TORAH
FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES
NEVI'IM
PROPHETS
KETUVIM
WRITINGS
Chapter 17
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1Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying:
אוַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר׃
2Order Elazar son of Aharon the Kohen to remove the fire pans—for they have become sacred—from among the charred remains; and scatter the coals abroad.
באֱמֹר אֶל־אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן וְיָרֵם אֶת־הַמַּחְתֹּת מִבֵּין הַשְּׂרֵפָה וְאֶת־הָאֵשׁ זְרֵה־הָלְאָה כִּי קָדֵשׁוּ׃
3[Remove] the fire pans of those who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made into hammered sheets as plating for the mizbayach—for once they have been used for offering to Hashem, they have become sacred—and let them serve as a warning to the people of Yisrael.
גאֵת מַחְתּוֹת הַחַטָּאִים הָאֵלֶּה בְּנַפְשֹׁתָם וְעָשׂוּ אֹתָם רִקֻּעֵי פַחִים צִפּוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ כִּי־הִקְרִיבֻם לִפְנֵי־יְהֹוָה וַיִּקְדָּשׁוּ וְיִהְיוּ לְאוֹת לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
4Elazar the Kohen took the copper fire pans which had been used for offering by those who died in the fire; and they were hammered into plating for the mizbayach,
דוַיִּקַּח אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן אֵת מַחְתּוֹת הַנְּחֹשֶׁת אֲשֶׁר הִקְרִיבוּ הַשְּׂרֻפִים וַיְרַקְּעוּם צִפּוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ׃
5as Hashem had ordered him through Moshe. It was to be a reminder to the Israelites, so that no outsider—one not of Aharon's offspring—should presume to offer incense before Hashem and suffer the fate of Korach and his band.
הזִכָּרוֹן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִקְרַב אִישׁ זָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא מִזֶּרַע אַהֲרֹן הוּא לְהַקְטִיר קְטֹרֶת לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וְלֹא־יִהְיֶה כְקֹרַח וְכַעֲדָתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁה לוֹ׃
6Next day the whole Israelite community railed against Moshe and Aharon, saying, “You two have brought death upon Hashem's people!”
ווַיִּלֹּנוּ כָּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמָּחֳרָת עַל־מֹשֶׁה וְעַל־אַהֲרֹן לֵאמֹר אַתֶּם הֲמִתֶּם אֶת־עַם יְהֹוָה׃
7But as the community gathered against them, Moshe and Aharon turned toward the Tent of Meeting; the cloud had covered it and the Presence of Hashem appeared.
זוַיְהִי בְּהִקָּהֵל הָעֵדָה עַל־מֹשֶׁה וְעַל־אַהֲרֹן וַיִּפְנוּ אֶל־אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְהִנֵּה כִסָּהוּ הֶעָנָן וַיֵּרָא כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה׃
8When Moshe and Aharon reached the Tent of Meeting,
חוַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן אֶל־פְּנֵי אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד׃
9Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying,
טוַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר׃
10“Remove yourselves from this community, that I may annihilate them in an instant.” They fell on their faces.
יהֵרֹמּוּ מִתּוֹךְ הָעֵדָה הַזֹּאת וַאֲכַלֶּה אֹתָם כְּרָגַע וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶם׃
11Then Moshe said to Aharon, “Take the fire pan, and put on it fire from the mizbayach. Add incense and take it quickly to the community and make expiation for them. For wrath has gone forth from Hashem: the plague has begun!”
יאוַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־אַהֲרֹן קַח אֶת־הַמַּחְתָּה וְתֶן־עָלֶיהָ אֵשׁ מֵעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וְשִׂים קְטֹרֶת וְהוֹלֵךְ מְהֵרָה אֶל־הָעֵדָה וְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיהֶם כִּי־יָצָא הַקֶּצֶף מִלִּפְנֵי יְהֹוָה הֵחֵל הַנָּגֶף׃
12Aharon took it, as Moshe had ordered, and ran to the midst of the congregation, where the plague had begun among the people. He put on the incense and made expiation for the people;
יבוַיִּקַּח אַהֲרֹן כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה וַיָּרָץ אֶל־תּוֹך הַקָּהָל וְהִנֵּה הֵחֵל הַנֶּגֶף בָּעָם וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־הַקְּטֹרֶת וַיְכַפֵּר עַל־הָעָם׃
13he stood between the dead and the living until the plague was checked.
יגוַיַּעֲמֹד בֵּין־הַמֵּתִים וּבֵין הַחַיִּים וַתֵּעָצַר הַמַּגֵּפָה׃
14Those who died of the plague came to fourteen thousand and seven hundred, aside from those who died on account of Korach.
ידוַיִּהְיוּ הַמֵּתִים בַּמַּגֵּפָה אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר אֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת מִלְּבַד הַמֵּתִים עַל־דְּבַר־קֹרַח׃
15Aharon then returned to Moshe at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, since the plague was checked.
טווַיָּשָׁב אַהֲרֹן אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶל־פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְהַמַּגֵּפָה נֶעֱצָרָה׃
16Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying:
טזוַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר׃
17Speak to B'nei Yisrael and take from them—from the chieftains of their ancestral houses—one staff for each chieftain of an ancestral house: twelve staffs in all. Inscribe each man's name on his staff,
יזדַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְקַח מֵאִתָּם מַטֶּה מַטֶּה לְבֵית אָב מֵאֵת כָּל־נְשִׂיאֵהֶם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר מַטּוֹת אִישׁ אֶת־שְׁמוֹ תִּכְתֹּב עַל־מַטֵּהוּ׃
18there being one staff for each head of an ancestral house; also inscribe Aharon's name on the staff of Levi.
