The last few Parshios have been about people who fail to see the uniqueness of someone, or something. Miriam, for example, failed to see the uniqueness of Moshe Rabbeinu as a Navi. She thought that he was the same as every other prophet, and that is why she spoke Lashon HaRa about him. The Meraglim too, failed to see the uniqueness of that land of Israel. They thought that it was just another land to be conquered, so they viewed it strategically, as they would any other geographic area. This resulted in their speaking Lashon HaRa about Eretz Yisrael. In this weeks Parsha, Korach continues the trend by questioning Moshe and Aharon's unique Kedusha value, "The entire congregation is Kadosh, and Hashem is in their midst, why should you [Moshe and Aharon] rule over them? (Bam. 16:3)" Korach and his contingent questioned the authority of Moshe and Aharon saying, "Why are you any more holy then any member of the congregation?" This seems to be the crux of Korach's rebellion.

Rashi on Pasuk Alef leads us to the Midrash Tanchuma, which states explicitly what Korach's claims were against Moshe and Aharon: Korach's first question to Moshe was, "If a garment is made wholly of Techeiles, does it require Tzitzis?" (The requirement of Tzitzis from the Torah is to have a string of blue thread, called Techeiles. Today, since we no longer know how to produce the correct dye, we only wear white strings) Korach's question was a very logical one. The Gemarah says that the point of Techeiles is that the blue reminds us of the sea, which reminds us of the sky, which reminds us of sapphires, which reminds us of the throne of glory. The whole point of Tzitzis is to see those threads of blue and remind us of our spiritual mission in the world. Korach asked, "If the entire garment is made of this blue dye, then why should I need a few strings at the end?" Moshe answers that it doesn't matter what the garment is made of, Tzitzis are required anyway.
The second question Korach asked was, "If there is a house which contains a room full of Torahs, does that room require a Mezuzah?" Why would it help to put a little piece of parchment on the door, if the room is already full of Torah scrolls? Moshe answers that even a room like that would require a Mezuzah.

If Korach's whole rebellion was against the authority of Moshe and Aharon, how are these expressions of it? In other words, how do these questions demonstrate his argument?

The Psukim go on to demonstrate that Aharon is definitely chosen. He wins the fire-pan contest, and eventually the entire contingency of Korach is wiped out. What the Psukim don't say though, is why exactly he is so special. If it's true that Korach failed to see the uniqueness of Aharon, the Psukim should tell us what exactly is so unique about him, right! So, Bnei Yisrael are still not satisfied. Instead of the miraculous destruction of Korach proving to them that Aharon is chosen, it only makes matters worse. Now, instead of a small contingency, all of Clal Yisrael gangs up on Moshe and Aharon, "The entire congregation of Israel complained the next day saying, 'You killed the nation of G-d!' (Bam. 17:6)"

Finally, after a severe plague (which again demonstrates the choseness of Aharon, but does not explain why...), all of the Tribes put staffs into the Mishkan, and only Aharon's sprouts. Suddenly, everyone seems satisfied. There is no more rebellion, and the Torah goes on to a separate topic, discussing the jobs of the Cohanim and Leviim. Then the Parsha concludes discussing the Mitzvah to the Yisraellim of giving gifts to support the Cohanim and Leviim, and that even the Leviim have to support the Cohanim.

The entire Parsha begs for clarification. What exactly is going on?
1) If Korach's whole rebellion was against the authority of Moshe and Aharon, how do his questions about Tzitzis and Mezuzah demonstrate his argument?
2) Why is Clal Yisrael satisfied by the staff incident? What did it prove that the fire-pan contest, or the plague didn't?

