כאשר דבר ה' ביד משה לו. This phrase is a continuation of what had been introduced at the beginning of verse 4 concerning the pans used by the insurgents for their incense.

The unusual ending לו after the words ביד משה means that G’d had told Moses to relate this instruction to Eleazar. [giving special instructions to Eleazar (verse 2) while his father the High Priest was alive, may have reflected a special sensitivity to Aaron’s feelings on the subject which G’d displayed on this occasion. Ed.]

'אתם המתם את עם ה, they meant that while they agreed that Datan and Aviram having been swallowed up by the earth as being an appropriate punishment for them, they did not see why the 250 men with them who had offered incense deserved the same fate.

הרמו, a similar construction in the imperative mode to המולו in Jeremiah 4,4. However, on account of the letter ר in our word the vowel chirik has been changed to the vowel tzeyre. We encounter similar changes in the vowel pattern in such words as ברך, beyrech, and birech on account of the dagesh. The reason why the Torah speaks here of הרמו instead of הבדלו in 16,21 which was a far weaker command is that by now G’d’s anger was at full strength as Korach’s punishment had apparently not had the desired effect.

ושים קטורת, to teach the people the lesson that the same incense which is causing death when used by non priests is a remedy when used by the priests. This is further priests that only the priests are worthy of performing sacrificial service.

ויעמד בין המתים וכין החיים, the destroyer (angel of death) did not cross beyond where the incense was held by Aaron.

'ויקח מאתם מטה, מטה וגו, after the people had complained about the incense accusing Moses and Aaron as causing death among the people (verse 6) and there had not been clear cut proof that the priesthood was reserved for Aaron and his direct descendants, G’d told Moses that He would furnish additional proof of this, the kind of proof which would preclude any further challenge to this as an established fact confirmed by G’d through a miracle.

והשיכותי, the word is derived from שככה, “calmed down,” as in Esther 7,10 which describes the king’s state of mind once Haman at whom he had been furious had been hanged.

ויוצא פרח ויצץ ציץ ויגמל שקדים, according to the plain meaning of the words when Moses came to inspect these staffs he merely found that Aaron’s staff had blossomed.

ויצץ ציץ, the sprouting of a bud and almonds ripening happened when Moses displayed the staffs to the people. This also explains the word והנה in connection with the blossom, i.e. Moses found something which had already happened, whereas the other details occurred in full view of the people. Had it been otherwise there would have been no point in the Torah writing any more that that ripe almonds were found on Aaron’s staff, i.e. the staff representing the Levites.

לאות לבני מרי, as a sign to forestall similar challenges by future generations to the priesthood and its hereditary transfer from father to son.

ותכל תלונותם, in the future such as when king Uziah arrogated to himself to offer incense in the Temple (Chronicles Ii 26,15). The construction of the word ותכל when we would have expected ותכלה, is parallel to the occasions when the Torah writes צו! as an abbreviated imperative instead of צוה, “tzaveh!”

אבדנו, a reference to 15,33 when the people swallowed by the earth during Korach’s uprising had been described by the Torah as ויאבדו, “they became lost.” The people now felt that a similar fate might befall them on any day if the Tabernacle was so inaccessible to them.

כל הקרב הקרב אל משכן ה' ימות, they spell out what they mean by predicting that they may die any moment. Remember that the prohibition for non-priests not to enter the Tabernacle’s precincts had not been issued yet; this legislation had not yet been published. This is the reason why later in our portion (18,4) as well as in 18,7 both the prohibition and the penalty for violating it are spelled out precisely. In Leviticus where similar legislation did appear it referred only to the offering of sacrifices in the Tabernacle by non-priests (Leviticus 21,17 as well as 22, 3). In that context only priests afflicted with a blemish had been banned from partaking in such activities as had been reserved for priests. Also in chapter 22 there only the eating of sacrificial meat in a state of ritual impurity had been forbidden. At any rate, no death penalty had yet been spelled out for non-priests violating the rules for entering the Tabernacle or handling its furnishings had been discussed.