Korach 

The sicha for parshas Korach is in Vol. XVIII of Likkutei Sichos.

It is known that the Torah is called “Toras Achas”, one Torah, that although there are four dimensions to Torah, pshat, remez, drush and sod, yet they all make up one, whole Torah. As it is emphasized in Zohar that the inner part of Torah, the pnimiyus haTorah is like the soul of Torah and the revealed part of Torah, the laws of Torah, is like the body of Torah. So it is clear that a body and a soul make up one being – two parts of one being.

According to this, we have to understand the argument Korach started against Moshe and Aharon. In pnimiyus HaTorah, Chassidus and Kabbalah it is explained at length the great level of G-dliness that Korach represented and also the lofty meaning of his argument and his claim. The mistake in Korach’s position was that he was trying to attain a level that isn’t possible and won’t be possible until the world to come. However then it will happen. So he was merely ahead of his time in what he demanded but his demands were legitimate and true and will in the future actually come to be. That is how pnimiyus haTorah explains it.

But in the simple meaning, it seems to be saying that what Korach did was a terrible mistake, a sin, and it dragged him and all of his people down into being swallowed up by the earth. So how can these two meanings both be part of the same idea, the same entity called Torah?

And although this question is not appropriate, because each part of Torah has its unique approach, yet there should be at least somewhere in the revealed part of Torah, some hint or expression of virtue in Korach’s arguments which is explained at greater length in pnimiyus haTorah. So we will understand this by first asking a few questions and clarifying out a few points in the simple meaning of the story.

1) The Torah tells us that there were 250 people who agreed to offer the incense when Moshe challenged them to do this. And Moshe warned them that they placed their life in danger, because not being Kohanim, they are not allowed to do this and they would die from it, just as Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aharon died by going into the Holy of Holies with their incense.

And yet they were willing to do, and as the Midrash says, and Rashi quotes it, we are not fools, when the Torah warned them that they would die for it, they were willing to go ahead with it knowing the consequences, ready to die. So the question is, what brought them to such a sin that they are willing to give their lives for it

2) It says in the Midrash and again Rashi quotes it, concerning Moshe’s response to them, to take these pans and the incense and go in and offer up the incense, and then Moshe said to them, we have only one G-d and one Kohen Gadol, and you, all two hundred and fifty of you want to be kohanim gedolim, I also would want to be. So we need to understand here why does Moshe, who is not agreeing with these two hundred and fifty people who are waging this war against Aharon being the Kohen Gadol as they want it for themselves, say that he too would want to have it? It seems to be justifying their claim and taking their side. Why did Moshe have to say that?

3) In general, we need to understand what was Korach’s argument? G-d said at the Giving of the Torah, that when He speaks to Moshe face to face in front of the people, this would cause the people to believe in Moshe forever. So how could Korach now question whether Moshe was in fact a messenger of G-d? And as for these two hundred and fifty people who were great in their own right, the heads of the Sanhedrin and so on, how could they fail to recognize what G-d promised would be recognized, that “the people will believe in you forever”.

Particularly as the Rambam explains “in you they will believe forever” is an outcome of “we, with our own eyes saw, not someone else, and we ourselves, with our ears, hear G-d speaking to Moshe and not someone else” and “Moshe went up into the clouds and the voice of G-d spoke and we heard the voice of G-d call Moshe, Moshe, go and say to the Jews….” It was so clear and visible to all and we were witnesses to such a degree that if a novi comes along and performs miracles and predicts the future and it all comes true but then says something other than what Moshe Rabbeinu said, then we don’t listen to him and we know for certain that he performed his miracles through magic, through kishuv and we don’t believe him and he is put to death. And that is because we don’t believe in Moshe as a result of his miracles but because we ourselves heard and saw how G-d spoke to Moshe.

So if this is true for all generations to come, how much more so for the generation of Korach who were literally there themselves? How could Korach, not being a novi himself and having seeing all of this, question, how could he deny that Moshe and Aharon are messengers of G-d?

The explanation is that Korach and his men were not questioning that Aharon should be the Kohen Gadol rather they wanted for themselves the same level of holiness. When they came and argued with Moshe, they didn’t question whether Moshe represented G-d’s will, they believed completely that Moshe was the messenger of G-d, and that everything he did, including making his brother the Kohen Gadol, all of this was what G-d wanted. Only they wanted to add something to that, to add to what G-d did: G-d made Aharon the Kohen Gadol, and they wanted every Jew to be the Kohen Gadol. And they knew by demanding it and praying for it, they could change what G-d had already made, as they saw when they sinned with the golden calf, and G-d wanted to destroy them, Moshe’s prayers changed G-d’s mind so to speak and G-d didn’t destroy them.

