Midrasz do Liczb 16:16

(Fol. 38b) Our Rabbis were taught: Also an oath taken by one before the court must be uttered in a language he understands, and the court must say to him the following introduction to the oath: Be aware (Fol. 39) that the entire world trembled when the Holy One, praised be He! spake on the Mount Sinai: (Ex. 20, 7) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; likewise concerning all transgressions in the Torah it reads: Venakkei (He will forgive), and concerning a false oath, it reads further, Lo Yenakke (He will not forgive); again, for all other transgressions, only the sinner himself is punished, while here (in the case of an oath) the punishment extends also to his family, as it is said (Ecc. 5, 5) Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt; and by the expression flesh one's family is meant, as it is said (Is. 58, 7) From thy own flesh. Furthermore, for all other transgressions the sinner himself is alone punished, while in this case the whole world is punished, as it is written (Hos. 4, 2-3) There is false swearing, etc… . therefore shall the land mourn. But perhaps it means that only when the sinner committed all the transgressions mentioned here in Hosea? This cannot be meant, for it is written (Jer. 23, 10) For because of false swearing mourneth the land. Again, the punishment for all other transgressions is, through the merits of the sinner's forefathers, postponed for some two or three generations, but in this case he is punished immediately, as it is said (Zech. 5, 4) I cause it to go forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely in My name; and it shall abide in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. I bring it forth, means immediately; it shall enter into the house of the thief, refers to one who steals the mind of the people, e. g., he who has no money with his neighbor, maintains that he has and makes the latter swear; into the house of him who sweareth falsely, is to be taken literally; it shall remain in the midst of his house, etc., from this it may be learned that things indestructible by fire or water are destroyed by false swearing. If after having listened to all this introduction, he says: I will not take the oath, the court sends him away immediately [that he might not reconsider his last decision]; but if he says: I will nevertheless swear, the people present say (Num. 16, 16) Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked. Again, when he is ready to take the oath, the court once more says to him: "Be aware that the oath which you take is not according to your own mind, but to the mind of the Holy One, praised be He! and that of the court," as we find in the case of Moses, our teacher, who, when he made the Israelites swear, said: "You shall be aware that your oath is not of your own mind, but by that of the Holy One, is it is said (Deut. 29, 13-14) And not with you alone, etc… . but with him that is standing here, etc. [It is not meant, those who were only at the Mount Sinai, but all future generations]. Whence do we know that even all proselytes who will embrace Judaism in the future? It is said (Ib.) And also with him that is not here with us. From this we infer only regarding the commandments given in that Mount, but whence do we know regarding all commandments that will be established in the future, such as the reading of the Book of Esther? It is said (Est. 9, 27) The Jews confirmed it as a duty, etc. This means they confirmed a duty imposed upon them in the past. The master said: "The whole world trembled, when the Holy One … "But why? Was it because it was ordained on Sinai? Then, all the ten commandments were given there; and if because it is more rigorous, is it indeed so? Is there not a Mishna: The following are classified as lenient positives and negatives, except Thou shalt not bear the holy name, etc.; rigorous are those under the category of capital punishment and Karath, and the commandment Thou shalt not bear, etc., belongs to these [hence, there are many like swearing]. We must therefore say that concerning all other transgressions the Torah says Venakkei, while concerning thou shalt not bear, Lo Yenakke is applied. But do we not find the same Lo Yenakke in connection with all laws? Behold it is written (Ib. 34) Venakkei lo Yenakke? This is explained by R. Elazar, who said: "It is impossible to say Venakkei (he will forgive) since it is followed by Lo Yenakke (he will not forgive), nor is it possible to say he will not forgive after it reads he will forgive, therefore it must mean, he will forgive the repenters, but not those who do not repent."

(Numb. 16:15, cont.:) “And he said unto the Lord, ‘Pay no attention unto their meal offering.’” Do not accept them in repentance.³²Numb. R. 18:10, cont. 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. [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.³³The midrash is also making a point that he traveled on his own donkey. 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 and in their rebellious acts, then (according to Numb. 16:16-18) “Moses said unto Korah, ‘[Tomorrow] you and all your company [are to be present before the Lord: [you, they, and Aaron]; And let each one take his censer […].’ So each one took his censer.” 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 as an eternal statute.” So did he go about seducing each and every tribe as it suited them, until they joined him. How is it shown that when they entered and approached, they were all speaking? It is so stated (Numb. 16:19), “And Korah gathered all the congregation against them.” When they entered and came with him, immediately (we read in Numb. 16:20–21), “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].’” (Numb. 16:22:) “But they fell on their faces and said, ‘O God, the God of all human spirits, [shall one person sin and You become angry with the whole congregation]?’” They said to him,³⁴Numb. R. 18:11. “Master of the world, in the case of a king, when a province rebels against him, when they persist in cursing the king or his deputies, ten or twenty of them, he sends out his legions³⁵Lat.: legiones. and carries out reprisals³⁶Gk.: androlempsia (=androlepsia). against it. So he kills the good with the evil, because he does not know who among them has rebelled and who has not rebelled, who has honored the king and who has cursed him. You, however, know the thoughts of every person, even what the hearts and the reins counsel. So You know who has sinned and who has not sinned, for You know the spirit of each and every person.” It is therefore stated (in Numb. 20:22), “O God, the God of all human spirits.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, “You have spoken well. I am making the matter known, who has sinned and who has not sinned.”

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.”