Sforno on Numbers 16:15/ספורנו על במדבר ט״ז:ט״ו

1אל תפן אל מנחתם, do not accept any kind of offering these people would You in order to atone for themselves. Moses chose the מנחה type offering as the example as this is usually the most welcome kind of offering to G’d, and we know that he referred to such gift offerings as being ריח ניחוח pleasant fragrance. He explains that the reason such offerings should not be accepted is that he, Moses, has not forgiven the insult fling at him. [In Samuel I 26,19 David explains to King Sha-ul that G’d is apt to be appeased by someone bringing an offering known as מנחה. Ed.] Here Moses conditions G’d accepting such an offering from Korach on he, Moses, first having been appeased by Korach before daring to ask G’d for atonement. We have a standing rule that even Yom Kippur, a day set aside for atonement, does not atone for sins committed between one person and another unless the offender had first reconciled himself with the party whom he had wronged. (Yuma 85). The prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 18,20-23) elaborates the same point also, asking G’d not to forgive the people for sins committed against fellow Jews until they had first been forgiven by those against whom they had sinned.

2לא חמור אחד מהם נשאתי, I have not even made use of things which any ordinary person would borrow from his neighbour without giving it a thought. This proves that my position of authority was exclusively used for their benefit and not for mine. Their present complaints prove only that they are extremely ungrateful, seeing that they have benefited from my leadership.

3ולא הרעותי את אחד מהם, they cannot even accuse me of having wrongly convicted anyone of them in legal proceedings as they never brought any of their quarrels before me to have me adjudicate them.