Komentarz do Liczb 16:3

רב לכם You TAKE TOO MUCH UPON YOU — i.e. much more than is proper have you taken for yourselves in the way of high Office.

ויקהלו על משה ועל אהרן, Korach, Datan and Aviram, assembled in order to incite against Moses and Aaron in the presence of 250 dignitaries of the people who had allowed themselves to be incited. This incident occurred at a time when a number of Israelites had assembled in the vicinity of Moses waiting to have their respective complaints adjudged. The 250 men mentioned walked around as if minding their own business, wanting to consult Moses about some harmless matter. It was their intention to arouse the crowd in order to provide support for Korach’s and his henchmen’s insurrection as soon as the latter would show up and begin asking hostile questions of Moses and Aaron. They selected an hour of day when there was a sizable crowd in Moses’ vicinity in order to reap the maximum benefit from that, and so that all those who were convinced of the validity of Korach’s complaints would spread the word and bring reinforcements from the plain people in the camp.

רב לכם כי כל העדה כלם קדושים, "a great deal for you, for the whole community is holy." They meant that Moses and Aaron had arrogated too much authority to themselves. In the event that Moses and Aaron would ask wherein precisely they had arrogated to themselves too much authority, Korach and company said that in view of the fact that the entire community was holy having experienced direct communication from G'd something not granted to any other nation, plus the fact that G'd remained within its midst, Moses and Aaron had placed themselves above such a holy nation. By saying ובתוכם השם, "and G'd is in their midst," they hinted that the presence of G'd was due to the people and not to the merit of Moses and Aaron.

כלם קדושים, “they are all holy.” Korach referred to the firstborn Israelites as “holy,” seeing the Torah had written in Exodus 13,2: “sanctify for Me every firstborn.”
ומדוע תתנשאו, “and why do you try to elevate yourselves?” He meant Moses and Aaron respectively claiming the position of King and High Priest.

You have taken much more… With this Rashi resolves many issues. He explains that the word רב is a noun as in הרבה ("much") and he adds “much more” because otherwise one might have said that the greatness that they took for themselves was fitting for them. He also adds the word לקחתם ("you have taken") because the word לכם ("for yourselves") alone would not make sense without being together with “you have taken.” Also, because the dispute was over them having taken more than was appropriate, not over what they already had, he writes here “you have taken … for yourselves” rather than “you have.” Rashi also explains that the word לכם means “for yourselves” because without this one might think that they took it in order to divide among others. He also adds the word “distinction” because the word “much” can refer to ignominy as well as to distinction and exaltedness. Therefore Rashi adds the word “distinction.”

V. 3. ויקהלו וגו׳ ויאמרו וגו׳. Korach, Datan und Abiram traten vor Mosche auf, und nachdem sich die von ihnen dazu aufgeregten zweihundertundfünfzig zur Unterstützung ihrer Vorwürfe und Forderungen in Masse eingefunden hatten, sprachen Korach und seine Genossen als Wortführer der Gesamtheit: רב לכם usw. Indem die Aussage: כל העדה וגו׳ durch כי als Begründung der vorangehenden Behauptung רב לכם ausgesprochen ist, die folgende Frage sich auch dem Vorangehenden nicht durch מדוע als eine durch das Vorangehende begründete Frage, sondern durch ומדוע als eine noch fernere Frage anfügt, so scheinen sie mit zwei Behauptungen, oder vielmehr mit einer Behauptung und einem Vorwurf gegen Mosche aufgetreten zu sein. Zuerst die Behauptung: כל העדה usw. und deshalb רב לכם, die ganze Gemeinde, und zwar nicht כלה in ihrer Gesamtheit, sondern כולם in allen ihren einzelnen Gliedern, ist heilig und in ihrer Mitte ist Gott gegenwärtig: jeder einzelne der sechsmalhunderttausend ist heilig und daher Gott nahe, und es bedarf daher keines Priesters, um für ihn den Ausdruck seiner Gedanken und Gesinnungen im Opfer Gott nahe zu bringen; und es sind eben diese sechsmalhunderttausend und nicht irgend ein einzelner, welchem Gott seine Gegenwart zugesagt, Gott bedarf daher keines Propheten, um sein Wort an diese sechsmalhunderttausend gelangen zu lassen. Daher: רב לכם, alle sind Gott nahe und Gott ist allen nahe, darum braucht es keines Aharons und keines Mosche, daher ist die ganze Stellung Mosche und Aharons eine auf Unwahrheit begründete Anmaßung. Und ferner: wenn es denn für die Beziehungen des Volkes zu Gott an der Spitze der Gesamtheit und für dieselbe stehender einzelner bedarf, warum gerade Aharon und Mosche, warum nicht dem Volke die Wahl seiner Vormänner überlassen, was berechtigt Aharon und Mosche sich an die Spitze der Nation zu stellen?!

