הכתב והקבלה — כי לא מלבי

Q — Moshe defends himself against Korach with 'כי ה' שלחני... כי לא מלבי.' But the second clause seems redundant — if 'Hashem sent me,' then obviously 'not from my heart.' Why both phrases?

A — HaKtav VeHaKabbalah identifies a different denial happening in 'כי לא מלבי.' Korach's accusation wasn't only that Moshe acted on his own authority; it was that Moshe had *self-interested motivations* — installing his brother as Kohen Gadol, elevating his own tribe. Moshe responds: yes, normally a person feels personal pleasure when a family member rises ('מטבע האדם להרגיש שמחה בלבו אם אחד מבית אביו יתרומם לגרם מעלות') — but my execution of the divine command contained *zero* admixture of that pleasure. Mixing personal feeling into shlichut Hashem would be like 'המשתף שם שמים ודבר אחר יחד' — a form of impure coupling that compromises the mission. The first clause denies usurpation; the second denies emotional admixture. Both are required to refute Korach's full charge.