Korach's war against the peace of Torah

איתא בזוה"ק כי קרח חלק על שלום אורייתא הוא שלום דכתי' כל נתיבותי' שלום כו'.

It is taught in the Zohar HaKadosh that Korach contended against peace — the Torah is peace, as it is written, "all her paths are peace" (Mishlei 3:17).

The Zohar reveals that Korach's dispute was, at its root, an attack on shalom itself, for the Torah is the very embodiment of peace, all of whose pathways lead to peace.

דהנה כתיב בורא ניב שפתים כו' שלום לרחוק ולקרוב.

For behold, it is written, "[Hashem] who creates the speech of the lips… peace, peace, to the far and to the near" (Yeshayahu 57:19).

The pasuk speaks of peace extended both to the one who is far and the one who is near, pointing to two different modes of relationship with Hashem.

דיש בחי' קירוב וריחוק כמ"ש במ"א על המד' האלוק מקרוב אני ולא מרחוק.

For there is an aspect of nearness and an aspect of distance, as explained elsewhere on the Midrash regarding "Am I a God from near, and not a God from afar?" (Yirmiyahu 23:23).

Hashem's presence reaches a person both through closeness and through distance — He is "the God from near" and equally "the God from afar."

דאלקותו ית"ש בא ע"י קרבות וע"י רחקות.

For the Divine, may He be blessed, comes about through nearness and through distance.

Hashem reveals Himself by means of both pathways — sometimes by drawing a person close, and sometimes specifically through experiences of distance.

וע"ז כתיב ואהבת את ה' אלקיך כו' ובכל מאודך בכל מדה שמודד לך.

And concerning this it is written, "And you shall love Hashem your God… and with all your meod" — "with whatever measure He metes out to you."

"Bechol meodecha" (Devarim 6:5) is darshened by Chazal (Berachos 54a) as "with every measure" — whether He gives nearness or distance, one must love Hashem with it.

שיש לכ"א הנהגה מיוחדת כדאיתא בגמ' הגדלים במים א"י לחיות ביבשה וכן להיפוך מקום חייו של זה מיתתו של זה וכן הוא בהנהגת בני אדם.

For each one has his own particular guidance, as it is taught in the Gemara that creatures raised in water cannot live on dry land, and the reverse — the place of life for one is the place of death for another; and so it is with the conduct of human beings.

Just as some creatures thrive only in water and others only on land, so too each person has a unique avodah and path; what brings one close to Hashem may be the very thing that distances another.

ואהרן בחי' ימין מקרבת.

And Aharon is the aspect of the right hand that draws near.

Aharon represents the "right" — the force of chesed that brings people close.

וקרח שמאל דוחה והלוים הם השומרים מבחוץ בחי' ריחוק.

And Korach is the left that pushes away, and the Levi'im are the guards from outside — the aspect of distance.

Korach, a Levi, represents the "left" — the force of din that repels and pushes away. The Levi'im stood guard at the perimeter of the Mishkan, embodying the aspect of distance rather than closeness.

ואהרן כתיב בי' אוהב שלום כו' ומקרבן לתורה.

Of Aharon it is written that he "loves peace… and draws them near to the Torah."

Aharon's avodah (Avos 1:12) was to love peace and to bring people close to Torah, the opposite of Korach's pushing away.

ולא הי' אפשרות לקרח להתקרב רק ע"י אהרן דוקא כי הוא עמוד השלום.

And there was no possibility for Korach to draw near except specifically through Aharon, for he is the pillar of peace.

The only way Korach could have found closeness was through Aharon himself — the very person he attacked — because Aharon is the pillar of shalom that unites the far with the near.

וכמ"ש רש"י דגדול המחלוקת שאפילו יונקי שדים נאבדו.

As Rashi writes, that the destructiveness of machlokes is so great that even nursing infants were lost.

Rashi (on Korach) notes how devastating strife is — even suckling babies perished in the dispute, showing the terrible power of machlokes.

כמו כן מדה טובה מרובה המחזיק בשלום יכול לקרב אפילו מי שאינו ראוי.

