רב לכם בני לוי (שם שם ז). הרי אמרתי לכם, לא טיפשין היו, שכך התרה בהם וקיבלו עליהם, הם חטאו על נפשותם, שנאמר את מחתות החטאים האלה בנפשות (שם יז ג), וקרח שפיקח היה מה ראה לעשות שטות זו, אלא עינו הטעתו, ראה שלשלת גדולה עומדת ממנו, שמואל ששקול כמשה ואהרן, ועשרים וארבע משמרות עומדות מבניו, שכולן מתנבאין ברוח הקודש, [שנאמר] כל אלה בנים להימן חוזה המלך בדברי (אלהים) [האלהים] להרים קרן (דה"א כה ה), אמר אפשר הגדולה הזאת עתידה לעמוד ממני, ואני אובד ולא ראה יפה, לפי שבניו עומדין בתשובה ויוצאין מהן, כך היה רואה, לכך נשתטה לבוא לאותה חוקה ששמע מפי משה שכולם אבודין ואחד פלט, והיה האיש אשר יבחר ה' הוא הקדוש.
(Numb. 16:7) YOU LEVITES HAVE GONE TOO FAR! See, I have told you! Were they not fools, in that when he gave them this warning, they took it upon themselves <to offer sacrifice>?27The bracketed words of explanation occur in the parallel accounts of Tanh., Numb. 5:12; Numb. 18:8. They had sinned against their own lives, as stated (in Numb. 17:3 [16:38]): THE CENSERS OF THESE WHO HAVE SINNED AT THE COST OF THEIR LIVES. Now since Korah was a clever man, how did he see fit to commit this folly? It is simply that his eyes misled him. He foresaw a great lineage stemming from himself, <e.g.,> Samuel, who was the equivalent of Moses and Aaron. Moreover, the twenty-four <Levitical> courses would stem from his sons, all of whom would prophesy by the Holy Spirit, [as stated] (in I Chron. 25:5): ALL THESE WERE SONS OF HEMAN,28A descendant of Korah. THE KING'S SEER IN MATTERS PERTAINING TO GOD FOR HIS GREATER GLORY. He said: Is is possible that, when this greatness is going to stem from me, I should perish? But he did not foresee correctly, since his children would repent, and those < great ones> would stem from them. Thus did he foresee.29The two parallels read: “But Moses did foresee this.” He therefore acted the fool in going against that statute, when he heard from the mouth of Moses that they all would perish but one would escape. (Numb. 16:7:) THEN IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT THE MAN WHOM THE LORD CHOOSES IS THE HOLY ONE.
רב לכם בני לוי (שם שם ז). הרי אמרתי לכם, לא טיפשין היו, שכך התרה בהם וקיבלו עליהם, הם חטאו על נפשותם, שנאמר את מחתות החטאים האלה בנפשות (שם יז ג), וקרח שפיקח היה מה ראה לעשות שטות זו, אלא עינו הטעתו, ראה שלשלת גדולה עומדת ממנו, שמואל ששקול כמשה ואהרן, ועשרים וארבע משמרות עומדות מבניו, שכולן מתנבאין ברוח הקודש, [שנאמר] כל אלה בנים להימן חוזה המלך בדברי (אלהים) [האלהים] להרים קרן (דה"א כה ה), אמר אפשר הגדולה הזאת עתידה לעמוד ממני, ואני אובד ולא ראה יפה, לפי שבניו עומדין בתשובה ויוצאין מהן, כך היה רואה, לכך נשתטה לבוא לאותה חוקה ששמע מפי משה שכולם אבודין ואחד פלט, והיה האיש אשר יבחר ה' הוא הקדוש.
(Numb. 16:7) YOU LEVITES HAVE GONE TOO FAR! See, I have told you! Were they not fools, in that when he gave them this warning, they took it upon themselves <to offer sacrifice>?27The bracketed words of explanation occur in the parallel accounts of Tanh., Numb. 5:12; Numb. 18:8. They had sinned against their own lives, as stated (in Numb. 17:3 [16:38]): THE CENSERS OF THESE WHO HAVE SINNED AT THE COST OF THEIR LIVES. Now since Korah was a clever man, how did he see fit to commit this folly? It is simply that his eyes misled him. He foresaw a great lineage stemming from himself, <e.g.,> Samuel, who was the equivalent of Moses and Aaron. Moreover, the twenty-four <Levitical> courses would stem from his sons, all of whom would prophesy by the Holy Spirit, [as stated] (in I Chron. 25:5): ALL THESE WERE SONS OF HEMAN,28A descendant of Korah. THE KING'S SEER IN MATTERS PERTAINING TO GOD FOR HIS GREATER GLORY. He said: Is is possible that, when this greatness is going to stem from me, I should perish? But he did not foresee correctly, since his children would repent, and those < great ones> would stem from them. Thus did he foresee.29The two parallels read: “But Moses did foresee this.” He therefore acted the fool in going against that statute, when he heard from the mouth of Moses that they all would perish but one would escape. (Numb. 16:7:) THEN IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT THE MAN WHOM THE LORD CHOOSES IS THE HOLY ONE.