SPEAK UNTO ELEAZAR THE SON OF AARON THE PRIEST, THAT HE TAKE UP THE CENSERS OUT OF THE BURNING, AND SCATTER THOU THE FIRE YONDER; FOR THEY ARE BECOME HOLY. “The censers [have become holy]. And it is prohibited to have any benefit from them, since they had already made them ‘vessels of service.’” This is Rashi’s language. But I do not know the reason for this prohibition, since it was “strange incense” [which was not part of the daily commandment] that they offered, and if a non-priest makes a vessel of service in order to bring an offering in it outside [the prescribed place in the Tabernacle or Sanctuary], that vessel does not become sanctified! However, it is possible to say that since they did so at the command of Moses, the vessels did become holy, because they dedicated them to G-d, thinking that He would answer them through the [Heavenly] fire and that these censers would remain forever in the Tent of Meeting as [sacred] vessels of service. The correct interpretation, [however,], appears to me to be that Scripture is saying, Because they were offered before the Eternal, therefore they are hallowed, and they shall be for a sign unto the children of Israel,¹⁶⁹ meaning: “I [the Eternal],¹⁶⁹ have sanctified them [so that they may not be used], from the moment that they were offered before Me, in order that they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.”

footnotes: ¹⁶⁹ Verse 3. ¹⁶⁹ Verse 3.

THAT HE BE NOT AS KORACH, AND AS HIS COMPANY, AS THE ETERNAL SPOKE BY THE HAND OF MOSES ‘LO.’ “The word lo [literally: ‘to him’] is like alav (‘about him’), that is, about Korach. And what is the meaning of by ‘the hand’ of Moses, and why is it not written ‘unto Moses’ [as is written elsewhere]? It is a hint to those who dispute the priesthood, that they will be stricken with leprosy, just as Moses was stricken [with it] on ‘his hand.’¹⁷⁰ It was for this reason that Uzziah [king of Judah] was stricken with leprosy [when he attempted to usurp the function of the priests and to offer incense].¹⁷¹ And according to the plain meaning of Scripture,¹⁷² [the interpretation is as follows: if anybody disputes the priesthood and claims it for himself, his punishment] will not be that of being swallowed up and burnt, as happened to Korach and his company; instead, [his punishment] will be like that which Moses received on his hand when it was stricken with leprosy. And some scholars¹⁷³ interpret [the verse to mean]: that no common man, that is not of the seed of Aaron, draw near to burn incense before the Eternal¹⁷⁴ — as the Eternal spoke by the hand of Moses with regard to Aaron, that he and his sons should be priests, and not a layman.” This is Rashi’s language. The correct interpretation is that [the word lo (to him)] refers to Eleazar who is mentioned [at the beginning of the section], when Scripture said, Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest etc.,¹⁷⁵ and the correct order [in meaning] of the verses [before us] is as follows: And Eleazar the priest took the copper censers wherewith they that were burnt had offered, and they beat them out for a covering of the altar¹⁷⁶ — as the Eternal spoke to him by the hand of Moses¹⁷⁴ — to be a memorial unto the children of Israel etc.¹⁷⁴

footnotes: ¹⁷⁰ Exodus 4:6. ¹⁷¹ II Chronicles 26:19. ¹⁷² This interpretation is not found in our texts of Rashi. It is mentioned, however, by Rambam in his Book of the Commandments (see my translation, “The Commandments,” Vol. II, the Eighth Principle, p. 393). ¹⁷³ This interpretation is brought [in our editions of Rashi], by Rashi himself in his own name at the very beginning of the verse. It is thus obvious that Ramban had a completely different text of Rashi before him here. ¹⁷⁴ Verse 5 before us. ¹⁷⁵ Verse 2. ¹⁷⁶ Verse 4. ¹⁷⁴ Verse 5 before us. ¹⁷⁴ Verse 5 before us.