Just so, the measure of good is greater: one who holds fast to peace can draw near even one who is unworthy.

Since Chazal teach that the measure of reward and good exceeds that of punishment, the power of shalom is even stronger than that of strife — it can bring close even a person who does not deserve it on his own.

לכן זיכה אהרן לכל בנ"י וקירבן לתורה.

Therefore Aharon merited to bring all of Bnei Yisrael close and drew them near to the Torah.

Through his middah of peace, Aharon was able to bring every Jew, even the unworthy, close to the Torah.

כי עיקר השלמות בכח התורה.

For the essence of completeness is through the power of the Torah.

True shleimus and peace flow specifically from the Torah, which is the source of all unity.

פי' כל נתיבותי' שלום אפילו הנתיבות שנמשכו מהתורה לרחק פרטי בני אדם הוא להביאם עי"ז להשלימות.

The meaning of "all her paths are peace": even the pathways that the Torah extends to distance particular individuals are meant, through that very means, to bring them to completeness.

Even when the Torah seems to push a particular person away or set him on a path of distance, that "distance" itself is ultimately a route designed to lead him to shleimus — for all her paths are peace.

ואם הי' קרח מאמין בתורה כמ"ש בכל מאודך כו' הי' מתקרב.

And had Korach believed in the Torah, as it says "with all your meod," he would have drawn near.

If Korach had had emunah that even his own "left," his aspect of distance, was a path meant for his good — loving Hashem "with every measure" — he too would have been drawn close.

ומרע"ה עמוד התורה הי' בו ב' הבחי' שלום שלום לרחוק ולקרוב ועליו נאמר ניב שפתים כי הלוים הם לארמא קלא בחי' מדה"ד.

And Moshe Rabbeinu, the pillar of the Torah, had both aspects — "peace, peace, to the far and to the near" — and of him is said "the speech of the lips," for the Levi'im are "to raise the voice," the aspect of the attribute of judgment.

Moshe Rabbeinu, as the pillar of Torah, contained both peace for the far and peace for the near. The Levi'im "raise the voice" in song, which corresponds to middas hadin (the attribute of strict judgment).

ואהרן כל מעשיו בחשאי כמ"ש בזוה"ק וסימנך וידום אהרן.

And Aharon's deeds were all in silence, as it is taught in the Zohar HaKadosh, and your sign is "and Aharon was silent" (Vayikra 10:3).

In contrast to the Levi'im's loud voice of din, Aharon's avodah was quiet and hidden, the aspect of chesed — signified by his silent acceptance at the death of his sons.

ומשה רבינו כולל ב' הדרכים ונק' ניב שפתים כמ"ש בספרים כי השפתים יש בהם ב' הכחות לדבר ולעצור הדיבור.

And Moshe Rabbeinu includes both ways and is called "the speech of the lips," as the sefarim write, for the lips contain two powers — to speak and to hold back speech.

Moshe unites both forces. The "lips" are the perfect symbol, for they can both produce speech (the voice, din) and close to restrain it (silence, chesed) — far and near together.

ולכן רצה מרע"ה להשלים ולהכריע ביניהם כמ"ש מזה בזוה"ק בראשית:

And therefore Moshe Rabbeinu sought to make peace and to mediate between them, as is discussed in the Zohar HaKadosh on Bereishis.

Precisely because Moshe contained both the drawing-near of chesed and the pushing-away of din, he tried to reconcile Korach and Aharon and bring shalom between them.

Summary: Korach's machlokes was fundamentally a war against shalom, since the Torah is peace and "all her paths are peace." Hashem relates to each person uniquely, through nearness (Aharon, the right hand of chesed that draws close) or distance (Korach and the Levi'im, the left of din that pushes away). Even paths of "distance" are really routes to shleimus, and had Korach believed this and loved Hashem "with every measure," even he could have been drawn close — specifically through Aharon, the pillar of peace. Moshe Rabbeinu, who contains both powers like lips that both speak and stay silent, sought to reconcile them all.