There is a rule that (-Sotah 8b), “With the measure that a person measures, he is measured with it,” which means that the punishment is always in direct response to what the sin caused. Now, in the story of Korach’s rebellion against Moses we find (a) Dathan & Abirom and Korach’s congregation were swallowed by the Mouth of the Earth, (b) the 250 who brought incense were burnt, and (c) Korach himself was both, he died from being burnt and then his body rolled into the open mouth of the earth, so that the 250 shouldn’t say, “We got burnt and Korach didn’t?!” and the congregation shouldn’t say, “We got swallowed and Korach didn’t?!” Hence, we need to understand (i) what is the connection between the being swallowed with the sin of Korach’s congregation, (ii) between being burnt and the 250 men’s sin, and (iii) Korach’s being burnt and swallowed and his sin?
To understand this, we need to understand what was at the heart of Korach’s sin. Korach’s theme was (-Numbers 16:3), “The entire congregation are all holy, and the L-rd is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above the L-rd's assembly?" And nevertheless, on the opening words of the story (-ibid 16:1), “And Korach took,” Onkeles translates as, “And Korach separated,” defining Korach’s sin as having caused separation! How can it be that Korach’s cry for equality and unity led to the ultimate separation and disaccord, to the point that our sages define (-Ethics, Chapter 5, Mishna 17) every dispute among Jews being of the sin of Korach?!
To understand this, let us see the words Moses uses to squelch the fighting (-ibid 16:5), “Morning and you will know,” upon which our sages comment (-Rashi, ibid), “The Holy One, blessed is He, assigned boundaries to His world. Are you able to transform morning into evening? That is how possible it is for you to undo this, as it says (Genesis 1:5, 7), ‘It was evening and it was morning… and He separated’; similarly (-Chronicles I, 23:13), ‘Aaron was set apart to sanctify him…’” And with this Moses was answering Korach’s erroneous call for equality, which Korach defined as unity. For just as it is only through, “And G-d called the light day, and the darkness He called night, and it was evening and it was morning, one day,” that only through the different parts can one whole unit be made, so too, has G-d created boundaries within the Time, Place and Soul of Holiness: In Place, we find (-Kelim, Chapter 1, Mishna 6), “There are ten grades of holiness: the land of Israel is holier than all other lands…” In Time we find weekdays, holidays, Shabbat, and the Shabbat of all Shabbatot (Yom Kippur). And so too, in Soul we find, “A nation of three (Kohain, Levi and Israelite),” and how the verse (-Deuteronomy 29:9-10), “You are all standing this day before the L-rd, your G-d the leaders of your tribes… your woodcutters and your water drawers.” And this unity among all of creation, and so too, among our people, is dependent on the, “They do not change their functions,” and that they function in peace.
More so, the true definition of unity is not just in that all work in harmony and in peace, but deeper yet, that they, “They call out one to another, and receive one from another.” And so it is, in Place (-Menochos 86b), “And from the Holy Temple went out light to the entire world;” in Time (-Zohar Vol II 63b), “From Shabbat is blessed all days;” and in Soul, the influence of the High Priest, as well as the Priestly Blessings upon all Jews. And so too in reverse, the entire Holy Temple was built by all Jews; Shabbat is possible only by (-Avodah Zarah 3a), “He who toils on the eve of Shabbat eats on Shabbat;” The High Priest must be (-Gittin 59b), “Sanctified for all matters of holiness,” by all of the Jewish people. Hence, for the truest unity to flow from all different parts of the unit within each other is only when there are clear boundaries and definitions to each and every part of the unit. However, when any one part of the unit rebels and demands that he be as a different part of the unit, and that all be homogenous, hence, disconnecting himself from that other part, then the disaccord creates two separations among the entire unit: (i) The Higher (Holy Temple, High Priest, and Shabbat), instead of flowing and imbuing into the Lower (entire world, all Jews, and weekdays), is now separated and ebb upward, and (ii) the Lower, instead of being imbued by the Higher, descend and are swallowed into the nether.
Hence, the 250 (-Numbers 16:2), “chieftains of the congregation, representatives of the assembly, men of repute,” were burnt, in which the element of Fire separates the Four Elements of that which is burnt, in which the higher elements leave, and the Lower element of Earth remains below. And Korach’s Congregation, Dathan & Abirom, who, as the Torah tells their story, were Lower people, causing trouble, were disconnected from the Higher, and were hence, swallowed into the nether. Korach, however, who enticed both the Higher and the Lower, had to hence endure both effects of fighting and separation, being both burnt and swallowed.
The definition of a unit of oneness being made up specifically of different parts, with their well defined boundaries, is the outcome of G-d creating the world through Ten Utterance (“And G-d said, ’Let there be…’”), which is creation as it is from the Finite Linear Permeating Light. However, creation as it is within the Infinite Circular Encompassing Light,” all of creation was brought about by the (-Ethics, Chapter 5, Mishna 1), “With One Utterance it could have been created,” in which all our homogenous within the simplicity and oneness of G-d. And this oneness of how all of creation exists within the oneness of G-d imbues itself and empowers this unity within the Ten Utterances and creation as it is made up of boundaries and parts. However, it is only through our present day service within respecting the boundaries that G-d created among all of creations, Kohain, Levi, Israelite, men, women, Temple Mount, Israel and all of the world, Shabbat, holidays and weekdays, that we bring Moshiach and there will then be the revelation of the oneness of the One Utterance, in how we all exist within the pure simplicity and oneness of G-d.