יחוְאֵת שֵׁם אַהֲרֹן תִּכְתֹּב עַל־מַטֵּה לֵוִי כִּי מַטֶּה אֶחָד לְרֹאשׁ בֵּית אֲבוֹתָם׃
19Deposit them in the Tent of Meeting before the Pact, where I meet with you.
יטוְהִנַּחְתָּם בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לִפְנֵי הָעֵדוּת אֲשֶׁר אִוָּעֵד לָכֶם שָׁמָּה׃
20The staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout, and I will rid Myself of the incessant mutterings of the Israelites against you.
כוְהָיָה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אֶבְחַר־בּוֹ מַטֵּהוּ יִפְרָח וַהֲשִׁכֹּתִי מֵעָלַי אֶת־תְּלֻנּוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הֵם מַלִּינִם עֲלֵיכֶם׃
21Moshe spoke thus to the Israelites. Their chieftains gave him a staff for each chieftain of an ancestral house, twelve staffs in all; among these staffs was that of Aharon.
כאוַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּתְּנוּ אֵלָיו כָּל־נְשִׂיאֵיהֶם מַטֶּה לְנָשִׂיא אֶחָד מַטֶּה לְנָשִׂיא אֶחָד לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר מַטּוֹת וּמַטֵּה אַהֲרֹן בְּתוֹךְ מַטּוֹתָם׃
22Moshe deposited the staffs before Hashem, in the Tent of the Pact.
כבוַיַּנַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת־הַמַּטֹּת לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה בְּאֹהֶל הָעֵדֻת׃
23The next day Moshe entered the Tent of the Pact, and there the staff of Aharon of the house of Levi had sprouted: it had brought forth sprouts, produced blossoms, and borne almonds.
vai-HEE mi-ma-kha-RAT va-ya-VO mo-SHEH el O-hel ha-ay-DUT v'-hi-NAY pa-RAKH ma-tay a-ha-RON l'-VAYT lay-VEE va-YO-tzay FE-rakh va-YA-tzaytz TZEETZ va-yig-MOL sh'-kay-DEEM
כגוַיְהִי מִמָּחֳרָת וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה אֶל־אֹהֶל הָעֵדוּת וְהִנֵּה פָּרַח מַטֵּה־אַהֲרֹן לְבֵית לֵוִי וַיֹּצֵא פֶרַח וַיָּצֵץ צִיץ וַיִּגְמֹל שְׁקֵדִים׃
17:23 The staff of Aharon of the house of Levi had sprouted
Mount Zion
Legendary Israeli storyteller Rabbi S.Z. Kahana tells a story about three clergymen who were on a visit to Mount Zion in 1965. When they asked the Jewish curator of Mt. Zion why the Jews insist on claiming Jerusalem as the capital of the Israel instead of letting it remain an international city, he replied with an example from this chapter. When Moshe appointed Aharon as the Kohen Gadol, ‘High Priest,’ the people objected and murmured. Neither the earthquake that swallowed Korach and his followers nor the plague that followed were enough to convince the people that Aharon had been appointed by God. It was only once his staff blossomed, showing the vitality of life, that they accepted Aharon as the Kohen. The curator invited the visiting clergymen to climb up with him to the mountain’s observation tower. “From here, you can see both the old and new Jerusalem. In the old Arab-controlled section of the city, as you can observe, there is desolation: ruins, desert, and rocks. On our side is the new Jerusalem, where over 150,000 Jews have settled. You can see our new homes and schools, the new hospital and the new university. Everywhere you look, you see life, growth, and vitality. You ask: To whom does Jerusalem belong? It belongs to those who make it bud and blossom, to those who make it live and grow.” Half a century later, Jewish Jerusalem continues to show even more incredible signs of life and vitality. Yerushalayim in Jewish hands is indeed ordained by Hashem, just as the budding of Aharon’s staff demonstrated his divine selection.
24Moshe then brought out all the staffs from before Hashem to all the Israelites; each identified and recovered his staff.
כדוַיֹּצֵא מֹשֶׁה אֶת־כָּל־הַמַּטֹּת מִלִּפְנֵי יְהֹוָה אֶל־כָּל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּרְאוּ וַיִּקְחוּ אִישׁ מַטֵּהוּ׃
25Hashem said to Moshe, “Put Aharon's staff back before the Pact, to be kept as a lesson to rebels, so that their mutterings against Me may cease, lest they die.”
כהוַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה הָשֵׁב אֶת־מַטֵּה אַהֲרֹן לִפְנֵי הָעֵדוּת לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת לְאוֹת לִבְנֵי־מֶרִי וּתְכַל תְּלוּנֹּתָם מֵעָלַי וְלֹא יָמֻתוּ׃
26This Moshe did; just as Hashem had commanded him, so he did.
כווַיַּעַשׂ מֹשֶׁה כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֹתוֹ כֵּן עָשָׂה׃
27But the Israelites said to Moshe, “Lo, we perish! We are lost, all of us lost!
כזוַיֹּאמְרוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵאמֹר הֵן גָּוַעְנוּ אָבַדְנוּ כֻּלָּנוּ אָבָדְנוּ׃
28Everyone who so much as ventures near Hashem's Mishkan must die. Alas, we are doomed to perish!”
כחכֹּל הַקָּרֵב הַקָּרֵב אֶל־מִשְׁכַּן יְהֹוָה יָמוּת הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוׂעַ׃
