(כ) וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן לֵאמֹֽר׃(כא) הִבָּ֣דְל֔וּ מִתּ֖וֹךְ הָעֵדָ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את וַאֲכַלֶּ֥ה אֹתָ֖ם כְּרָֽגַע׃(כב) וַיִּפְּל֤וּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶם֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֕ל אֱלֹהֵ֥י הָרוּחֹ֖ת לְכׇל־בָּשָׂ֑ר הָאִ֤ישׁ אֶחָד֙ יֶחֱטָ֔א וְעַ֥ל כׇּל־הָעֵדָ֖ה תִּקְצֹֽף׃ {ס}(כג) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃(כד) דַּבֵּ֥ר אֶל־הָעֵדָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר הֵֽעָלוּ֙ מִסָּבִ֔יב לְמִשְׁכַּן־קֹ֖רַח דָּתָ֥ן וַאֲבִירָֽם׃(כה) וַיָּ֣קׇם מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ אֶל־דָּתָ֣ן וַאֲבִירָ֑ם וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ אַחֲרָ֖יו זִקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃(כו) וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר אֶל־הָעֵדָ֜ה לֵאמֹ֗ר ס֣וּרוּ נָ֡א מֵעַל֩ אׇהֳלֵ֨י הָאֲנָשִׁ֤ים הָֽרְשָׁעִים֙ הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְאַֽל־תִּגְּע֖וּ בְּכׇל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר לָהֶ֑ם פֶּן־תִּסָּפ֖וּ בְּכׇל־חַטֹּאתָֽם׃(כז) וַיֵּעָל֗וּ מֵעַ֧ל מִשְׁכַּן־קֹ֛רַח דָּתָ֥ן וַאֲבִירָ֖ם מִסָּבִ֑יב וְדָתָ֨ן וַאֲבִירָ֜ם יָצְא֣וּ נִצָּבִ֗ים פֶּ֚תַח אׇֽהֳלֵיהֶ֔ם וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֥ם וּבְנֵיהֶ֖ם וְטַפָּֽם׃
(20) and the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,(21) “Stand back from this community that I may annihilate them in an instant!”(22) But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, Source of the breath of all flesh! When one man sins, will You be wrathful with the whole community?”(23) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,(24) “Speak to the community and say: Withdraw from about the abodes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”(25) Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, the elders of Israel following him.(26) He addressed the community, saying, “Move away from the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing that belongs to them, lest you be wiped out for all their sins.”(27) So they withdrew from about the abodes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Now Dathan and Abiram had come out and they stood at the entrance of their tents, with their wives, their children, and their little ones.
הבדלו שלא תגין זכותכם עליהם, כענין ימלט אי נקי:
!הבדלו. In order that due to your remaining close to them your merit will not reflect on them to their credit. Compare Job 22,30 ימלט אי נקי, “he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
ויפלו על פניהם ויאמרו אל אלהי הרוחות לכל בשר. ואיתא בזוהר הק' (במדבר קע"ו:) ת"ח משה ואהרן מסרו גרמיהו למיתה שזה המסירות נפש היה בירור על כל הכלל ישראל, ששורש חיותם מקבלים ממקום גבוה שהוא למעלה מן חטאם, וזה ענין שנזכר כאן לכל בשר וכמו שאמר כבוד אזמו"ר זללה"ה שזה מרמז כמו שכתוב (תהלים ע"ח,ל"ט) ויזכור כי בשר המה רוח הולך ולא ישוב, והיינו שזה ענין הזכרה לטובה שהש"י חס על האדם מפני שהוא רק בשר, וזה ענין שהזכיר משה רבינו ע"ה כאן זה שהתפלל להשי"ת שיעורר ממקום הזה ולא ידח מן כל העדה נדח.
(תפארת יוסף קרח ד"ה ויפלו)
(תפארת יוסף קרח ד"ה ויפלו)
Third, shared suffering is expressed in a feeling of shared obligation and responsibility. When the children of Israel left Egypt, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, pleaded before God, and said: “Lord, God of Hosts of all flesh, shall one man sin and You direct divine wrath at the entire congregation?” (Numbers 16:22).This prayer accomplished that which the “shepherds of Israel” (Ezekiel 34:2) sought. The Holy One agreed with their action and only punished Korah and his cohorts. However, God only demonstrated this loving-kindness momentarily. Forever after, the “I” is ensnared in the sin of his fellow, if he had it within his power to reprimand, admonish, and bring his neighbor to repentance. The people of Israel have a collective responsibility, both halakhic and moral, for one another. The discrete units coalesce into a single halakhic-moral unity, with one all-encompassing and normative conscience and consciousness. The halakhah has already decreed that “all Jews are sureties for one another” (TB Shavu’ot 39a), such that one who has already fulfilled his personal mitzvah is not considered fully absolved thereby and may therefore fulfill the obligation on behalf of others who have not as yet done so. The “I” is not exempt from its obligation so long as his neighbor has not fulfilled that which is incumbent upon him. There is a special covenant of mutual responsibility among the children of Israel. This covenant is expressed in the blessings and imprecations pronounced on Mounts Gerizim and Ebal (Deuteronomy 11:29). It is based upon the notion of peoplehood revealed to Moses in Egypt. Out of this concept grew the covenant of mutual obligation. Moses, the dean of all prophets, in relating this covenant of mutual obligation, emphasized: “For that He may establish you today unto Him as a people, and He shall be unto you as a God” (Deuteronomy 29:12). He thus returned to the formulation of the Covenant of Egypt. “And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7). Here the notion of shared fate was elevated from the plane of communal-political suffering to that of halakhic and moral responsibility. We are all sureties for one another, as it is said: “And the revelations belong to us and to our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:28).12