On ben Peles was a man who got caught up in the wrong cause. He appears at the beginning of Korach's rebellion against Moses, but then mysteriously disappears from the narrative.
Korach led a rebellion against Moses, cloaking his desire for power in spiritual language: "The entire congregation is holy!" But beneath these lofty words lay ego and jealousy. On ben Peles, a lesser-known character, initially joined Korach but then vanished from the story.
Rashi explains that On's wife saved him. She pointed out the futility of the fight, recognizing that regardless of who won, her husband would remain a follower, not a leader. Then, with quiet wisdom, she got him drunk, put him to bed, and guarded their tent by brushing her hair outside. This ensured that no man would violate her privacy by approaching, making her husband unreachable to Korach's messengers.
She didn't fight Korach directly. Instead, she removed her husband from the fight entirely.
One of the worst forms of negative energy occurs when it wears holy disguises. This is why spiritually inclined people can get swept up in destructive causes. The righteous language makes the poison harder to detect.
Four ways to avoid the wrong fight
1. Discern the Real Motivation Not all "righteous" battles are pure. Ask yourself: Who truly benefits from this argument? What lies beneath the spiritual rhetoric?
2. Quiet Wisdom Can Be Powerful On's wife didn't confront Korach directly. She set boundaries and removed her husband from harm's way. Sometimes the most effective action is indirect.
3. You Don't Always Need to Win—Just Avoid Losing On didn't defeat Korach; he simply didn't show up. That was enough to save him. Victory isn't always about defeat, sometimes it's about self-preservation.
4. Guard Your Space Just as On’s wife sat at the tent's entrance, we must protect our emotional and mental boundaries from toxic influences.
Are there "Korach-like" influences in your life, charismatic and dramatic, but rooted in ego, that you need to quietly distance yourself from?
As the Rebbe often taught, choose life. Surround yourself with people and causes that truly uplift. The best response to darkness isn't always confrontation; it's clarity, boundaries, and purpose.
Sometimes the most powerful choice is not showing up to the wrong fight.
Have a good shabbos,
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman