Midrash sobre Números 16:12

(Numb. 16:1:) “Now Korah […] took.” [What] he took [was] his prayer shawl and he went to get counsel from his wife.¹¹Numb. R. 18:4. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said (in Numb. 8:6–7), “Take the Levites from among the Children of Israel and purify them. Now this is what you shall do for them to purify them [… and have them pass a razor over all of their flesh].” [Moses] immediately did so to Korah. [Korah] began to go around all Israel, but they did not recognize him. They said to him, “Who did this to you?” He told them, “Moses. And not only that, but taking me by my hands and by my feet, they waved me and said to me, ‘See, you are purified.’ Moreover, he brought his brother Aaron, adorned him like a bride, and had him sit in the tent of meeting.” The enemies of Moses immediately began to incite Israel against him. So they said, “Moses is king, his brother Aaron is high priest, and his children are deputy high priests! The priest has a priestly offering (terumah); the priest has a priestly offering from the tithe¹²See Ter. 4:1.; the priest has twenty-four priestly gifts!”¹³See THal. 2:7-10 for a listing. Immediately (in Numb. 16:3) “They gathered together against Moses and against Aaron, and they said unto them, ‘You have gone too far (rb), for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in the midst of them; so why do you elevate yourselves over the community of the Lord?’” R. Levi said, “At that very time Korah gathered his company and said to them (i.e., to Moses and Aaron), ‘You have increased (rt.: rbh) the burden upon us to be more than the slavery of Egypt. We were better off under the Egyptians than under your authority, for in each and every year fifteen thousand and forty-five of us die.’”¹⁴As the yearly punishment for the sin of the spies amortized over forty years, during which a whole generation Israelites died in the desert (Numb. 14:20–24.) Now they wished to stone him. [Therefore] (according to vs. 4), “When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.” Moses said to them, “I do not desire kingship, nor does Aaron [desire] high priesthood. Thus it is stated (in vs. 11), “and as for Aaron, what is he that you should murmur against him?” Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, did you not command me thus (in Exod. 28:1), ‘And you shall bring near unto yourself Aaron [… to serve me as priests]?’ Now they have arisen against us to kill us.” [So Moses] said to them (in Numb. 16:5), “In the morning the Lord will make known those who [belong to Him…].” What does “morning” mean? R. Nathan said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘If all the magicians of Egypt gathered together and tried to turn the morning into the evening and the evening into morning, they would be unable [to do so]; but just as I [formerly] separated the light and the darkness (in Gen. 1:4), so have I separated out Aaron to sanctify him in the holy of holies.’” Immediately (in Numb. 16:12), “Then Moses sent to summon [Dathan and Abiram…, but they said, ‘We will not come up.’” "We will not go" or "We will not come" is not written here, but “We will not come up.” (Prov. 18:17:) “A fool's mouth is his ruin!” They opened their mouth for a calamity, by saying that they would die by going down and not going up. Just as they spoke, so did they die (according to Numb. 16:33), “So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.” Moses said, “In as much as they did not want to come [to me], I shall go to them. Perhaps they will be ashamed and repent.” It is so stated (in Numb. 16:25), “Then Moses arose and went unto Dathan and Abiram.” When they saw him they began to curse and blaspheme, as stated (in vs. 27), “and Dathan and Abiram came out standing (rt.: ntsb).” Does one go out sitting, kneeling, or lying prostrate?¹⁵The point here is that to mention that Dathan and Abiram were standing seems unnecessary and therefore implies some deeper meaning. It is simply that it is to teach that they went out cursing and blaspheming. As going out and standing upright (rt.: ytsb) is mentioned here, and going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) is [also] mentioned in reference to Goliath the Philistine, where it is written (in I Sam. 17:4, 16), “And there went out a champion [….] Then the Philistine drew near at dawn and in the evening, and he took his stand (rt.: ytsb) for forty days.” Just as going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) involved cursing and blaspheming in that case,¹⁶The cursing and blaspheming is specifically mentioned in I Sam.17:8-10. so also in this case did going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) involve cursing and blaspheming. Moses therefore began by saying (in Numb. 16:29, 32), “If these [people] die….” And it is also written (in Numb. 16:32), “And the earth opened its mouth [and swallowed them].” Come and see how [harmful] dissension is! As anyone who [even] aids dissension, the Holy One, blessed be He, eradicates his memory. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 16:35), “And a fire went forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men [coffering the incense].” R. Berekhyah said, “How harmful is dissension! An emissary of the court on high only imposes a penalty¹⁷QNS; cf. Lat.: censere, which can mean “to tax.” [on people] from the age of twenty years, while the court below [only imposes a penalty] from the age of thirteen years. In the case of Korah's dissension, however, one-day-old babies were burned and swallowed up in nethermost Sheol. Thus it is written (in Numb. 16:27, 33), ‘[and Dathan and Abiram came out standing at the entrance of their tents] with their wives, their children, and their little ones. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.’” It is therefore stated (Numb. 16:1), “Now Korah […] took.”

