Confronting the greatest rebellion against his leadership, Moses reaches out to his opponents, who accused him of arrogance, abuse of power and failure to deliver on his promise of a better life. Rashi points out the humility and generous spirit of Moses: "From here we learn that one should not persist in strife, for Moses sought them out to conciliate them by peaceful words."

The Chasidic teacher Simcha Bunim of Pshiskhe is not convinced. Why, he asks, did Moses's attempt to make peace fail? Because Moses did not take the trouble to go to them himself and try to persuade them with gentle words, but sat in his tent and summoned them to him. Had he sacrificed his dignity and gone to them at this point, maybe events would have taken a different turn.

Later on, when the situation had deteriorated, "Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram" (16:25); it is on this verse that the Talmud comments that one should not persist in strife. By then Moses's message was no longer one of peace but of punishment, warning that the earth would open and swallow the rebels. Perhaps that is why Rashi applies the lesson to the earlier verse; uttering threats is not the best negotiating strategy!

Reb Simcha Bunim argues that Moses could have done more, sooner, to reach out and make peace, by going to the dissidents with gentle words instead of summoning them.

My rabbi taught that taking three steps backwards when saying "Oseh shalom" the prayer for peace that concludes the Amidah and Kaddish, symbolises being prepared to step back from our entrenched position and seek compromise. Taking three steps forward, then, means seeking out an opponent, even when they won't come to us, and making every effort to find a peaceful solution.