Reb Shlomo Carlebach zt"l on Parshas Korach
(Via Stuie Wax)
You see, Korach was saying to Ahron, "Why should you be the high priest? Why should you make yourself above everybody else?" When you are better than somebody else it’s okay, but when somebody else is better than you, you walk up and you start with a whole civil rights movement?
Friends, don’t kid yourself, the world is like this. I’m allowed to be better than others, but who do you think you are if you think you are better than I? Therefore, the Kotzker Rebbe says on this parsha, that two of the most powerful and important characteristic traits a person has to attain is to be ne'eman and tamim. G-d says to Miriam and Ahron that Moshe Rabbeinu is ‘Bechol Beisi Ne’eman Hu’. A faithful servant doesn’t serve G-d because it's good or because he feels it's sweet. Faithful means I am doing it because G-d says so. Tamim, being whole, means being completely with it. Whole means that I am so completely given to whatever G-d will say. It’s when I am so completely given to G-d, whatever G-d says will be okay with me.
You see, Korach wanted to serve G-d but he mamesh wanted to be the holiest. Ahron was ready to serve G-d even if he was the lowest he didn’t care and therefore was really the holiest. Same with Moshe. Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen to go up to Mount Sinai because Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t want to go up to Mount Sinai. You know what Moshe Rabbeinu felt on Mount Sinai? If G-d would have chosen somebody else he would have been just as happy, absolutely just as happy. We should know what G-d has to say, that is the most important thing. Since Moshe was the only one who just wanted that G-d should tell him what it is, and it didn’t matter to him, therefore he was the only one who was chosen. The other ones… it really mattered to them if it was them or someone else.
The moment it matters to you if it is you or somebody else - you cannot go up to Mount Sinai. You cannot be a high priest or a leader unless it doesn’t matter to you who it is, as long as it is done, only then it could be you.
Good Shabbos!
