Question:
Rashi on 25:5 says each of the 88000 judges killed 2 people. Does this show in the census taken after this incident? Only Shimon shows a marked decline. Why doesn’t the Torah mention this huge number of deaths – far more than the golden calf, Korach’s rebellion or the plague in v.9?
Answer:
Maybe the Torah did not want to mention explicitly the huge number of deaths at Baal Peor because it was such a enormous disgrace for Klal Yisroel? The Ramban asks the question regarding the absence of any mentioning of a decline, and answers that they died only prior to entering E. Yisroel after the last counting.
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