And so Korach believed that by demanding and by pleading for the level of Kohuna that G-d will extend the holiness from Aharon to the entire tribe of Levi, so that the Leviim which Korach was, would have the holiness of a Kohen. And in fact, since the whole holiness of the Kohanim came to them through a change because originally it was supposed to be the first born, but because the first born sinned, it was taken away from them and given to the Kohen, so Korach felt that by demanding it and by pleading for it and by davening for it, the Leviim could prevail on G-d to make them also Kohanim.

They also had a legitimate argument. Aharon who was the Kohen Gadol had some kind of involvement with the sin of the golden calf. However the entire tribe of Levi refused to participate in that sin, they in fact went to war against those who did. And so their argument was, that if Aharon could be a Kohen Gadol and he did have some connection to the sin of the golden calf, then the tribe of Levi who had no involvement with the golden calf should certainly be deserving of that level of holiness.

So the argument of Korach and his people was not that they came to Moshe and said, G-d didn’t appoint you, but rather that this that G-d created, a Kohen Gadol out of Aharon, G-d could do the same for all of them. This is what they wanted, they wanted the holiness of the Kohen. They didn’t mean to question Moshe’s authority, but as Rashi quotes it, you, you two hundred and fifty people, you all want to be Kohanim Gedolim. Korach actually wanted to be a Kohen Gadol instead of Aharon, but the two hundred and fifty people wanted to be Kohanim in addition to Aharon. This was their desire, their longing – to reach this level.

That is why Moshe Rabbeinu said to them – I also want. I also have the desire to be a Kohen Gadol, to reach that level of Kohuna, which is devoting one’s entire life to the service of G-d, and even to the level of Kadosh Hakadoshim, of going into the Holy of Holies, to yechidus, one on one with G-d. And so Moshe is saying to them, this desire that you have, the desire to be a kohen, the desire to have that level of connection to G-d, this is a virtue. “I also want this”. In fact every Jew should want. But in fact there can only be one Kohen Gadol.

And the two hundred and fifty people who knew that they would die if they offered up the incense agreed to do it anyway because for them the few moments of being able to be in the Holy of Holies, even if it cost them their lives, was worth it to them, as it was with Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aharon.

The Rebbe says, concerning the Kohanim Gedolim in the times of the second Bais HaMikdash, where the Gemarrah says because they were not really worthy to go into the Holy of Holies, every one of them that did, did not survive through that year. And yet, for those that could make every effort to become the Kohen Gadol, even if they had to pay for it, it shows how strong the desire was to experience that closeness with G-d. And so even according to the simple reading of the story, there was something virtuous about Korach and his people because they strove to attain the level of Kohen Gadol.

Now where do they get this desire from as every desire has to have some foothold in reality? We see it in the words of Korach himself. Korach said that the entire people are holy and G-d is in them, so why do you set yourself apart? What is he referring to? He was referring to the fact that at Har Sinai, we all stood together and heard the Torah from G-d. And what did G-d say? G-d said, you will be for Me a nation of Kohanim. So the Baal HaTurim says that at that moment standing at the foot of Har Sinai, every Jew was at the level of the Kohen Gadol. So now, Korach argued, since essentially every Jew is capable of being a Kohen Gadol, and it was only the sin of the golden calf that excluded them from this level, and made it exclusive to Aharon, therefore essentially, were it not for the sin, every Jew could be a Kohen Gadol, and that is where the desire for the Kehuna Gedola comes from. So it is not a far-fetched chutzpah to want to attain that level but it is in fact a natural inclination since every Jew in essence is the Holy of Holies.

And with this we will understand why in Torah this parsha is referred to as Korach, and not  vayikach Korach, Korach gathered the people. The Targum says that vayikach means he split, he split the people, suggesting that that was the sin of Korach. But we don’t call it “Vayikach Korach”, when we refer to this parsha, the title is simply Korach, which does not carry any negative connotation at all. It doesn’t hint at any sin or fault of Korach and that is because in essence Korach’s desire was a positive one, a kosher, holy one.

The message from the word Korach, the message of this parsha is that every Jew should want to be a KohenG. It is not only a lesson for what not to do, that we should not be like Korach, but rather that there is something positive in the desire that Korach had, where Moshe Rabbeinu says I desire it too. It is a positive quality to want to be the Kohen Gadol. But when it comes in fact, the function of the Kohen Gadol, when it comes to starting an argument over the kehuna, for this there is only one Kohen Gadol, who is appointed by Moshe Rabbeinu. At the same time, the desire does not go away and every Jew should maintain this desire for the Holy of Holies.

Now here the Rebbe asks a question. Rambam says concerning the tribe of Levi, that not only the tribe of Levi is set aside to work in the Bais HaMikdash and to devote their lives to G-dliness, but any Jew who’s heart moves him to dedicate himself to this kind of a service, and he rejects all other obligations and puts asides all other concerns, he also becomes Kadosh Kedoshim. Every Jew can volunteer to be a Levi. And yet here we are told concerning the Kohen Gadol, that a person can only desire to be but can’t actually be. So to understand this, we first have to understand the contradiction inherit in this statement.

