לָכֵן אַתָּה וְכָל עֲדָתְךָ הַנֹּעָדִים עַל ה’ וְאַהֲרֹן מַה הוּא כִּי תַלִּינוּ עָלָיו: (טז, יא(
Therefore, you and your entire assembly who are joining together are against Hashem! And as for Aharon, what is he that you cause protest against him? (16:11(
Rashi explains: Therefore – because of this you and your entire assembly who are joining together with you, are against Hashem. For I acted by His delegation in giving the kahuna to Aharon, and this dispute is not ours.
It is brought down in the holy seforim that Korach‘s desire for the Kehuna Gedolah was not for the sake of honor or glory, but rather in order to merit closeness to Hashem. For with the breadth of his understanding, he perceived that through the kehuna one could attain a most exalted and lofty spiritual level, which cannot be achieved otherwise. And this is what Moshe told him — that even though his intention was for closeness to Hashem, in practice he was rebelling against Hashem.
And in order to understand properly the argument of Korach and Moshe‘s response, we must penetrate to the depths of Korach‘s thinking, for his desire and claim provoke wonder: Why did he believe himself more worthy than Aharon? It is true that he recognized the lofty level of the Kehuna Gedolah, but still, that is no reason to assume that HaKadosh Baruch Hu would prefer him over Aharon.
We must also understand the reason why the 250 heads of Sanhedrin joined Korach’s group. For from Moshe’s instruction (above, posuk 6), that each man should bring his firepan, we see that they too yearned for the Kehuna Gedolah. And aside from the question we already raised against Korach, we must ask further: How did they not fear to endanger themselves? They knew that there could only be one Kohen Gadol. With 250 candidates, each one had only between one-third of a percent and one-half of a percent chance of being the chosen one. That means there was more than a 99.5 percent chance that he would be offering unauthorized incense and thereby be liable to death. How, then, did they dare to do what they did?
However, it may be said that Korach and his group were animated by a different spirit, and they disputed the very premise that there could be only one Kohen Gadol. This is implied in Rashi‘s wording above (posuk 6) when explaining Moshe‘s message to the 250 leaders regarding the offering of incense. And these are his words: “He said to them: Among the nations of the world there are many customs and many priests, and not all of them gather in one house. But we have only one Hashem, one Aron, one Torah, one Mizbeach, and one Kohen Gadol. And you, 250 men, seek the Kehuna Gedolah. I too desire it! Behold, I will give you the most beloved of services — the ketores [incense], which is dearer than all offerings — and within it is the death potion by which Nadav and Avihu were burned. Therefore, he warned them, ’And it shall be that the man whom Hashem chooses — he is the holy one.’ He is already sanctified. Do we not already know that the one chosen is the holy one? Rather, Moshe said to them: I am telling you in order that you not be guilty. The one who is chosen will come out alive — and you will all perish.” End quote.
Now, from the fact that Moshe had to tell them all this, we can infer that they disagreed with him on this matter. In their view, every person has the potential to ascend the levels of holiness, and anyone who attains the spiritual level that corresponds to the Kehuna Gedolah is therefore also fit to serve as Kohen Gadol. According to their reasoning, the desire of the HaKadosh Baruch Hu was that there be many Kohanim Gedolim who bring Him pleasure through their service. Based on this claim, each one of them sought to offer the ketores — for they were men of stature, and each one of them indeed reached the lofty level associated with the service of the Kohen Gadol. Therefore, Moshe had to correct their error: although it is true that HaKadosh Baruch Hu desires the service of every Jew, that is only in regard to general service. But concerning the service of the kehuna, HaKadosh Baruch Hu desires only one Kohen.
Based on this, we can understand the intention of Moshe when he said to Korach‘s assembly (posuk 11): ’ כי תלינו עליומהוואהרן ‘ - “And Aharon — what is he, that you complain against him?” He meant to tell them that the Kehuna Gedolah which Aharon merited should be considered by them as something secondary. Even though it is indeed a most lofty position, nevertheless, in a case where it is not the will of the Creator, it is worth nothing. So why do you complain against him?
These words must serve as a lesson for all generations. Every seeker of Hashem desires to ascend and to reach a level higher than his present one. However, he must know that his aspiration is not proof that Heaven agrees with him, for at times Heaven desires that he remain specifically in his current level. This is because Heaven knows that the rectification of his soul depends precisely upon his service in his present state. In such a case, they orchestrate from Above that he should not have the ability to ascend further. Therefore, when a person sees that this is how matters stand, it is his duty to accept the decree of Hashem in silence, and not to despise his level and his service. As mentioned, it is a sign from Heaven that his good depends specifically upon his present level and standing.
This concept does not apply only to spiritual levels, as mentioned above, but also to all kinds of positions of authority. Let us take as an example a young Torah scholar [avreich] who has already merited, for many years, to sit between the pillars of study in a yeshiva or a kollel, and to diligently engage in Torah study. As the years pass, he finds that his mind has broadened, and he is fit to take on some Torah-related position. Since his soul desires it, he also tries his luck to obtain his aspiration. But he sees that Heaven orchestrates otherwise. In such a case, it is his duty to recognize that this is a sign from Heaven that they are not pleased with this step. Then, chalila that he should complain about the Divine conduct; rather, he must understand that if Heaven does not consent to it, it is a sign that it is not for his good.
We must understand that the words of Chazal (Avos 4:1), “Who is rich? He who is happy with his lot,” are not referring only to the physical realm, but also to the spiritual realm. At times, a person is required to suffice with his current spiritual level and to rejoice in it. This is when he sees that from Heaven they do not wish for his elevation, and therefore they do not grant him the opportunities or the talents to do so. As is written in the holy sefer Tiferes Shlomo (Parashas Ki Savo), a person must be content with what G-d has granted him, and he should not say in his heart that he wishes to ascend to the levels of the great ones, if those levels are beyond his capability and comprehension. He should rejoice in his portion — see there, where he elaborates on this.
Indeed, it is told of several great men of Israel who toiled for many years to compose Torah works, and in the end their writings were either lost or destroyed. Nevertheless, they accepted the matter with love, for they said that if HaKadosh Baruch Hu orchestrated it this way, then it is a sign that the publication of these writings would not have been for the good of Israel. And even if they did not understand why, they nullified their will before the will of their Creator — to the point that they rejoiced that the stumbling block was withheld from their hands...