4 (Numb. 16:1) “Now Korah […] took”: [What] he took [was] his prayer shawl and he went to get counsel from his wife. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said (in Numb. 8:6-7), “Take the Levites from among the Children of Israel and purify them. Now this is what you shall do for them to purify them […] and have them pass a razor over all of their flesh.” [Moses] immediately did so to Korah. [Korah] began to go around all Israel, but they did not recognize him. They said to him, “Who did this to you?” He told them, “Moses. And not only that, but taking me by my hands and by my feet, they waved me and said to me, ‘See, you are purified.’ Moreover, he brought his brother Aaron, adorned him like a bride, and had him sit in the tent of meeting.” The enemies of Moses immediately began to incite Israel against him. So they said, “Moses is king, his brother Aaron is high priest, and his children are deputy high priests! The priest has a priestly offering (terumah) from the tithe⁸See Ter. 4:1.; the priest has twenty-four priestly gifts!”⁹See THal. 2:7-10 for a listing. Immediately (in Numb. 16:3) “They gathered together against Moses and against Aaron, and they said unto them, [‘You have gone too far (rb)’.]” R. Levi said, “At that very time Korah gathered his company and said to them (i.e., to Moses and Aaron), ‘You have increased (rt.: rbh) the burden upon us to be more than the slavery of Egypt. We were better off under the Egyptians than under your authority. Now they wished to stone him. [Therefore] (according to vs. 4), “When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.” Moses said to them, “I do not desire kingship, nor does Aaron [desire] high priesthood. Thus it is stated (in vs. 11), “and as for Aaron, what is he that you should murmur against him?” Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, did you not command me thus (in Exod. 28:1), ‘And you shall bring near unto yourself Aaron [… to serve Me as priests]?’ Now they have arisen against us to kill us.” [So Moses] said to them (in Numb. 16:5), “In the morning the Lord will make known those who belong to Him….” What does this mean? R. Nathan said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘If all the magicians of the world gathered together and tried to turn the morning into the evening and the evening into morning, they would be unable [to do so]; but just as I [formerly] separated the light and the darkness (in Gen. 1:4), so have I separated out Aaron to sanctify him in the holy of holies.’” Immediately (in Numb. 16:12), “Then Moses sent to summon Dathan and Abiram…, but they said, ‘We will not come up.’” "We will not go" or "We will not come" is not written here, but “We will not come up.” (Prov. 18:17) “A fool's mouth is his ruin”: They opened their mouth for a calamity, by saying that they would die by going down and not going up. Just as they spoke, so did they die (according to Numb. 16:33), “So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.” Moses said, “In as much as they did not want to come [to me], I shall go to them. Perhaps they will be ashamed and repent.” It is so stated (in Numb. 16:25), “Then Moses arose and went unto Dathan and Abiram.” When they saw him they began to curse and blaspheme, as stated (in vs. 27), “and Dathan and Abiram came out standing (rt.: ntsb).” Does one go out sitting, kneeling, or lying prostrate?¹⁰The point here is that to mention that Dathan and Abiram were standing seems unnecessary and therefore implies some deeper meaning. It is simply [that it is to teach] that they went out cursing and blaspheming. As going out and standing upright (rt.: ytsb) is mentioned here, and going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) is [also] mentioned in reference to Goliath the Philistine, where it is written (in I Sam. 17:4, 16), “And there went out a champion [….] Then the Philistine drew near at dawn and in the evening, and he took his stand (rt.: ytsb) for forty days.” Just as going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) involved cursing and blaspheming in that case,¹¹The cursing and blaspheming is specifically mentioned in I Sam.17:8-10. so also in this case did going out and standing upright (rt.: ntsb) involve cursing and blaspheming. Moses therefore began by saying (in Numb. 16:29, 32), “If these [people] die….” [And it is also written] (in Numb. 16:32), “And the earth opened its mouth [and swallowed them].” Come and see how [harmful] dissension is! As anyone who [even] aids dissension, the Holy One, blessed be He, eradicates his memory. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 16:35), “And a fire went forth from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men [coffering the incense].” R. Berekhyah said, “How harmful is dissension! An emissary of the court on high only imposes a penalty¹²QNS; cf. Lat.: censere, which can mean “to tax.” [on people] from the age of twenty years, while the court below [only imposes a penalty] from the age of thirteen years. In the case of Korah's dissension, however, one-day-old babies were burned and swallowed up in nethermost Sheol. Thus it is written (in Numb. 16:27, 33), ‘[and Dathan and Abiram came out standing at the entrance of their tents] with their wives, their children, and their little ones. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol.’” It is therefore stated (Numb. 16:1), “Now Korah […] took.”

