פּירוש אויף במדבר 16:5

בקר וידע וגו׳ TOMORROW THE LORD WILL MAKE KNOWN [WHO ARE HIS] — “Now (this hour of the day)” — he meant — “is a time of excessive drinking, and it is therefore not proper to appear before Him”. But his real intention in postponing the matter was that perhaps they might repent (abandon their opposition) (Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 5).

“Come morning, the Lord will make known who is His.” This does not mean a time limitation saying that tomorrow this sign will occur, for if so, it should have said Come morning the Lord will make known, what is the meaning of and He will make known with the letter vav [and]? And it should have said “who belongs to Him” rather than who is His. Rather, this is its interpretation: the morning will confirm and clarify with whom the judgment lies. This is because Korah disputed the priesthood and the priestly gifts, as is found in the Midrash (Yalkut 16:1) in the story that Korah told to the entire congregation: “There was a widow who had a sheep, and Aaron took the first of the fleece, the firstborn, the foreleg, and the cheeks, etc.” Evidence for this is that after the earth was calm and quiet from the dispute, God gave Aaron the gifts as “an everlasting covenant of salt.” This implies that Korah was challenging them. And Moses said, By this you shall know that God gave Aaron the gifts in exchange for his service, because anything given in the morning is something given with joy and with a shining countenance, which indicates that the giving is proper, as Rashi explained in Parshat Beshalach (16:7) regarding the manna that was given in the morning. Therefore, it is stated later regarding the priestly gifts, And I, behold, I have given to you — Rashi explains: “with joy,” like behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart (Exodus 4:14), meaning with a shining countenance. And anything given with joy and with a shining countenance is given “in the morning, in the morning,” when He bestows good with that which was properly requested. Thus, the morning will clarify that the truth is with Aaron, and the Lord will make known who is His. For the silver and gold belong to Him, blessed be He, and from His possessions, God gives to His servants who do His will, and not as Korah said, that Aaron took them without the King’s permission, blessed be He.

IN THE MORNING THE ETERNAL WILL MAKE KNOWN WHO ARE HIS — “for the Levitical service. AND WHO IS HOLY — for the priesthood.” This is Rashi’s language. He has explained it well; and the verse is thus stating that G-d will make it known if the Levites are His, just as it is said, and the Levites shall be Mine,⁴²Above, 8:14. or whether the firstborns are still His, just as it is said, for all the firstborn are Mine,⁴³Ibid., 3:13. so that He will not exchange them for the Levites. And who is holy, this refers to the priests who are sanctified for the Divine Service, just as it is said, and Aaron was separated, that he should be sanctified as most holy.⁴⁴I Chronicles 23:13. [He mentioned the Levites] because Korach, in [his attempt] to rally all the people to his side, contested also the [position of the] Levites, and tried to restore the entire service [of the offerings] to the firstborns. And then when these firstborns were burnt up,⁴⁵Further, Verse 35. it became clear that G-d did not choose them for the service, but when Aaron’s [burning of the] incense was accepted, it became known that he is the holy one [selected for the priesthood].