We'll go in order, and see what we can do.
The garment (Beged) that the Tzitzis are tied on to, represents the natural/physical world. We speak of the "Arbah Kanfos HaAretz" - "Four corners of the world." Many times the number four is used in reference to the natural world of limitation. So too, the sticks that the tribes place in the Mishkan, represent the natural and the physical aspects of the universe. However, there was one stick that it says, "YaTzis Tzis," - "Sprouted blossoms." The simple meaning of this is that the stick sprouted blossoms which happen to look like tassels, that is what "Tzis" means. But, there is a much deeper explanation. Tzis, is the same word as Tzitzis. Just like the Tzitzis sprout from the Beged and extend beyond it, so too Aharon's stick sprouted blossoms (which look like Tzitzis) that extended beyond it. It was the blossoms on Aharon's staff that made the whole incident a miracle. The blossoms extended the mundane physical/natural staff into a miraculous, supernatural object. So too, the Tzitzis are a Mitzvah that allow the Jew to extend himself beyond the mundane and the natural and lead a supernatural existence, bound up to the infinite. That's what the Gemarah means when it says that the blue Techeiles reminds us of the sea and sky and eventually the throne of glory -- the Tzitzis are a constant reminder to the Jew that he has a higher spiritual mission in the world. The Tzitzis are one way the Jew expresses himself in infinity, by extending himself beyond the four corners of the world through divine Mitzvos.

The Sefer HaChinuch says that [a taste of] the reason why we give gifts to the Cohanim and Leviim is so that they will never have to work. We want them to be so totally focused and devoted towards the service of Hashem, that we free them from worry about mundane things, like food (even though they will only participate in the service once, maybe twice a year!).
The Noam HaMitzvos sees this as the cycle of life where each level of life supports the levels above them. He says that still life (the ground) supports the plant life (vegetables, etc.) which is obviously eaten by the animal life, which in turn feed man, human life. Each level justifies its existence by supporting the higher levels. There would be no point in growing vegetables if they served no purpose! So too, we achieve a higher level of existence by supporting those levels above us, [if you are a Yisrael] by supporting the Cohannim and Leviim. (This is perhaps one of the reasons that in an ideal state, the Jews will be free to learn Torah, and bring spirituality into the world, because the other nations will work the physical world, and support the Jews, in order to make the world a fitting place for spirituality.)

Levi means "an escort," like the word "Levayah." This is what Korach failed to see. The job of the Levi is to help the Cohen. The Levi sings, and does other jobs that allow the Bais HaMikdash to run smoothly, so the Cohanim can go about their business. Every level of life does this job of escorting all the levels above them. Korach failed to grasp this idea. He thought that since all of Bnei Yisrael stood at Sinai, no one was any more Kadosh than anyone else. He felt that each Jew has inherent Kedusha, and therefore needs no leaders. That is why Korach argued that if a Beged is all Techeiles, it shouldn't require Tzitzis. If there is Kedusha in each person, what do they need Moshe and Aharon for? Why do we need to extend beyond? And the argument that a room full of Torah's shouldn't need a Mezuzah is the same idea. If all of Clal Yisrael is a Sefer Torah, why do we need an extra piece of parchment on the doorway?

Korach's arguments were wrong, We require leaders and higher levels of life to allow us to grow. It is through supporting those higher levels that we raise ourselves to new heights in our service of G-d. You see, people were jealous of the Cohanim and Leviim, they said, "Why can't I do the Avodah?" But, no one is ever jealous of Hashem. He does things that we can't do! People realize though, that He has more potential. Part of His uniqueness is that He is one. That is not something we could be jealous of. So, the way we become "closer to G-d" is by supporting Him; helping Him; supporting the next level. (Note: It is specifically through "food" that we accomplish this -- the animals are all involved in the food chain, we support the Cohannim and Leviim with Trumah and Maaser, which is food, and in a very deep way, we "feed" G-d with sacrifices in the Bais HaMikdash, as it says, "Korbani Lachmi.") By doing what G-d tells us, by following Mitzvos, we extend ourselves beyond the Beged, beyond our physical/natural existence, to reach a level above -- transcendence.

Then the Torah concludes the Parsha by telling us that especially those who are Kadosh must respect others who are Kadosh, because if they don't, then those who lack Kedusha certainly won't. Therefore, even the Leviim have to provide for the Cohannim. They have to do their jobs as escorts, so that we won't have the mistaken approach of Korach, Mirriam, or the Meraglim anymore.

We should all merit to see the support system in effect: The Cohannim in their Avodah, the Leviim in their Shirah and Zimrah and the Yisrael in support of them all, Bemeheirah Beyameinu.

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