Why Korach descended alive

מה שביקש מרע"ה דוקא לענשם בענין זה שאמר אם לאו יברא עתה וכי לא הי' יכול לעונשם בעונשין שנבראו כבר במעשה בראשית.

That which Moshe Rabbeinu requested specifically to punish them in this manner, when he said "but if Hashem will create a creation now" (Bamidbar 16:30) — could He not have punished them with punishments already created during the Six Days of Creation?

The Sefas Emes asks why Moshe insisted on a brand-new, never-before-created death for Korach's company rather than an ordinary punishment.

וי"ל עפ"י מ"ש חז"ל וקרח שפקח הי' ראה שלשלת גדולה יוצאה כו'.

And one may explain it according to what Chazal said: "And Korach, who was clever, saw a great chain [of descendants] issuing forth," and so on.

Chazal teach that Korach, with prophetic insight, foresaw the great line of descendants — including Shmuel HaNavi — who would come from him.

וקשה הלא גם הוא ידע שיכולין בניו לשוב בתשובה.

And this is difficult: surely he too knew that his sons could do teshuvah.

If Korach foresaw greatness from his line, he should also have realized his sons might survive by repenting — so his vision should not have reassured him about himself.

אכן יראה ודאי הבין קרח כי לפי גדולתן של בני קרח אח"כ אם הי' נשאר להם החטא מאביהם שנטה מדרך האמת לא היו יכולין להיות במדריגה זו העליונה.

However, it appears that Korach surely understood that, given the future greatness of the sons of Korach, had the sin of their father — who strayed from the path of truth — remained attached to them, they would not have been able to reach that lofty level.

Korach reasoned that his descendants' immense spiritual stature could only be attained if no trace of his sin clung to them.

כי מכל חטא האדם נשאר לדורות מעט כמאמר פוקד עון אבות כו'.

For from every sin of a person a small residue remains for the generations, as in the statement "Who visits the iniquity of the fathers [upon the children]," and so on (Shemos 20:5).

Ordinarily every sin leaves some lingering effect that is carried down to one's descendants.

ובני קרח הי' מעלתם גדולה מאוד.

And the sons of Korach — their stature was exceedingly great.

The descendants of Korach reached an extraordinarily high spiritual level.

ולכן הי' מוכרח להיות יורד חיים שאולה ואז לא ירשו בניו מחטא שלו כלום ונשתנה עליו סדרי בראשית.

Therefore it was necessary for him to descend alive into She'ol, and then his sons would inherit nothing of his sin, and the orders of Creation were altered for him.

This unprecedented death — being swallowed alive — was precisely what severed any inheritance of Korach's sin from his sons, requiring a change in the natural order created at Bereishis.

ולכן נכשל קרח שלא עלה על דעתו להיות שינוי סדר העולם בעבורו.

And this is why Korach stumbled: it did not occur to him that the order of the world would be changed on his account.

Korach's error was assuming that the natural order would not be overturned just for him, and therefore that he would be spared.

לכן סבר שהאמת אתו.

Therefore he thought that the truth was with him.

Misreading his vision of righteous descendants, Korach concluded that he himself must be in the right.

ויש רמז לזה במסורה שהביא בעל הטורים ופקודת כל האדם יפקד כו' שלא ישאר העונש לבניו כמ"ש פוקד עון אבות כו' ע"ש.

And there is a hint to this in the Masorah brought by the Baal HaTurim: "and the visitation of all men shall be visited [upon them]" (Bamidbar 16:29) — that the punishment should not remain for his sons, as in "Who visits the iniquity of the fathers," and so on — see there.

The Baal HaTurim's masoretic note links the word "yifaked" (visited) here to the "visiting of iniquity," hinting that this special death ensured the punishment would not be passed down to the sons.

ויובנו הדברים יותר עפ"י דברינו.

And these matters will be understood better according to our words.

The Sefas Emes notes that his explanation sheds further light on the Baal HaTurim's hint.

לכן נאמר ויאבדו מתוך הקהל.

Therefore it is said, "and they were lost from amid the congregation" (Bamidbar 16:33).

The Torah's precise wording — "lost from amid the kahal" — is itself meaningful, as the Sefas Emes now explains.

פי' שכל מי שמסתלק מעוה"ז במיתה יורשין בניו מקומו ונשאר כחו בכלל הקהל.

Meaning: anyone who departs from this world through [ordinary] death — his sons inherit his place, and his power remains within the collective of the congregation.

Normally, when a person dies in the usual way, his spiritual standing and influence carry on through his children within Klal Yisrael.

אבל הם שירדו חיים נאבדו הם ומעשיהם מכלל הקהל כנ"ל:

But they, who descended alive, were lost — they and their deeds — from the collective of the congregation, as explained above.

Because Korach's company descended alive, they and their deeds were utterly erased from Klal Yisrael, leaving nothing to be inherited by their descendants — which is exactly what allowed his sons to rise so high, untainted.

Summary: Moshe Rabbeinu insisted on an unprecedented death — being swallowed alive into She'ol — because Korach foresaw the towering greatness of his descendants (such as Shmuel HaNavi), which could only be reached if no residue of his sin clung to them; only this change in the order of Creation could fully erase him and his deeds from Klal Yisrael so his sons would inherit nothing of his sin. Korach's fatal error was assuming the natural order would never be altered for his sake, leading him to believe truth was on his side.