Bamidbar: Korach Perek 17:1-28

• The fire that is in the fire-pans
• throw away the fire on the ground, off the fire-pans
• It is prohibited to use the fire-pans for personal benefit since they were made into service vessels

Rashi says that they were forbidden from using the fire-pans for personal benefit because they were made into service vessels. But I don’t know the reason of this prohibition to apply here because it was foreign incense that they offered and in the case of a layman who made something into a service vessel in order to bring an offering in it outside the Sanctuary courtyard, the vessel does not become holy. But there are those who say that because he did this by the mouth of Moshe (by his command) it became holy because they sanctified it to the heavens because they thought Hashem will answer them in the fire and behold these fire bans were service vessels in the Tent of Meeting forever. And what is right in my eyes is that Hashem made them holy from the moment they offered them so that it could be a sign to Bnei Yisrael

ואת האש זרה הלאה, not on the place where the remains of burned offerings were stacked on the altar. The reason was that it was incense that should never have been allowed into the precincts of the Tabernacle.

כי קדשו, for only the pans had become holy so that they could not be treated with disrespect.

• From the Mizbeach
• because after they offered/sacrified it to Hashem, they became holy

• That they willfully sinned by opposing Hashem, which is at the cost of your life because Hashem knows everything
• thinned out cover The plates are metal sheets beaten flat
• Which altar? A cover for the copper altar
• reminder for when people say, “These plates are from when people opposed the kohanim and they were burnt.”

When they beat them out they spread and extended it into the cover for the altar

• In order so that no one will be like Korach
• Normally the word means “to him” but here lo means about him, him being Aharon; Aharon spoke to Moshe about his children being cohanim. Therefore, no foreigner will come close who is not a descendant of Aharon. Whenever it says li, lo, or lahem with the word dibur, it means regarding. Its Midrashic interpretation is that lo refers to Korach. So what is “by the hand of Moshe”? Why not just simply “to Moshe”? It refers to those who rebel against the kehunah . They are stricken with tzarat, as it says, “and Moshe took it out, and behold, his hand had tzarat, like snow”.

It is not the next day but rather the same day because the world is close

This does not make sense because Hashem has the power to kill many people in a plague around one righteous person, like he did with the firstborns in Egypt and in other biblical instances. Perhaps he was going to punish them in a way which required them to all be in a concentrated area, like having the Earth swallow them or having a fire pillar come and consume them, like with Korach. Or perhaps, Hashem just wouldn't smite anyone in the presence of such righteous men. Hashed also wanted to notify them that he will punish them to incite their teshuva

How did he know what to do to atone for Bnei Yisroel? The secret was that the Angel of Death would give him a message when he went up to heaven that the kitoret would stop the plague.

He took hold of the angel and he stood him there for by force. The angel said to him, “Release me to do what I was sent for.” Aharon said to him, “Moshe sent me to stop you.” The Angel said to him, “I am the agent of Hashem and you are the agent of Moshe.” Aharon said, “Moshe doesn’t speak from his own heart, rather he speaks from Hashem. If you don’t believe me, Hashem and Moshe are at the opening of the Tent of Meeting. Come with me and ask.” The meaning of the statement is, “And Aharon returned to Moshe.” Another interpretation: why with incense? Because Bnei Yisroel were slandering and vilifying with the incense, calling it a poison of death, and by its hand died Nadav and Avihu, by its hand 150 men were burned. Hashem said, “You will see that it will stop the plague, and it is the sin that caused their death.”

'ויקח מאתם מטה, מטה וגו, After the people had complained about the incense accusing Moses and Aaron as causing death among the people (verse 6) and there had not been clear cut proof that the priesthood was reserved for Aaron and his direct descendants, G’d told Moses that He would furnish additional proof of this, the kind of proof which would preclude any further challenge to this as an established fact confirmed by G’d through a miracle.

אחד מטה כי – Even though they were divided into two families: the family with the kahuna and the levi family one; nonetheless, they are one tribe

וגו׳ בו אבחר אשר האיש והיה – And did everything not get done from Hashem with Korach? Maybe they think that what happened to Korach is because of Moshe and Hashem will take revenge to avenge the honor of his faithful prophets, and the other tribes will never serve him in that way, and this is a test for the staffs

והשכתי – What does this word mean? In Beraishit it’s phrased for when the waters subsided, and it Megillat Esther it’s phrased for when the king’s wrath calmed down

מטותם בתוך – He placed it amongst them so that no one will say that because of the placement that was near the divine presence, it blossomed

העדות באהל – It teaches us that it was given and placed in front of the Tent of Testimony just as Hashem commanded

• פרח ויצא – Like its meaning-it literally blossomed
• ציץ – The budding of the fruit when the blossom falls off
• שקדים ויגמל – When the fruit was recognized, it was recognized that they were almonds. The language of “and the child grew and was weaned” and this language frequently talks about fruits of a tree. “And the buds turn into grapes.” And why almonds? This is the fruit that is the fastest to bloom that all the other fruit. So too, he who opposes the kahuna, his punishment will come quickly. The targum says, “’knotted almonds’ like a cluster of almonds binded together, one on another.

ויראו ויקחו איש מטהו. This was the reminder for all times, a miracle which silenced their complaints forthwith.

לאות למשרת – As a reminder that I chose Aharon as the cohen and to not complain more about the kahuna being for Aharon and his descendants.

לאות למשרת – What sign will the blossomed staff possess? He quotes Rashi saying, “As a reminder that I chose Aharon as the cohen and to not complain more about the kahuna being for Aharon and his descendants.” Ramban disagrees with Rashi. Aharon’s staff was a sign that only the tribe of Levi had been chosen from all the other tribes, not that the kahuna belonged to only Aharon. Ramban’s interpretation of the pasuk is that the staff will be a sign concerning the tribe of Levi, the substitutes of the firstborn. Since the burning was a sign about the kahuna of Aharon, while the blossom on Levi’s staff was the sign concerning the Leviim’s responsibilities. And this is the reason the pasuk states that the staff of Aharon, which is from the house of Levi, has blossomed which means that it had blossomed for the whole tribe and in their merit. Ramban consideres the following argument. Possibly, one could say that even though the blossoming of the staff provided no direct proof of Aharon’s choice as cohen, yet since it was known through the staff that God did not want the firstborn and God did want the tribe of Levi, then the kahuna would obviously be the Aharon’s without further argument, because he was the distinguished one of the tribe of Levi and a prince as inscribed on the Levi staff. Therefore, to him the kahuna would be most fitting. But this isn’t right in my opinion either, because it was Gershon who was Levi’s first born (when Aharon was the descendant of Levi’s second born son-Kahat)

• וגו׳ הקרב הקרב כל – We can’t be cautious of this. Everyone is permitted to enter the outside courtyard in the Mishkan, but if one goes inside the Tent closer than his friend, he will die
• לגוע תמנו האם – Have we been abandoned for death?