Shabbos Parashas Korach - 5780

Shabbos Parashas Korach - 5780

Rabbi Hal Miller

Moshe said to Korach, "Listen now, sons of Levi. Is it not enough for you that

the God of Israel has segregated you from the assembly of Israel to draw you

near to Himself to perform the service of the Tabernacle of God, and to stand

before the assembly to minister for them?" [Bamidbar 16:8-9]

Who is Moshe speaking to? The verse begins, "Moshe said to Korach", followed

by Moshe's words "listen now, sons of Levi". Does "sons of Levi" refer to Korach

and his followers, or is Moshe speaking to the rest of the tribe of Levi here?

Rabbeinu Chananel understands that Korach's entire group were Leviim.

Numerous other commentators take him to task, with varying reasons. We know

that Korach was trying to sway the loyalties of all of Israel, so it would seem

funny that only Levites would join him. Ramban writes extensively to show that

this is not possible for many reasons, such as Dasan and Aviram being brothers

from the tribe of Reuven, as was On ben Peles. The reasons these men united

against Moshe varied, some wanting to maintain privileges for themselves as

firstborn, others wanting those privileges themselves as Levites. Some, such as

Korach, wanted priesthood. But they were not all Levites.

Onkelos asks a preliminary question. Up until now, Moshe is in conversation

with Korach. Why does the Torah now need to say "Moshe said to Korach"?

He says that this is to indicate the separation when Moshe begins to address

the rest of Levi, in our verse.

Rav Hirsch looks at the second of our verses, about standing to minister to the

people. This indicates that the verse is spoken to the tribe of Levi, proving that

it is not said to the Korach group, thus the first part of the verse is, as Onkelos

said, a separation.

The most common explanation is that of Rashi, based on Bereishis Rabbah [18:9],

"Moshe began speaking to Korach in gentle words. When he saw that Korach

would not listen, Moshe spoke to the rest of Levi to separate them before they fell

into Korach's trap. Then he turned back to Korach, "And He who brought you near,

and all your brethren, the sons of Levi." Rashi says that Moshe gave Korach a

chance. When he saw that Korach was obstinate, Moshe switched his audience

to separate off and save the rest of the Levites.