In this week’s Parsha, Moshe’s cousin Korach challenges Moshe’s leadership, and says: “The whole people are holy, why do you raise yourself above the people of God?”

The Midrash comments:

“Korah said to Moses, “In the case of a tallit which is all blue, what is the rule about it being exempt from having the blue tzitzit thread?” Moses said to him, “Such a tallit  is required to have the blue thread.” Korah said to him, “Would not a prayer shawl which is all blue exempt itself, when four blue threads exempt it?”

What is the Midrash adding?  In the pishat, the plain meaning of the text, Korach seems to be arguing for some kind of national consensus or anarchy in place of Moshe’s leadership-why not just leave this argument as it is in the text?  What message is this midrash adding?

The metaphor which the midrash places in the mouth of Korach is interesting in that it actually seems to parallel his argument in the Torah text.   The tallit is like the Jewish people, they are all holy -all blue.  Thus, if all is holy,  it makes sense to say one does not need a special thread, or in this case, a singled out leader.

In fact there is a Kabbalistic tradition that Korach is, on a certain spiritual level, correct.   Rav Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin writes that we live in a world in which God is hidden, and the function of the mitzvot is to place a point of spirituality and to reveal the Divine within this void.  But in the future time of the Messiah, says Rav Tzadok, “We will merit the level of circles instead of lines, the circle representing the all revealed, encompassing Divine light.  At that time of wholeness we will not need the string of blue any more, our garments will be kosher without it.

One day in the time of Moshiach we will all be equal, but in our world, the world that requires repair, where God is not completely revealed, we need more than that. We need the mitzvot to cultivate our sense of God and we need Moshe to lead us.   But, continues Rav Tzadok, there is one time we can gain a taste of this time to come, and feel a bit of that sense of ultimate unity, and utter equality-on Shabbat.  Shabbat is the great equalizer, all our physical things, our jobs, bank accounts, phones, are put aside.  No matter what our weekday positions are, we are together in Shul as one people, -in the words of Korach- “The whole congregation, all are holy.”   Now more and more we are returning to Shul, to be together once again, and it feels redemptive.  See you in Shul!  (Or at least at Kiddush in the park…)