That's the situation the sons of Kehat found themselves in, in the Book of Numbers.
Our story begins in Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 5, which delves into the passage about the Kehatites and their crucial role in carrying the Ark of the Covenant. The verse in question, Numbers 4:17, reads "The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron," followed by the warning "Do not cut off…" (lo takritu)
Rabbi Levi raises a fascinating question: why is Aaron even mentioned here? The warning seems directed at the Kehatites. Rabbi Levi suggests that God is subtly reminding the Kehatites to be mindful of their conduct when near the Ark. "Focus your attention," He seems to say, "and don't act with levity." Why? Because the consequences can be devastating, as demonstrated by the fate of Aaron's own sons. As we read in Leviticus 10:2, Aaron's sons entered without permission, and "fire emerged from before the Lord, and consumed them." A harsh lesson, indeed.
But, according to another interpretation offered by our Rabbis, the Kehatites were already terrified. Tasked with bearing the Ark, they cried out to Moses, fearing they would meet the same end as Aaron's sons. In response, the Holy One, blessed be He, reassured Moses. Just as Moses had instituted a remedy for Aaron before entering the Holy of Holies – as described in Leviticus 16:3, "With this Aaron shall come into the Holy of Holies" – so too should he institute a remedy for the Kehatite families to prevent their demise. Hence the verse: "Do not cut off… But do this for them, [and they will live, and will not die]" (Numbers 4:19).
It seems a little strange, doesn’t it? This idea of a "remedy" against divine punishment. Is that even possible? The text anticipates this question. Do not wonder, it says, that the Holy One, blessed be He, instituted a remedy for them so they would not die, as even for the wicked, we find that He instituted a remedy so they would not die.
The passage then pivots to a discussion of karet (spiritual excision) and the concept of atonement through flogging. When God detailed the thirty-six instances of karet in the Torah, Moses questioned whether those who sinned would truly be eliminated. God's response, according to this Midrash, was that forty lashes could satisfy the obligation of karet. This is echoed in Makkot 23a, where Rabbi Ḥananya ben Gamliel states that those liable to karet are exempt from it if they are flogged, citing Deuteronomy 25:3, "And your brother shall be debased before your eyes," implying that the flogging restores the person to brotherhood.
But why forty lashes? The text provides a fascinating symbolic explanation: the Torah was given in forty days, and the human form is completed in forty days (based on Yevamot 69b). The sinner violated the Torah, causing death to themselves, so forty lashes serve as a symbolic reckoning.
Drawing a parallel to Adam, the first man, who sinned and incurred death, the text notes that Adam was, in a sense, "stricken with forty blows." The world was cursed with forty curses – ten for Adam, ten for Eve, ten for the serpent, and ten for the earth. While Adam was told he would die on the day he ate from the Tree of Knowledge (Genesis 2:17), he lived for 930 years. He didn't complete God's day, which Psalms 90:4 tells us is "like yesterday gone by" – a thousand years. Thus, even for the "wicked," there is a delay, a chance for repentance.
So, if even the wicked are afforded a remedy, how much more so are the righteous? This brings us back to the initial message: "Do not cut off…" It's a message of hope, of redemption, and of the enduring possibility of life, even in the face of transgression. It reminds us that even when burdened with immense responsibility, there is always a path toward atonement and renewal.