Commentaire sur Les Nombres 15:33

המצאים אתו מקשש THEY THAT FOUND HIM PICKING UP WOOD — [The redundancy of the phrase המצאים אתו מקשש עצים intimates that] they warned him not to do this and yet he did not refrain from picking them up even after they had found him and warned him (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 113; Sanhedrin 41a).

They warned him but he did not desist from gathering. The Torah does not say “those who found שקשש” (that he had gathered) rather “מקושש” (he was gathering) meaning that after they saw and found him he was still gathering. Why is it presented it in this manner? To teach that they warned him, but he still continued to gather. This is Rashi’s explanation in Sanhedrin 41a. Re’m explains that if not so, why does the Torah need to say “those who found him gathering,” surely it is obvious that “they brought him near” refers to those who found him. Rather the Torah is saying that those who found him approached him, and he was still gathering, and did not desist.

V. 33. ויקריבו אתו המצאים וגו׳, durch, diese wiederholte Bezeichnung des Subjekts: "המצאים אתו מקשש עצים" ist nach Sanhedrin 41a das Finden zu dem Begriffe des "Befindens" erhöht. Sie trafen ihn nicht nur die Handlung übend, sondern fanden, dass er die Handlung übte, dass sie ihm in vollem Maße zugerechnet werden konnte, d. h. dass er sie mit vollem Bewusstsein ihres ungesetzlichen Charakters und ihrer Folgen übte, ein Befund, der nur durch Fortsetzung der Handlung nach vorangegangener Warnung, התראהsich ergeben konnte:שהתרו בו ועדין הוא מקשש (vergl Schmot 21, 18 und Wajikra 20, 17).

'ויקריבו אותו וגו, “and the men who had found him brought him to Moses;” why did this have to be repeated once more? We had already heard what this man had been found doing on the Sabbath? It was repeated to let us know that the men who found him had warned him of the consequences in store for him if he did not desist.