For inspiration to leave a lasting impact, it must find expression in individual specific acts, words and thoughts

“And Korach took, along with Dasan and Aviram and On ben Peles, the descendants of Reuven” (Bamidbar 16:1).

“W

hat did Korach take?” asks Rashi. Rashi explains that Korach took himself to one side, separating himself from the congregation. He assembled 250 important men and dressed them in talleisim made completely of techeiles. (The mitzvah of techeiles is to attach a string of techeiles to each corner of the tzitzis. The Gemara says the turquoise color reminds the wearer of the oceans and heavens, which recalls Hashem’s majesty.)

Then Korach presented these men to Moshe and asked, “Does a garment made completely of techeiles still require a single techeiles string?” Moshe told him that it did. (Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson, adapted from a talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, lchaimweekly.org)

Shoes and Yitzi don’t get along very well. The latter manages to destroy the former before they even lose their shine. So, I wasn’t thrilled when he showed me that his Shabbos shoes sported a nice hole. (How he managed that on Shabbos, when he doesn’t ride a bike or play ball, is beyond the scope of this article.) I really didn’t want to buy another pair just to have them meet the same untimely death.

Then I remembered the shoes I’d bought for Binyamin for his bar mitzvah had barely been worn; he’d outgrown them soon after the event. (Another topic beyond the scope of this article.) I presented them to Yitzi with a flourish. He stared at them, baffled.

“I don’t know how to tie laces,” he finally said.

Korach and Moshe were actually debating how to inspire people toward holiness. Korach believed that you need to overwhelm people with the majesty of your message. Let their entire “garment,” their entire identity, become all turquoise, melting completely in the “blue” of Heaven.

According to Korach, Judaism is about awakening passion to revolutionize the universe. If we can electrify a soul to make the world a G-dly place, is the individual mitzvah ultimately relevant? Let’s change the world, not stifle that spiritual charge by focusing on individual mitzvos!

Moses disagreed. Letting people’s spirits soar is splendid, but never enough, he said. For inspiration to leave a lasting impact, it must find expression in individual specific acts, words and thoughts. To truly transform people’s lives, you must give them acts through which they can connect to Hashem and bring His morality into the world on a daily basis. The primary focus needs to be on individual daily behavior, changing the world one mitzvah at a time — inspiring people to make one strand of their lives blue.

What is this Velcro generation coming to? Sighing, I sat down with Yitzi to impart the age-old secret.

“First put on your right shoe, then the left, and then we’ll practice tying the left.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why first tying the left if I put my right on first?”

Apparently, this lesson was going to be longer than shoelaces. I was about to spout the reasoning behind this halachah, when the ultimate reason just marched out of my mouth.

“Because Hashem said so, that’s why.”

Korach was a revolutionary, a soul on fire. But Moshe was a leader, a shepherd. A leader’s heart encompasses an entire nation; he is deeply in tune with human nature. Moshe knew that a message that inspires boundless excitement, but that doesn’t demand individual life changes, won’t have lasting impact. Idealistic spirits that want to transform the universe but fail to build it through daily actions eventually fall like Korach — swallowed by the abyss.

As a lefty, this mitzvah always held special attention for me. It doesn’t come naturally to me to put my right shoe on first. I often have to concentrate as I reach for my shoes in the morning, to remember which comes first.

Putting on my shoes has always symbolized to me more than just one simple act. It reminds me that with every small detail, I’m connecting to Hashem, thinking about Him.

I knew I’d explain the concept further to Yitzi. But I also knew there was value in the basic answer — because Hashem said so — since that ties everything together.

 (Originally featured in Family First, Issue 799)