A Few Thoughts From The Rebbe

This Shabbos is the yom helulah of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.  I would like to share a couple of his teachings on the parsha which I think shed light on his worldview. 

 After the episode of Korach the Torah tells us the laws of the gifts that must be given to the Kohan.  On a simple level this was to strengthen the kehunah belonging to Aharon.  However, possibly this sheds light on the whole debate of Korach.  On the words vayikach Korach, the Targum says vaespalag Korach.  The word espalag means to divide.  The Noam Elimelech connects this division to the division between the water in the heavens and the water on earth.  In the Torah of Chabad, they expand upon this Noam Elimelech.  If Korach was claiming everyone was holy and why should Aharon be chosen, then how could he and all his followers all desire to be kohanim, this seems hypocritical? Just like there was a separation between the levels of the water, so too Korach didn’t disagree that there were people on a higher level (he himself was a Lavi,) he just felt they should be on a separate pedestal.  His complaint was “why should you rule over the nation of Hashem.”  He felt Aharon shouldn’t affect everyone else, why should everyone have to be elevated through Aharon.  He desired that he should have kehunah completely divorced from bringing kedusha to the rest of the people.  That was his claim to kehunah.  He wanted a new kind of kehunah.  Therefore, the Torah tells us the laws of the priestly gifts for one designates part of his profits for the Kohan and that brings kedusha to the rest.  That is the job of the Kohan, to bring kedusha to everyone. (see LIkutay Sichos volume 18 sicha 5.)

Korach failed to understand the leadership expected of the Kohanim.  He thought if you are on a higher level that it should be self-contained.  The job of the Kohan, the leader of the Jewish people is to help bring kedusha to everyone.  This is what the Rebbe did.  He viewed it as his mission to bring out the sparks of kedusha within everyone’s soul.

Why would the 250 men offer the ketores if they knew that they would die? A similar question can be asked in regard to the Kohanim Gedolim in the times of the second Beis Hamikdash.  If they all died within the year (see Yomah 9a and the Yerushalmi,) why would people want to purchase the Kehunah gedolah?  The answer is that a Jew has a desire to come close to kedusha.  Therefore, the 250 people wanted to have the opportunity to offer the ketores and in Bais Sheni people wanted to be able to enter the Kodesh Kadashim to serve Hashem.  That is why the parsha is called Korach and not Vayikach Korach, for the word vayikach refers to the argument of Korach.  We want to focus on the positive dimension of Korach, to desire to come close to Hashem, to be like the Kohan Gadol.  This is the lesson to be taken from Korach, to desire to come as close to Hashem as possible (Likutay Sichos volume 18 sicha 1.)  

The Rebbe constantly stressed that one should not be happy with our avodah.  The Rebbe constantly encouraged people to add in their avodas Hashem.  There are always new missions and mitzvot that we can do or encourage others to do in order to come closer to Hashem.