YE HAVE KILLED THE PEOPLE OF THE ETERNAL.’ Onkelos rendered it: “You have caused the death of the people of the Eternal.” Thus he interprets the verse [to mean that] the people accused Moses and Aaron that because they advised Korach and his company to offer up strange incense to G-d of their own accord, those who offered it up were burnt, since G-d had not told Moses to offer up this incense, nor did he tell Israel to do so in the name of G-d; thus they of their own accord proposed this matter as a result of which the people died — when they could have [just as well] given another sign or miracle, through the rod, or [through] some other [harmless] test. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said [that the verse means that the people said]: “What proof is this that the tribe of Levi has been chosen, and that Aaron was chosen to be the High Priest? It is possible that by your prayer or by some [secret] wisdom which you possess you burnt those that offered the incense.” [All this is the language of Ibn Ezra]. And so indeed it appears, that they did not yet believe [in the Divine selection of the tribe of Levi], for when He stated afterwards, *Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers’ house;*¹⁷⁷ And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall bud, and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings etc.¹⁷⁸, Verse 20. — this proves that the people did not [yet] believe, as a result of the fire, that the Levites were chosen [for service in the Sanctuary] and that the firstborn had been exchanged for them, but they thought that Moses and Aaron had caused the fire [of their own accord]. Or [it may be that the people thought] that the punishment came because they burnt the incense with strange fire which He had not commanded them,¹⁷⁹ and [that Aaron was saved because] Aaron’s incense was the [daily] incense of the morning [commanded by G-d],¹⁸⁰ as I have explained.¹⁸¹ [According to this interpretation] the complaint [of the people] was only about [those two hundred and fifty men who offered the incense and who were consumed by] the fire,¹⁸², Verse 35. but not about those men [Korach, Dathan, and Abiram] who were swallowed up by the earth,¹⁸³, Verse 32. for G-d had said to Moses, Get you up from about the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram,¹⁸⁴, Verse 24. and this alluded to the opening of the mouth of the earth. Moses had told this to Israel in the name of G-d. Furthermore, Dathan and Abiram were guilty to a greater extent [in this incident than the two hundred and fifty others], since they mocked the messengers of G-d, and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets.¹⁸⁵ [Hence the people did not complain about the punishment meted out to Korach, Dathan, and Abiram, but only about the fire that consumed the two hundred and fifty men who offered up the incense.]¹⁸⁶ The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the people now believed in the priesthood of Aaron [that he and his descendants were chosen by G-d to serve as priests], since a fire had already come forth from before the Eternal and consumed his offerings,¹⁸⁷ but they wanted the firstborn to minister in the Tabernacle instead of the Levites, and they did not like the exchange [for the Levites] which they had done to them, but they wanted all the tribes [through their firstborn] to have a share in the Service of the House of G-d. Thus they complained: “You have killed them, for you advised them that they should offer up incense like priests, when they were only fit to do the service of the Levites, but not to act as priests who offer up the incense.” This is the meaning of the expression, and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded¹⁸⁸ [thus showing that the people’s complaint was because of the appointment of the tribe of Levi to minister in the Tabernacle, and now it was confirmed that they were indeed chosen instead of the firstborn of all the tribes].

footnotes: ¹⁷⁷ Further, Verse 17. ¹⁷⁸ Ibid. ¹⁷⁹ Leviticus 10:1. ¹⁸⁰ Exodus 30:7. ¹⁸¹ Above, 16:5. ¹⁸² Ibid. ¹⁸³ Ibid. ¹⁸⁴ Ibid. ¹⁸⁵ II Chronicles 36:16. ¹⁸⁶ Ramban wrote all the above as a commentary on Ibn Ezra’s interpretation. In the following text, he presents his own view of this matter. ¹⁸⁷ See Leviticus 9:24. ¹⁸⁸ Further, Verse 23.

GET YOU UP FROM AMONG THIS CONGREGATION, THAT I MAY CONSUME THEM IN A MOMENT. I have not understood the intention of this verse, nor of its companion above, Separate yourselves from among this congregation,¹⁸⁹ for G-d has the power to kill many people in a plague around one righteous person, and he alone remains [alive], as happened during [the plague on] the firstborn of Egypt. Similarly it happened in all other plagues [throughout the generations], that three people would sleep under one blanket — two of them would die whilst the middle one would be saved! It would appear, therefore, that the wrath went forth to slay even the whole congregation with the death of these sinners [Korach and his associates], who had followed in their way, [and so became liable to death either] by the earth opening its mouth or by a consuming fire — these being general punishments which kill all those who are standing there together, unless a miracle of an unusual nature occurs [to save some individuals amongst the people].¹⁹⁰ Or it may be that the Holy One, blessed be He, said this [Get you up …] in honor of the righteous men, for as long as they were amongst them [the sinners], He would not stretch forth His hand against them. The intention in these and similar words is to inform them that they have to plead for mercy and forgiveness, and Moses in his zeal did so immediately.

footnotes: ¹⁸⁹ Above, 16:21. ¹⁹⁰ The thought suggested here is as follows: Moses and Aaron would have been in no danger themselves even if they had not gone away from the midst of the congregation. But since there were some people there who had sympathized with Korach, Moses was commanded to leave that place so that all people should realize the danger involved in remaining there (Kur Zahav).

