ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף במדבר 8:6

And Korach, son of Yitzhar, son of Kehat, son of Levi, took. Regarding this “taking,” there are many interpretations because it is not specified whether the taking was physical [with hands] or verbal, like take the Levites (Numbers 8:6). Some say that the whole story continues until [the mention of] the sons of Reuben, meaning that he took the sons of Reuben for his dispute, because he sought to gather to himself all those with bitter souls, and he knew that they were bitter about the birthright that was taken from Reuben. And even though it was Jacob who took it away and not Moses, nevertheless, by [arguing that] all authority should return to its original owners, they would think that their birthright would also be returned to them, and thus they would agree with Korach. Some say that he took for his argument the fact that he was the son of Yitzhar, for this was his main argument, saying “my father’s brothers were four…” and since I am the son of Yitzhar, who is more worthy to take the second [position of leadership], as Rashi explained. And some say that the “vav” of and Datan is additional, like the “vav” of and Ayah and Anah (Genesis 36:24), and the meaning is that he took Datan and Aviram to join him. And it is correct to say that both interpretations are valid: That he took for his argument the fact that he was the son of Yitzhar, and he also took Datan and Aviram and On. According to this, the “vav” would not be additional.

Whereas the terms מכורותיך and מולדתיך occur in Ezekiel 16,3-4, describing close relatives in one’s birthplace, in our verse, the vowel tzeyreh under the letter כ converts this word into one that could have been written with a dagesh, i.e. from the conjugation piel, the strong, transitive conjugation, suggesting that these emotions were evident only when the two brothers engaged in a scheme of doubtful ethical merit. The construction of the word is parallel to Job 37,12 where the word מסבות, describes clouds in constant motion foreboding turmoil, nature at its most destructive. Examples of the expected vowel chirik becoming a tzeyreh instead, are found in Lamentations 2,9, as well as in Numbers 8,26, and in Psalms 74,18. In all those examples the addition of the extra “dot” next to the chirik converts the meaning into something stronger, more aggressive, more intense.

כי ה’ אלו-היך מביאך אל ארץ טובה ארץ נחלי מים, “for the Lord your G’d is bringing you to a good land, a land of many rivers full of water, etc.” Moses contrasts the land of Israel with the desert the people find themselves in at this time. We find something similar in verse 6 where Moses emphasizes what grows in the land of Canaan. The products mentioned there including the honey from dates and pomegranates are supposed to account for the growth of blood in our bodies. In our verses Moses mentions only the three principal sources of nutrition. The word ארץ occurs six times in the three verses 7-8-9. The word occurs twice in verse 7, and again twice in each of the next two verses. In the fourth verse the word is הארץ when the Torah speaks about the commandment to say grace after meals, a prayer in which the excellence of the land of Israel is mentioned. The reason that the word ארץ occurs 6 times in the first three verses is that the land of Israel is the source of 6 different climatic zones which spread out from this land and which draw on its qualities. Concerning the seventh climactic zone, the Torah uses the expression הארץ הטובה, with the letter ה marking the one and only country boasting these advantages. When our sages in Avot d'Rabbi Natan speak about 7 regions, they refer to seven different climates which exist in our globe. David praised the seventh of these climates when he said in Psalms 48,3 concerning Mount Zion that it is situated in the most beautiful region, both climate and landscape-wise. The words יפה נוף used by the psalmist refer to the climate of Jerusalem. The word נוף meaning climate occurs in Joshua 17,11 in connection with the division of the Holy land to the tribes. The difference between different “climates” is determined by the proximity of the area in question to the sun. It is a well known fact that when people leave one climatic region to settle in another they are liable to suffer disease and sickness as a result. However, Jerusalem enjoys such a good climate that anyone moving there will not experience any problems but will be healthy and never get sick (based on R' David Kimchi). This is the reason that David calls it משוש כל הארץ, ‘the best climate on earth.”