The Wilderness Years

"'If an individual sins by mistake, he is to offer a female goat in its first year as a sin offering.

The cohen will make atonement before ADONAI for the person who makes a mistake by sinning inadvertently; he will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven -

no matter whether he is a citizen of Isra'el or a foreigner living with them. You are to have one law for whoever it is that does something wrong by mistake.

"'But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming ADONAI. That person will be cut off from his people.

Because he has had contempt for the word of ADONAI and has disobeyed his command, that person will be cut off completely; his offense will remain with him.'"

While the people of Isra'el were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on Shabbat.

Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moshe, Aharon and the whole congregation.

They kept him in custody, because it had not yet been decided what to do to him.

Then ADONAI said to Moshe, "This man must be put to death; the entire community is to stone him to death outside the camp."

So the whole community brought him outside the camp and threw stones at him until he died, as ADONAI had ordered Moshe.

ADONAI said to Moshe,

"Speak to the people of Isra'el, instructing them to make, through all their generations, tzitziyot on the corners of their garments, and to put with the tzitzit on each corner a blue thread.

It is to be a tzitzit for you to look at and thereby remember all of ADONAI's mitzvot and obey them, so that you won't go around wherever your own heart and eyes lead you to prostitute yourselves;

but it will help you remember and obey all my mitzvot and be holy for your God.

I am ADONAI your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to be your God. I am ADONAI your God."

Now Korach the son of Yitz'har, the son of K'hat, the son of Levi, along with Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli'av, and On, the son of Pelet, descendants of Re'uven, took men and

rebelled against Moshe. Siding with them were 250 men of Isra'el, leaders of the community, key members of the council, men of reputation.

They assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon and said to them, "You take too much on yourselves! After all, the entire community is holy, every one of them, and ADONAI is among them. So why do you lift yourselves up above ADONAI's assembly?"

When Moshe heard this he fell on his face.

Then he said to Korach and his whole group, "In the morning, ADONAI will show who are his and who is the holy person he will allow to approach him. Yes, he will bring whomever he chooses near to himself.

Do this: take censers, Korach and all your group;

put fire in them; and put incense in them before ADONAI tomorrow. The one whom ADONAI chooses will be the one who is holy! It is you, you sons of Levi, who are taking too much on yourselves!"

Then Moshe said to Korach, "Listen here, you sons of Levi!

Is it for you a mere trifle that the God of Isra'el has separated you from the community of Isra'el to bring you close to himself, so that you can do the work in the tabernacle of ADONAI and stand before the community serving them?

He has brought you close and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you. Now you want the office of cohen too!