealth and the power he had acquired to oppress the Jewish People. So they had already rejected Korakh for exulting himself over them. When God's earth swallows Korakh and his '250 well-known Jewish community leaders' supporters; it only reflects the Jewish people's prior rejection of Korakh's oppression.

The Qur'an also states: "And certainly We (God) sent Musa with Our words and clear authority, to the Pharaoh, Haman and Qarun, but they (the advisors) said: (Moses is a) lying magician. (Qur'an 40:23-24)

Qarun (Korakh) was a Jewish advisor to Pharaoh. Perhaps that is how he found Joseph's treasure, or Qarun used his new found wealth to get the job as a Jewish advisor to the Pharaoh. In any case he used his position to help Pharaoh oppress the People of Israel.

The Quran also states that Korakh had joined with Pharaoh in spite of being an Israelite and become one of his favorites; so much so that one of the two ring leaders of opposition to Prophet Moses with Pharaoh was this same Korakh: "We sent Moses to Pharaoh, Haman and Korah with Our signs and a clear authority of appointment, but they said: He is a sorcerer, a liar." (23:24).

From this it follows that Korakh had rebelled against his own people and become a supporter of the hostile forces which were bent on wiping out the Israelites. On account of this rebellion against his own people, Korakh had attained a high place with Pharaoh.

The two persons, besides Pharaoh, to whom the Prophet Moses had been sent were Pharaoh's minister Haman, and this Israelite capitalist, Korakh. All the other (250) chiefs and couriers were of inferior status, and were not worth mentioning. The same position of Korakh has been alluded to in (29:39).

This moral in the story of Korah was mentioned only in the Quran. The Bible and Talmud are without it. However, according to the details given in these books, when the Israelites left Egypt, Korah also accompanied them along with his men, and then conspired against Prophets Moses and Aaron and was joined in this by 250 of his followers.

At last, Allah's wrath descended on him, and the earth opened up and swallowed him and his followers together with their possessions." (See Numbers 16:1-35 for all the details of the Torah's narrative)

The importance of all this, is that both the Rabbinic material and the Qur'an, can help Jews, Christians and Muslims understand their own sacred texts better than just the study of any one scripture in isolation. We do not have to be believers in an other religion's sacred scripture in order to benefit from learning insights from it.