Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Numbers 16:16/רמב"ן על במדבר ט״ז:ט״ז
אוַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל קֹרַח אַתָּה וְכָל עֲדָתְךָ הֱיוּ לִפְנֵי ה׳ כָּתַב רַבִּי אַבְרָהָם (אבן עזרא על במדבר ט״ז:ט״ז): כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר כֵּן (לעיל פסוקים ה-ז), אֲבָל הַטַּעַם כַּאֲשֶׁר אָמַר מֹשֶׁה לְקֹרַח הֱיוּ לִפְנֵי ה׳, לָקְחוּ אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ. וְהַנָּכוֹן בְּעֵינַי כִּי מִתְּחִלָּה אָמַר לָהֶם: "זֹאת עֲשׂוּ קְחוּ לָכֶם מַחְתּוֹת קֹרַח וְכָל עֲדָתוֹ וְגוֹ׳, וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר ה׳ הוּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ", וְלֹא אָמַר שֶׁיִּהְיֶה אַהֲרֹן עִמָּהֶם. וְהֵם שָׁתְקוּ, וְאוּלַי לֹא נִתְרַצּוּ וְלֹא הוֹדוּ בְּכָךְ, כִּי חָשְׁבוּ אִם יִהְיֶה אַהֲרֹן עִמָּנוּ תֵּרֵד הָאֵשׁ לְכֻלָּנוּ אוֹ לֹא תֵרֵד כְּלָל וְנִהְיֶה כֻּלָּנוּ שָׁוִים, וְאִם לֹא יִהְיֶה אַהֲרֹן עִמָּנוּ וְלֹא תֵרֵד הָאֵשׁ יֹאמְרוּ כִּי לֹא בָחַר בָּנוּ, וְיַחְשְׁבוּ כִּי בּוֹ כְּבָר בָּחַר שֶׁיָּרְדָה הָאֵשׁ בְּקָרְבְּנוֹתָיו בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי. וְאוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם יֵשׁ לָנוּ טַעֲנָה עָלָיו שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה לִבְחֹר בְּאַהֲרֹן שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הוּא לְבַדּוֹ הַכֹּהֵן, רַק בִּזְכוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁעָשׂוּ הַמִּשְׁכָּן, וּלְכָל שְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר הָיָה יוֹרֵד, וַעֲדַיִן לֹא הוּחְלְפוּ הַבְּכוֹרִים בָּעֵת הַהִיא. עַל כֵּן לֹא הָיָה קֹרַח חָפֵץ לְנַסּוֹת דָּבָר בְּלֹא אַהֲרֹן. וְהָיוּ שָׁם דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם מֹשֶׁה כֵּן, וְהָיוּ הֵם בִּכְלַל מַה שֶׁאָמַר "קֹרַח וְכָל עֲדָתוֹ" (במדבר ט״ז:ו׳), וְכַאֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח לָהֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֹא נַעֲלֶה, וַיִּחַר לְמֹשֶׁה מְאֹד וְרָצָה לִגְזֹר עֲלֵיהֶם שֶׁלֹּא יָמוּתוּ כְּמוֹת כָּל הָאָדָם, אָז חָזַר מֹשֶׁה אֶל קֹרַח וְאָמַר: "קְחוּ אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתַיִם מַחְתּוֹת וְאַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ". וְהִנֵּה הוֹצִיא מִכְּלָלָם דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם. וְזֶה טַעַם "חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתַיִם מַחְתּוֹת", כִּי מַה צֹרֶךְ לְהַזְכִּיר הַמִּנְיָן בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה. וְהִכְנִיס אַהֲרֹן שֶׁיִּהְיֶה עִמָּהֶם. אָז שָׁמַע קֹרַח אֵלָיו כִּי חָשַׁב שֶׁיִּשְׁתַּוֶּה הַמַּעֲשֶׂה בָּהֶם וּבְאַהֲרֹן:
1AND MOSES SAID UNTO KORACH: ‘BE THOU AND ALL THY CONGREGATION BEFORE THE ETERNAL, THOU, AND THEY, AND AARON, TOMORROW.’ Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that “this has already been stated [above, in Verses 5-7: And he spoke unto Korach and unto all his company, saying: ‘In the morning the Eternal will make known etc.’], but the meaning thereof here is: as Moses said to Korach, Be ye before the Eternal, so they took every man his censer.”98The correct interpretation appears to me to be that at first Moses told them: This do: Take you censers, Korach, and all his company … and it shall be that the man whom the Eternal doth choose, he shall be holy,99 and he did not say that Aaron would be together with them. They [also] remained silent, [so that Moses thought] perhaps they did not find this acceptable and did not agree to it, for they may have thought: “If Aaron will be together with us, either the [Heavenly] fire will come down for all of us, or it will not descend at all, so that we will all be alike; whereas if Aaron will not be together with us, and the fire will not come down, the people will say that He has not chosen us, but will think that He has already chosen him [Aaron] inasmuch as the fire came down on his offerings on the eighth day [of the installation of the priests].100 But as far as that [eighth] day is concerned we have a complaint against him [Moses], namely that he should not have chosen Aaron to be the priest alone, since [the Heavenly fire] came down only in the merit of [the whole people of] Israel who made the Tabernacle, and it would have come down for any representative of the congregation, for the firstborns had not yet been exchanged at that time [for the Levites].” Therefore Korach did not want to do any sort of trial without [the participation of] Aaron. Now Dathan and Abiram were [also] present when Moses told them [these instructions], and they were thus included in what Moses said, [This do: take you censers,] Korach, and all his company.101 But after he sent for them, and they said: ‘We will not come up,’102 then Moses was very wroth,103 and wanted to decree that they should not die the common death of all men.104 Therefore Moses returned to Korach and said, Take ye every man his censer … two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.105 Thus he excluded Dathan and Abiram from this group — this being the meaning of [the expression] two hundred and fifty censers, for why was it necessary to mention the number here [since the number of Korach’s company had already been given above in Verse 2]? He also included Aaron amongst them. Then Korach agreed to Moses, for he thought that the matter [of the test] would be decided equally for [both] them and Aaron [as explained above].