Rashi then continues: “as we have found at the incident of Korach, ‘For the wrath has gone out....’”
This is completely unclear:
- What is Rashi trying to prove by citing “the incident of Korach”? Do we need proof that if Hashem warns that a stranger will be punished (wrath) for transgressing and approaching for service, the punishment will indeed occur?!
- More importantly: What exactly is the proof from “the incident of Korach” to this verse (being an incident that seems to have no relevance to our verse): In “the incident of Korach,” the “wrath has gone out from before Hashem” was not due to the sin of “strangers shall enter this service of {the Levites}.” Instead, it was in the context of a plague that befell the Jewish people for having complained (“on the morrow” of the incident of Korach) “You have killed the people of Hashem.”
Furthermore: Even the sin for which the “two hundred and fifty men who were offering their incense” were punished does not correspond to the sin of “strangers shall enter this service {of the Levites}”: The verses here discuss the Levites’ service (the dismantling and assembling of the Tabernacle, and guarding the Tabernacle). In parshas Korach, the verses speak about a stranger (including a Levite) who performs the priestly service.
And it would be highly implausible to suggest that Rashi is merely citing an example of “wrath” (punishment) while disregarding that it occurred in the context of a different transgression.
There are commentators who explain that this segment of Rashi’s explanation is actually a continuation of his previous comment on “a stranger who approaches shall die” {stated in the earlier verse}. Rashi explains: “shall die — by the hand of Heaven.” Seemingly, where does Rashi derive (in the simple meaning of Scripture) that “shall die” means “by the hand of Heaven” and not by the hand of man? On the contrary: Rashi explains the verse “and also its owner shall die” (in parshas Mishpatim) as: “by the hand of Heaven. A person could think by the hands of man, the Torah says....” This shows us that without another verse to prove it, “shall die” should be understood literally, as death by the hand of man.
To address this, Rashi states (here) that this can be derived from the subsequent verse “and there shall be no wrath,” a verse that refers to Heavenly punishment. {This then flows into the next segment,} “as we have found at the incident of Korach.” In the incident of Korach, the punishment (of those who offered incense) was carried out by Heaven. This in turn proves that “a stranger who approaches shall die” means “by the hand of Heaven.”
However, this seems to be a flawed explanation, since Rashi makes no reference in this explanation of his previous explanation on “shall die — by the hand of Heaven.” And the straightforward understanding of Rashi’s explanation is that the proof of “the incident of Korach” is for our verse itself — “strangers {non-Levites} shall enter this service of {the Levites}, there shall be wrath.”
