פירוש על במדבר 17:5

ולא יהיה כקרח means in order that he be not as Korah.

THAT HE BE NOT AS KORACH, AND AS HIS COMPANY, AS THE ETERNAL SPOKE BY THE HAND OF MOSES ‘LO.’ “The word lo [literally: ‘to him’] is like alav (‘about him’), that is, about Korach. And what is the meaning of by ‘the hand’ of Moses, and why is it not written ‘unto Moses’ [as is written elsewhere]? It is a hint to those who dispute the priesthood, that they will be stricken with leprosy, just as Moses was stricken [with it] on ‘his hand.’¹⁷⁰Exodus 4:6. It was for this reason that Uzziah [king of Judah] was stricken with leprosy [when he attempted to usurp the function of the priests and to offer incense].¹⁷¹II Chronicles 26:19. And according to the plain meaning of Scripture,¹⁷²This interpretation is not found in our texts of Rashi. It is mentioned, however, by Rambam in his Book of the Commandments (see my translation, “The Commandments,” Vol. II, the Eighth Principle, p. 393). [the interpretation is as follows: if anybody disputes the priesthood and claims it for himself, his punishment] will not be that of being swallowed up and burnt, as happened to Korach and his company; instead, [his punishment] will be like that which Moses received on his hand when it was stricken with leprosy. And some scholars¹⁷³This interpretation is brought [in our editions of Rashi], by Rashi himself in his own name at the very beginning of the verse. It is thus obvious that Ramban had a completely different text of Rashi before him here. interpret [the verse to mean]: that no common man, that is not of the seed of Aaron, draw near to burn incense before the Eternal¹⁷⁴Verse 5 before us. — as the Eternal spoke by the hand of Moses with regard to Aaron, that he and his sons should be priests, and not a layman.” This is Rashi’s language. The correct interpretation is that [the word lo (to him)] refers to Eleazar who is mentioned [at the beginning of the section], when Scripture said, Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest etc.,¹⁷⁵Verse 2. and the correct order [in meaning] of the verses [before us] is as follows: And Eleazar the priest took the copper censers wherewith they that were burnt had offered, and they beat them out for a covering of the altar¹⁷⁶Verse 4. — as the Eternal spoke to him by the hand of Moses¹⁷⁴Verse 5 before us. — to be a memorial unto the children of Israel etc.¹⁷⁴Verse 5 before us.

למען אשר לא יקרב איש זר "in order that a non-priest should not approach, etc." Why did the Torah add the words "and so that he shall not become like Korach?" Sanhedrin 110 derives from these words that if someone helps a quarrel to continue he is guilty of transgressing a negative commandment. In addition to this interpretation in the Talmud the Torah may have wanted to explain why it had to recall to people, זכרון, what happened to Korach who brought an unauthorised offering, and why it was not sufficient to merely forbid such offerings in the normal manner and to warn of the death that had befallen Korach. People would not be frightened by this. They would consider it an exceptional occurrence. Only the addition of the word זכרון would impress upon them how seriously G'd viewed the offence of someone arrogating to himself the privileges reserved for the priests.

כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה לו. This phrase is a continuation of what had been introduced at the beginning of verse 4 concerning the pans used by the insurgents for their incense.

כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה לו, “as G’d said concerning him (Aaron) through Moses.” Nachmanides writes that the word לו refers to Eleazar who had been mentioned previously in verses 2 and 4, and who had been commanded what to do with the copper remains of the censers and who had made them into a cover for the altar. [The first half of the verse makes better sense if we understand the whole verse as confirming Aaron’s exclusive position as High Priest. Ed.]

ולא יהיה כקרח וכעדתו, “and so that they not become like Korach and his congregation.” Our sages in Sanhedrin 110 derive from this verse that if one participates in and reinforces a quarrel one is guilty of infringing on a negative commandment. The meaning of the whole verse is: “one should not become like Korach and his congregation who had been swallowed by the earth and had been burned but one should prefer to be afflicted with tzoraat.” This is an allusion to people who merely quarrel against the “exclusive hereditary nature of the priesthood” such as King Uzziah who arrogated to himself the privilege reserved for priests. He was punished by becoming a צרוע for the remainder of his days (Chronicles II 26,21). He did not die and did not forfeit his afterlife. [I believe the author uses the words: “a negative commandment” as an example of something not carrying the death penalty. Korach did not merely quarrel but made a “federal case” out of his complaint. Hence his special punishment. Ed.]

In order not to be. Meaning: The Torah is giving a reason, not a warning [indicating a negative commandment]. When the Rabbis say “anyone who strengthens a dispute transgresses the negative prohibition that states ‘Do not be like Korach…’” it is only a Scriptural allusion to a Rabbinic law.

