The Weekly Shtikle - Korach

Beginning with the first mitzvah we received while still in Mitzrayim (Shemos 12:3) there is a word that is used quite often to refer to the community or congregation – eidah. The word is featured quite significantly in last week's parsha as (14:27) it is used to teach us (Berachos 21b) that 10 men are required for a minyan. But in this week's episode with Korach and his followers, there is a very precise nuance in the use of the word which may shed some light on how all the events went down.

It would take quite some time to analyze each and every use of the word as it appears 18 times (see concordance.) There are three different contexts in which it is used. Adas Korach (or adasecha, when Moshe is talking directly to Korach) refers to Korach's own cohort. Adas Yisrael is the larger population of B'nei Yisrael – perhaps not all, but at the very least, a large portion of it. The one context which is not as easy to define is eidah without a qualifier which would seem to also refer to the greater population. The group of 250 are referred to as nesi'ei eidah. It would be superfluous to understand that as chiefs of Korach's group. They were Korach's group.

A careful reading of the exchange between Korach and Moshe reveals another aspect of Moshe's great humility. At no point does he call for a national spectacle to expose the flawed campaign of Korach. He demands a showdown simply with (16:6) "Korach vechol adaso," (16:16) "ata vechol adasecha." Moshe did not feel the need to prove himself to the entire population. Only Korach and his group needed to be rebuffed. But Korach had other plans. He wanted the entire nation to bear witness so he, on his own (16:19) summoned "kol ha'eidah." Before his demise, HaShem commands that ha'eidah – the nation – remove themselves from their midst to not follow their fate. (Some of these points are discussed in Ramban to 16:21.)

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Just do it!
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Dikdukian: Vayikach Korach

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