Devar/5770/Korach
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עברית
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And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his staff shall bud (במדבר יז:כ)
After Korah's congregation came, with extreme effrontery, and disputed the leadership of Moses and Aaron, God commanded that one staff from each tribe should be brought and collected in the Tent of Meeting. The sign which would show which among the tribes was chosen for the work in the Tabernacle was that the staff pertaining to that tribe would bud. Finally: And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and, behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and bore ripe almonds (ibid 33).
It seems that presenting this sign was unnecessary. After all, God had caused the earth to open up and swallow Korah and his congregation! Beyond that, He made fire come and incinerate the rest the two-hundred and fifty people who rebelled against Moses and Aaron -- was it possible to imagine that God desired these rebels and agreed with their point of view?
The first sign, that the earth swallowed up Korah and his congregation, removed an immediate stumbling-block from the Children of Israel. But it was still possible to think that the problem was in their disrespectful approach to Moses and Aaron -- and not necessarily that resistance was bad. The second sign, that fire burnt the rest of Korah's congregation -- quenched the enthusiasm for rebellion amongst the people. However, they still might have thought that had Moses given them a more "fair" test -- there would have been a different outcome. After all, they had seen what happened to Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, in a similar situation!
Therefore the third sign was necessary. Only by means of a clear act was it possible to prove to those rebels that God had chosen Aaron and his sons alone, to work in the Sanctuary. It put forth buds -- e.g., Aaron was not destroyed, but remained among the Children of Israel. It bloomed blossoms -- hinting of the piece worn by Aaron on his forehead when serving (the name in Hebrew "ציץ" is the same). And bore ripe almonds -- these are the Kohanim who act expeditiously to perform God's commandments, may He be blessed.
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