TWELVE RODS. Aaron’s rod was one of the twelve, since it does not say: “and you shall take a rod for the house of Levi and write Aaron’s name upon it” [but instead it says in the following verse, And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi]; for he was included in the number mentioned. Thus Joseph was counted as only one tribe [and not as two separate tribes — Ephraim and Menasheh], the reason being that the tribes of Israel are always counted as twelve, and because He counted Levi [here as one tribe], He counted Joseph as only one. I will explain this further in Seder V’zoth Habrachah,¹⁹¹ if G-d will bless me to reach it [in my commentary].

footnotes: ¹⁹¹ Deuteronomy 33:6.

THOU SHALT WRITE EVERY MAN’S NAME UPON HIS ROD. Some commentators¹⁹² explain that this refers to the name of the founder of the tribe: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. The correct interpretation is that it means the names of the [present] princes [of the tribes at that time], and He considered Aaron the prince of the tribe of Levi. It was necessary to explain¹⁹³ that they each had only one rod and one prince, meaning: “Even though I have divided them [the Levites] into two families, the priests separately and the Levites separately, yet they are [in fact] one tribe, and have only one prince.” The reason for this is as I have explained,¹⁹⁴ that they only needed proof that it was that tribe [i.e., the tribe of Levi] which was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel [to minister in the Tabernacle].

footnotes: ¹⁹² I have not identified these sources. See Ibn Ezra. ¹⁹³ In Verses 18 and 21. ¹⁹⁴ Above, Verse 6 (towards the end).

PUT BACK THE ROD OF AARON BEFORE THE TESTIMONY, TO BE KEPT THERE, FOR A TOKEN. “As a reminder that I have chosen Aaron to be the priest, so that they should no longer murmur about the [right to the] priesthood.” This is Rashi’s language. But this rod was only a sign that the tribe of Levi was chosen from the rest of the tribes, but did not [serve as a sign] that Aaron should have the priesthood [since the people did not dispute his right to it ever since the Heavenly fire had descended on the eighth day of the installation of the priests and consumed Aaron’s offerings, as explained above].¹⁹⁴ The correct interpretation is that [the expression] to be kept there, for a token means [that the budding of the rod of the house of Levi was to serve as a reminder to Israel that G-d had chosen] the tribe of Levi in exchange for the firstborn. This is because the burning [of Aaron’s offerings by the Heavenly fire] was a sign [that Aaron had been chosen] for the priesthood, and the budding [of the rod was an indication] that the Levites [had been selected for their functions in the Tabernacle], as I have explained.¹⁹⁴ This is the meaning of the expression, and, behold, the rod of Aaron ‘for the house of Levi’ was budded,¹⁹⁵ because it budded for [the benefit of] the whole tribe of Levi, and in their merit [to confirm their appointment to do the holy service]. It is possible that since it became known through the [budding of the] rod that G-d did not desire the service of the firstborn, but preferred that of the Levites, the priesthood [automatically could be given] to Aaron without complaint [on the part of the people], since he was the most honored person in the tribe, being the prince thereof, and it was befitting that he should have the authority of that tribe. But this does not appear to me to be correct, since Gershon was the firstborn of Levi.¹⁹⁶ son of Levi. Hence the budding of the rod could only have served as a reminder that G-d had chosen the tribe of Levi to perform the service rather than the firstborn of all tribes, but it could not have confirmed Aaron’s personal position as High Priest and prince of the tribe, since Gershon was the firstborn, and thereby exercised a claim to it. Therefore we must say that Aaron’s personal right to authority was confirmed by the Heavenly fire which consumed his offerings, as explained above.

footnotes: ¹⁹⁴ Above, Verse 6 (towards the end). ¹⁹⁴ Above, Verse 6 (towards the end). ¹⁹⁵ Verse 23. ¹⁹⁶ Exodus 6:16. Aaron was a grandson of Kohath, who was the second