V. 5. קטרת ,להקטיר קטרת steht hier wohl im uneigentlichen Sinne für alles, was מוקטר לפני ד׳ wird, also für alles, was auf dem Altare dem Feuer übergeben wird. So קטרת אילים (Ps. 66, 15). Wird doch eigentliches קטרת überhaupt auf dem מזבח הנחשת nicht dargebracht und kann eine an diesen Altar geknüpfte Warnung am allerwenigsten sich hierauf beziehen. — כאשר דבר וגו׳, die Kap. 16, 5—7 an Korach gerichteten Worte hatte Mosche auf Gottes Geheiß gesprochen. Für einen Mann wie Korach lag darin zugleich die Warnung, sich nicht einer für den Nichtberechtigten jedenfalls verhängnisvollen Gottesentscheidung auszusetzen. Wie die dem Korach angekündigte Entscheidung an ihm in Erfüllung gegangen, so wird sie an jedem Unberechtigten sich erfüllen, der es wagen wird, dem Altare als Priester zu nahen, ohne dazu durch Abstammung von Aharon befugt zu sein. Eine Warnung, die sich auch am König Usia erfüllte (Chron. II. 20, 6).

כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה, “as the Lord had said via Moses.” The plain meaning of the verse is that Eleazar took the copper fire-pans as he had been instructed to do by Moses, whom G–d had told to instruct with this task.

זכרון לבני ישראל למען אשר לא יקרב איש זר, “a reminder to the Children of Israel so that no non priest, etc.;” why was such a reminder necessary? Someone looking at the copper cover on the earthen altar (which was outside the Tabernacle) would be liable to ask: seeing that the Torah had written in Exodus 20,21 “make for Me an earthen altar,” i.e. fill the hollow with earth, what is the good of that earth if it was now going to be covered with copper sheathing?” He would be answered that this sheathing was constructed from the pans used by the rebels who had supported Korach in his rebellion against the hereditary institution of the priesthood. Seeing what had happened to the owners of these censers the people were afraid to question the institution of the priesthood in the future.

כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה לו AS THE LORD HAD SPOKEN BY THE AGENCY OF MOSES לו — The latter word is the same as עליו, “with regard to him”, i.e. “with regard to Aaron”: He had spoken to Moses that he and his sons should be priests; therefore a layman, who is not of the seed of Aaron, shall not approach etc. Similarly in every instance of the words לי or לו or להם which are connected with forms of the verb דבר, their meaning is the same as על, “concerning”. A Midrashic explanation is that לו, “with regard to him”, means: with regard to Korah (not to Aaron). But what, then, is meant by the expression “by the hand of Moses”; why does it not write “unto Moses”? It is used as an intimation to those who rebel against the institution of the priesthood: that they will become stricken with leprosy, just as Moses was stricken with it on his hand, as it is said, (Exodus 4:6) “and he took it (the hand) forth and, behold, it was leprous, white as snow”. And on account of this (that he insisted on offering incense in spite of the priests’ protest) Uzziah was stricken with leprosy (II Chronicles 26:19) (Midrash Tanchuma, Tzav 1 on צו; cf. also Sanhedrin 110a and Rashi on Isaiah 6:4).

The unusual ending לו after the words ביד משה means that G’d had told Moses to relate this instruction to Eleazar. [giving special instructions to Eleazar (verse 2) while his father the High Priest was alive, may have reflected a special sensitivity to Aaron’s feelings on the subject which G’d displayed on this occasion. Ed.]

About Korach. Even though the Torah often writes ביד משה (lit. ‘in the hand of Moshe’ but normally meaning ‘through Moshe’) as in Parshas Beha'aloscha where it writes “according to the word of Hashem in the hand of Moshe” (Bamidbar 9:23, 10:13) and similarly in Parshas Bechukosai (Vayikra 26:46) and Parshas Pinchos (Bamidbar 27:23). Nevertheless, Rashi is answering a question: What is the meaning of “in the hand of Moshe”? For one cannot answer that Hashem said through Moshe to Korach that he would be punished if he disputed the kehunah, since we do not find this in the Torah. Furthermore why would He have commanded Korach any more than the rest of Yisroel? The phrase “to him” certainly refers to Korach, according to the Midrash which says, “This alludes that those who enter a dispute,” a reference to Korach who disputed. Rather one must say that “in the hand of Moshe” comes for one to expound an “allusion that those who dispute…” meaning that it is written “in the hand of Moshe” and there (Shemos 4:6) it is written “Please place your hand in your chest.” Just as there the Torah refers to tzora’as, so too here, those who enter a dispute will be stricken with tzora’as.

כאשר דבר ה׳ ביד משה לו, "as G'd had said to him by means of Moses." The wording of this verse reveals that when Moses had told Korach that G'd would create something new and that he would descend into the bowels of the earth after the earth would split, he had not said this until G'd Himself had told him so. Had the Torah not written this we would have thought that Moses initiated this thought and that G'd did his bidding.

ביד משה לו, ”through Moses to him.” The “him” refers to Korach. The meaning is; concerning Korach. The construction is similar to Genesis 28,15: כי לא אעזבך עד אשר עם עשיתי את אשר דברתי לך, “I will not abandon you until I have carried out all that I have said to you (promised to you) [G-d speaking in Yaakov’s dream of the ladder. Ed.] There too the word לב is to be understood as עליך, “concerning you.”An alternate interpretation understands the word לו, as referring to what Moses had said to Aaron. (Rashi and Ibn Ezra)

Are stricken with tzora’as. Because the Midrash expounds the verse in this manner, we have proof that לו “to him” refers to Korach, the one who disputed the kehunah. For one cannot explain that it refers to Aharon, given that tzora’as has no bearing to him.