Shabbat Parashat Eikev - 5783

Shabbat Parashat Eikev - 5783

Rabbi Hal Miller

And what He did to Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eliav son of Reuven, when

the earth opened its mouth wide and swallowed them and their households and

their tents and all the sustenance which was at their feet, in the midst of all

Israel. [Devarim 11:6]

Our verse comes in the middle of Moshe telling that the people should remember

all that God did for them, and that they should observe all the commandments he

is now giving them. This particular verse has a few tidbits that seem odd. Why does

it list Datan and Aviram, and not Korach or the rest of the assembly? Why does it

specify that they were sons of Eliav, of Reuven? Why does it mention the earth

opening its mouth and swallowing them and what was theirs, instead of just that

the incident occurred?

As to this last question, Rashi explains that " Wherever one of them would flee, the

earth would split open beneath him and swallow him up." Someone might mistake

the event for a natural disaster if it had been one earthquake that took out the

rebels, but Rashi says that each and every one convicted was caught by his own

personal earth fracture, even surrounded by the rest of Israel, thus it was clearly

Divine in origin.

Ramban offers a lead into the second question, the genealogy of Datan and Aviram.

He notes that only Kohanim were allowed to offer incense, and anyone else doing

so would result in application of an already-existing prohibition and punishment, so

it is not listed again here with the other signs and wonders. Leviim were justified in

being in and around the service, so perhaps by extension, Korach and his family

were also covered elsewhere, not needing a repetition here. Ramban also reiterates

that many of the rebels, including Korach, were consumed by a fire that came from

heaven rather than falling into a hole in the earth. This also addresses the first question.

Onkelos gives us this last point about the consuming fire, plus notes that since Korach's

sons did not, in the end, participate in the rebellion, they were not killed, thus they were

present at this address by Moshe and he did not want to offend them by mentioning their

father's sin.

Talelei Oros has an extended take on the embarrassment issue, following after Onkelos.

Every descendant of Datan and Aviram was wiped out, so there were none who could

be embarrassed, thus mentioning them now was not an issue.