כי כל העדה כולם קדושים, “for the entire congregation are all holy.” Korach was referring to the firstborn of each family. (Ibn Ezra). He based himself of Exodus 13,2. It follows that it is the firstborn who have the duty and the privilege to perform the service in the Tabernacle.

כלם קדשים [FOR] ALL [THE CONGREGATION] ARE HOLY — they all heard the utterances on Sinai from the mouth of the Almighty (Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 4).

כי כל העדה, every one of the people

They all heard [the word] at Sinai. Re’m writes: I do not know why Rashi did not make this comment on the phrases, “You shall be holy” (Vayikra 19:12), “You shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy” (ibid. 11:44), and “For [you are] a holy nation” (Devarim 14:2). It appears to me that if not so, here one could have answered that even though the congregation was holy, Moshe and Aharon possessed a higher degree of holiness, for they were prophets and had heard the Word from the mouth of Hashem. Therefore, Rashi explains “they all heard…”

In view of this, מדוע תתנשאו "why do you raise yourselves above the community of G'd?" Korach and company referred specifically to the domain of the Tabernacle and the Sanctuary which Moses had declared out of bounds to ordinary Israelites on pain of death. They accused Moses and Aaron of having insulted the community as a whole by denying them access to the Sanctuary and the opportunity to perform sacrificial service there.

Why do you raise yourselves. They did not dispute with Moshe’s leadership, for every nation needs a king and leader. This was so although they were all holy, and if so, Moshe was no more worthy than anyone else. Regarding the priesthood, however, they said it was not necessary at all.

ומדוע תתנשאו WHY THEN LIFT YE UP YOURSELVES [ABOVE THE ASSEMBLY OF THE LORD] — “If you have taken royal rank for yourself, you should at least not have chosen the priesthood for your brother — it is not you alone who have heard at Sinai: ‘I am the Lord thy God', all the congregation heard it!” (Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 4).

כולם קדושים, from head to toe; (compare Numbers 15,8 you will be completely holy”)

If you took … you should not have chosen. (Nachalas Yaakov) This means: If you took the monarchy you took it rightfully, because you heard all the commandments whereas the community heard only “I am Hashem” and “You shall not have.” But, nonetheless you should not have chosen the kehunah for your brother, given that your brother did not hear any more than the rest of the community. This is what Korach means when he says, “Why do you raise yourselves” referring to both Moshe and Aharon, for it would have been enough for Moshe to have taken only the monarchy. However one should not explain that Korach intended to dispute Moshe’s taking the monarchy as well, because in the entire parshah we only find a dispute regarding only the kehunah.

?ומדוע תתנשאו; in respect of the sanctity, by forbidding the firstborn to carry out sacrificial service in the Tabernacle? Moses himself had performed priestly duties during the first seven days of the consecration of the Tabernacle whereas subsequently Aaron and his sons became priests on a permanent basis.

You were not alone in hearing. (Gur Aryeh) If Hashem wished to teach you a new matter, He would have also said it to everyone, not you alone, [saying] that Aharon was to be the kohein and Elitzafan the leader.