Regarding the work of the Levi and the Kohen Gadol, the Rambam says concerning being a Levi that it can be accomplished only by goodness of heart, anyone whose heart moves him to dedicate himself can become a Levi, but when it comes to being a Kohen Gadol here the parsha is telling us that it is not something that depends on one’s goodness of heart, or degree of dedication, but that it is an obligation, that it is required that every Jew should want to be a Kohen Gadol, and at the same time, he can’t really be a Kohen Gadol, he can only want.

Concerning avodas Hashem we find three aspects: mitzvahs, Torah and mesires nefesh. Mitzvahs are all connected to the physical, the wool of tzitzis, the leather of tefillin and so on, therefore the mitzvah is primarily to elevate the gashmius, the physical and make it a vessel for G-dliness. Then there is a Torah. Torah is a little bit higher than the world, even though the Torah came down into this world, yet it is a little bit removed above the world and so is not affected by the unholiness of the world, which causes the person who studies Torah also to be a little bit above, a little bit separated from worldly affairs. Then there is mesires nefesh, which Torah says is higher than any limitation of Torah and mitzvahs, it is the yechida, the essential bond between G-d and the Jew that is above all consideration, even the limitations of Torah.

Now these three avodahs all exist in three levels of Jews. The avodah of most Jews is to elevate the world, to go about one’s worldly affairs, to plant and to reap and so on, but to do it all l’shem shomayim, thereby elevating the world. They are called the masters of the good deeds. Then there are the tribe of Levi, their avodah represents the Jew who separates himself from the world, doesn’t get involve with property, and in business affairs and so on, but dedicates his life to the Torah, to the study of Torah, and that puts him a little bit above the world. They are called masters of Torah. Then there is the avodah of the Kohen, particularly the Kohen Gadol, who is not allowed to leave Yerushalayim, or go out of the Bais HaMikdash. He has to be completely removed from the world and completely connected to G-d with mesires nefesh yechida l’yachada.

So now we will understand these two expectations – being a tribe of Levi and being a Kohen Gadol. On the one hand the avodah of a Levi is for everyone, and it is a constant avodah, whereas the job of the Kohen Gadol is only something one wants and it is not constant. To be a Levi is a matter of dedication and contribution, whereas the desire to be a Kohen Gadol is obligation.

In the avodah of the Jew, being in this world, there are two parts: working with himself and working with the world. In general, this distinction is that between those who study Torah and those who do mitzvahs, because doing the mitzvahs is primarily for the world, and studying Torah is primarily for oneself. But the one who is moved, who has the spirit, can make his primary avodah the study of Torah, separating himself from the world, thereby enabling those who are in the world to elevate the world.

The avodah of the Kohen Gadol, this hiskashrus, this deep connection to G-d on the level of mesires nefesh, is not something one does everyday, but one has to want it. In both forms of avodah whether doing mitzvahs and elevating the world or studying Torah and elevating oneself, there has to be the power behind it, that makes it all G-dly, and that is the mesires nefesh, the essential bond between the Jew and G-d. Only when one’s kavanah is to be connected to G-d, then the study of Torah becomes an effective one, because to study Torah not because of a desire to be connected to G-d is not a proper study of Torah. And to be involved in the world not for the purpose of connecting to G-d through is also not a proper way of being in the world.

So the mesires nefesh of the Kohen Gadol is something we need to want as we go about our particular avodah, those who are doing mitzvahs have to do so permeated with a desire to become closer to G-d,  which is the mesires nefesh of a Kohen Gadol, and those who study Torah have to be motivated and permeated with a desire to become closer to G-d otherwise their study will also not be proper.

These are the three levels of Torah, mitzvahs and mesires nefesh, which is the avodah of every Jew. The avodah of the Levi is the talmid chocham who devotes his life to the study of Torah, and is a reminder to the person who does the mitzvahs, that the mitzvahs should be according to Torah. Then he is reminded by the Kohen Gadol, that the study of Torah also must be for the express purpose and the total lishmah to get closer to G-d, and not only studying Torah for the knowledge and for its own sake. And then we are merit in actual fact, not only in desire, the fulfillment of the promise that in future all Leviim will become Kohanim, and every Jew will be on the level of the Kohen Gadol, as it says in the Baal Haturim, that in the world to come, the privilege of Kohen Gadol will be returned to the people “and in the future you will be called Kohanim of Hashem” and that is in the geulah hamitah v’hashlema, alyiday Moshiach Tzeidkeinu, at which time we will have Moshe and Aharon among us.

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