Commentary for Numbers 3:29

משפחת בני קהת יוחנו … תימנה THE FAMILY OF THE SONS OF KOHATH SHALL ENCAMP … SOUTHWARD — and next to them was the division of Reuben who, too, were encamped in the South (cf. Numbers 2:10) — “Woe to the wicked, woe to his neighbour!” It was on this account (on account of the friendship caused by this proximity) that some of them (the Reubenites) — Dathan and Abiram and 250 men (who were also mostly Reubenites, cf. Rashi on Numbers 16:1) — were punished together with Korah and his congregation, (cf. Numbers 16:32 ff.), because they were dragged into the quarrel with them (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 12).

Woe to the wicked. The question is widely raised: Why does Rashi explain all of this here? The answer is that he is answering the question: Why did the Torah not write “the families of the children of הקהתי (the Kehosites)” as it writes in the next verse — “of the families of the Kehosites,” and above (v. 27) — “these are the families of the Kehosites”? He explains that this was because “Near them was the banner of Reuven…” They sinned and they caused the congregation to sin, thus it was not correct to write the Name [of Hashem] — with the hei at the beginning and the yud at the end together with their name. (The letters yud hei together comprise one of Hashem’s names.)

And two hundred and fifty men together with Korach. Most of them were from the tribe of Reuven, as we see later in Parshas Korach. It is written in Gur Aryeh that Rashi comes to explain why regarding the children of Gershon the Torah writes (v. 23) “behind the Mishkon they shall camp, on the west” and regarding the children of Merori it states (v. 35) “on the side of the Mishkon they shall camp, on the north”. However here it is written “they shall camp on the side of the Mishkon, on the south” [without juxtaposing the word יחנו (they shall camp)] to the word לתימנה (on the south). This is to teach that the Torah here does not come to instruct them to camp on the south, rather they were already to the south, and it is as if the Torah had written “they shall camp on the side of the Mishkon where they are presently camping”. And for what reason does the Torah teach this? — To say that “This is why they were drawn…”