The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
The parsha begins with the statement "וַיִּקַּ֣ח קֹ֔רַח" - translated as "Korach took."
The gemara in Sanhedrin 109 asks what did Korach take? Reish Lakish answers that he took a bad deal for himself. But what did he purchase? A person can buy a car that is a lemon, but this is not a car that Korach bought - he did not buy anything!
R' Frand quoted R' Yosef Salant who said that heard from gedolim who explain a Medrash. The Medrash asks - Korach was a brilliant guy - why did he challenge Moshe? How do we know that Korach was brilliant? Because he knew to wait to bring his complaint about the choice of Nasi until Moshe was at his PR low - after the Meraglim it was time for him to make his move.
The Medrash says that Korach made a mistake - he saw in Ruach HaKodesh that he would have great descendants, including Shmuel HaNavi. Korach said - if I have a descendant like Shmuel and 24 groups of nevi'im afterwards, I am special, therefore I must be the one who will prevail.
The Medrash comments that Korach saw incorrectly, as these came out the way they did because they did teshuva. But even more than that, he created a Kiddush Hashem by challenging Moshe, because as a result of his actions, everyone recognized Moshe as the leader. This was a reward for Korach because he caused this revelation. But Korach never realized that this came as a result of his action, not because he was worthy on his own.
R' Frand made a parallel to the sons of Haman who had offspring that wound up learning in Bnei Brak. Why? Because Haman inadvertently caused the Jews to re-accept the Torah as it says "Kimu V'Kiblu HaYehudim" - the Jews accepted and kept the Torah as a result of what occurred with being saved from Haman's plot. Haman was rewarded for this, but not because he intended the result.
The gedolim of Yerushalaim as quoted by R' Salant explain that Korach's purchase was that he paid with his life in order to achieve the recognition of Moshe and to be deserved of having descendants like Shmuel and the nevi'im. This is not a deal that should intentionally be made.
R' Frand said a second vort connected to Moshe's attempt to show the Jews that Levi was the chosen tribe to serve. This was accomplished through the choosing of the staff which budded and flowered. The Torah states that afterwards, each tribe took their staff back
וַיֹּצֵ֨א משֶׁ֤ה אֶת־כָּל־הַמַּטֹּת֙ מִלִּפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־כָּל־בְּנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיִּרְא֥וּ וַיִּקְח֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ מַטֵּֽהוּ
R' Frand quoted the sefer Anshei Erez from the Gateshead Rosh Yeshiva who asked - if every other tribe lost, why would they need to take back their staff?
R' Frand prefaced the vort with a story told by R' Berel Wein about a candidate for Alderman in Chicago who was courting the Jewish vote around Pesach and publicly ate matza. The primary election was held on Chol HaMoed Pesach and he lost. He wanted to show his displeasure so he announced that he was throwing out these --- crackers. This is like the matos - they only evoke bad memories, so why take them?
R' Frand asked - why would someone want to be a Levi or Kohen? You have no land and no real job, and have to live off the generosity of others. Why would they want to be Levi? The answer was that people wanted it for the right reason and they wanted to be close to Hashem. So they took back their staffs so that they could say to their descendants - I was willing to give all of this up. I did not win, but I was willing to try.
R' Frand closed the vort by re-telling a story about a Jew who used to get fired every Friday for not coming in on Shabbos and how the man received a pink slip. The man used the pink slips to decorate the walls of his sukkah. Why? Because he was proud of his being a shomer shabbos. Similarly, the message of retaking the staffs was to show that they had been willing to give it all up.
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