We are told that Korach was not a foolish, simple-minded person. Rather, Chazal say that he was actually quite an intelligent man. The problem is, if he was really so smart, how could he possibly have thought that his rebellion would be successful?! Wasn't it obvious to any living person that Hashem clearly put Moshe in charge? After the numerous first-hand miracles that came about through Moshe, clearly Moshe and Hashem were on the same team. It would be ridiculous to think that Moshe was going to appoint leaders for his own family's ego after all that he sacrificed for the nation. How could Korach think he was right?
The Midrash gives us an answer that Korach got a nevuah that a line of great people would come from him, including Shmuel, so clearly he was going to survive -- thereby proving that his rebellion was correct.
We usually leave the answer at this, but if you think a little more about what we're saying, this answer doesn't help much at all! If the basis for the whole rebellion is that Korach will have a righteous descendent, then it seems that Korach must not be too clever. There's faulty logic here! Korach's children might survive to have some great leaders, but that in no way determines what will happen to him! He could just as easily die, while his children survive!
But the truth of the matter is, Korach was thinking perfectly rationally. He saw how adamantly his children were supporting the rebellion and it was clear according to any conceivable natural course of events that he and his children were in the same boat. They were clearly all going to take part in the rebellion, so if his children were to survive, then there was no doubt that he would too.
Korach's mistake was one small point: that people have a tremendous power to do t'shuvah. People can turn their entire lives around in an instant, something that should be impossible according to natural law. But Korach's children accomplish precisely that -- they do t'shuvah and are saved from the destruction of Korach's family, while Korach himself dies.
Korach WAS an intelligent person. But t'shuvah is something that is so miraculous, that it was inconceivable that such a thing would be possible for his children.
We should take this message to heart.
1) That t'shuvah is a miraculous gift that otherwise shouldn't be logically possible.
2) That each one of us has the power and the potential to achieve the miraculous. We are capable of doing t'shuvah at any point, no matter what the mistake and no matter how deep we seem to have dug ourselves (to the point where logic would consider it impossible to climb out).
May we G-d willing always realize that it is never impossible to change our ways!
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