10 (Numb. 16:12) Then Moses sent to summon Dathan and Abiram: They also persisted in their wickedness and did not care to answer him (ibid., cont.), “and they said, ‘We will not come up.’” Their [very] mouths tripped up [these] wicked men, for a covenant is made with the lips. So they died and went down to the nethermost Sheol, after they had gone down alive to Sheol. (Numb. 16:13) “Is it so small a matter that you have brought us up [from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert], that you must also lord it over us”: They said to him, “On what basis do you assume superiority over us? What good have you done with us? You brought us out of the land of Egypt, which was (according to Gen. 13:10) ‘like the garden of the Lord’; but you have not brought us into the land of Canaan. Rather here we are in the desert, where the plague is sent among us; (according to Numb. 16:14) ‘would you put out the eyes of these people….’” (Numb. 16:15) “Now Moses was very angry”: He was very anguished. Why? When a man argues with his companion and reasons with him; when he answers him, he has peace of mind; but if he does not answer him, then this involves anguish. (Numb. 16:15, cont.) “And he said unto the Lord, ‘Pay no attention unto their meal offering’”: Do not accept them in repentance. Scripture should have said, “Pay no attention unto their service"? What is the meaning of “their meal offering?” This is what Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, I know that these have a share in that meal offering that [Israel offers every day], as stated (Numb. 29:19), ‘in addition to the daily burnt offering, and its meal offering.’ And it is offered from all of Israel. [But] in as much as these have withdrawn from Your children, do not pay attention to their portion. Let the fire leave it alone and not consume it.” (Numb. 16:15, cont.) “I have not taken one donkey from them”: That which I had [a right] to take I did not take. By universal custom, one who works in the sanctuary receives wages from the sanctuary. [In my case, however,] when I went down from Midian to Egypt I had a right to take a donkey from them, since it was on behalf of their needs that I was going down [there]; but I did not take [one]. Similarly also did Samuel the righteous say (in I Sam. 12:3), “Here am I, testify against me before the Lord and before His anointed; whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken?” When I sacrificed an ox for their offerings to seek mercy for them and likewise for anointing a king over them, it belonged to me, as stated (in I Sam. 16:2), “Take a heifer with you […].” And similarly it says (in I Sam. 9:12), “because the people have a sacrifice today at the high place (bamah).” But I took nothing from what belonged to them. Also when I sought to handle their lawsuits and their [other] needs, and when I made the circuit of the cities, as stated (in I Sam. 7:16), “And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, [Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all those places];” [although] by universal custom litigants go to the judge, I went around from city to city and from place to place and the donkey was mine. Now even Moses said to Israel (in Exod. 18:16), “When they have a matter, it comes unto me.” But I (Samuel) did not act in this way. Instead I took the trouble to go to them. (Numb. 16:15, cont.) “And I have not harmed a single one of them,” in that I neither convicted the innocent nor acquitted the guilty. When Moses saw that they continued in their pride, then he said to them (according to Numb. 16:17,) “‘[Tomorrow] you and all your company [are to be present before the Lord].” Then Korah went about all that night and led Israel astray. Now he would say to them, “What do you suppose? That I am busy obtaining greatness for myself? I wish for greatness to go the rounds to all of us, while Moses has taken kingship for himself and has given the high priesthood to his brother Aaron.” So did he go about seducing each and every tribe as it suited them, until they joined him. It is so stated (Numb. 16:19), “And Korah gathered all the congregation against them.” When they all entered, they were speaking with him; immediately (we read in Numb. 16:20–22), “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, ‘Separate yourselves from the midst of this evil congregation, [so that I may consume them in a moment].’ But they fell on their faces.”