All of Them Holy: Korach's Argument

The Yismach Moshe explained Korach's central claim, "For the entire congregation, they are all holy" (Bamidbar 16:3), by looking closely at the word kulom, "they are all." The verse has already said kol ho'eida, "the entire congregation," so why add kulom? Korach argued that if every Jew is holy, then all are equal, Moshe and Aharon included, and they had no right to lead. To show the thought behind this, he used a parable of a musician with a stringed instrument. Some strings sound pleasant alone, others sound harsh, but together they make sweet music. A seasoned musician knows his notes without testing each string, while a beginner must test every string before playing an unfamiliar piece. He applied this to Tehillim 33: sing to Hashem with a ten-stringed harp, for the strings are pleasant when played together. Not only perfect tzaddikim may praise Hashem, since He accepts the songs of all His servants, even those whose deeds are like the foul-smelling chelbonah that was still part of the ketores. This was Korach's claim, that all were on the same level. But there are always weaker individuals who are not on the level of the talmidei chachomim and tzaddikim of their generation. We should see ourselves as different yet equally needed strings on one harp, and praise Hashem together.