The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash

Parshat HaShavua
Yeshivat Har Etzion

This parasha series is dedicated
in memory of Michael Jotkowitz, z"l.

PARASHAT MATOT

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In loving memory of Fred Stone, Ya'acov Ben Yitzchok, whose twentieth yahrtzeit will be on 24 Tammuz. Dedicated by his children and grandchildren, Stanley and Ellen Stone, Jacob, Zack, Ezra, Yoni, Eliana and Gabi.

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The Inauguration

By Rav Yair Kahn

1. The War Against Midian

In parashat Matot, we once again encounter an exhaustive list of seemingly trivial statistics. The Torah extensively details the spoils captured in the war against Midian, and then computes for us precisely how these spoils were divided. However, we are given no more than a hint as to why these statistics are important enough to have been included in the Torah. In order to understand this hint, let us take a closer look at the battle with Midian.

Moshe's decision to recruit one thousand men from each tribe reflects their representative role, alongside their military capacity. In other words, the army chosen to attack Midian is perfectly balanced from a communal perspective, though not necessarily from a military one. This supports our thesis that the war's aim (namely, to attain "nikmat benei Yisrael" - the vengeance of the children of Israel, which is also "nikmat Hashem" - the vengeance of God) is achievable only if the Jewish people act as an organic whole, thus assuming their role as a covenantal community. (See last week's shiur.) Thus we find that the representative army is complete and perfectly balanced upon their victorious return from its war against Midian as well.

Moreover, it seems that the significance the Torah attributes to the war with Midian is rooted in the national agenda. The Torah downplays the military aspect in its account of the war; after all, victory in a battle commanded by the Almighty is a foregone conclusion. However, given the religious implications of the totally one-sided campaign (see 31:48-50), it is surprising that the Torah focuses specifically on the non-military aspect of the battle - namely, the division of the spoils between the twelve thousand soldiers who fought the Midianites and between the remainder of the people who stayed in the camp.

The Seforno explains that the Torah is stressing that the entire nation enjoyed the spoils of the Midianite war, due to the national character of the battle.

The nation in its entirety battles the Midianites. One group, consisting of a perfectly balanced representation of the tribal units, actually goes to war. However, the remainder of the nation must be involved as well. The sharing of the spoils is indicative of the communal participation in the campaign. The spoils are divided equally between the active participants and the rest of the nation, as was later practiced by King David.

However, the detailed account of the respective percentages of the spoils that were consecrated to God (meaning perhaps kohanim - see Ramban) and awarded to the Levites remains problematic. This seems to imply additional significance to the communal emphasis. I would suggest that the war with Midian not only required the participation of the community as a whole, but also was instrumental in its crystallization.

From this perspective, the battle is to be viewed as a concrete step in the national formative process. It is the inauguration of Knesset Yisrael as an organic religious communal unit. In last week's shiur, we noted the theoretical re-establishment of the community with its subdivisions prior to the battle via the census. In our parasha, we witness the various communal organs in action. Aside from the harmonious contribution of the twelve tribes and the involvement of the entire nation in the battle, the respective roles of the Levites and Priests are activated as well. In this trial run of the reestablished machaneh, we are also introduced to Eliezer functioning as the high priest and Pinchas as the "mashuach milchama" - the anointed priest charged with joining the army. Within this context, the reference to the trumpets (31:6) is noteworthy. The only other time in the Torah that they are mentioned is at the end of the first section of sefer Bemidbar (ch.10), when Benei Yisrael are poised to begin the epic journey from Sinai to Israel. The nation is now ready to complete that journey begun by their parents forty years earlier.

2. Benei Gad and Reuven

Following the victory against Midian, the Torah relates the request of benei (the tribes of) Gad and Reuven to receive their portion in Eretz Yisrael from the territories east of the Jordan River, which had already been conquered from Sichon and Og. Their request is rejected by Moshe, who (remembering the sin of the spies) wanted to ensure that there be no weakness among the ranks, which could lead to a collapse of national resolve to conquer Eretz Yisrael. However, once benei Gad and Reuven offer to leave their families east of the Jordan and lead the Israeli forces in the military campaign against the Canaanite armies, Moshe accepts their request.

The section concludes:

The inclusion of half of the tribe of Menasheh is surprising. There is no mention that they joined benei Gad and Reuven in their request. Why then did Moshe choose to place them east of the Jordan River, despite his negative attitude towards the appeal of benei Gad and Reuven? A closer look at the biblical description of this incident will be helpful.

The scriptural coverage of the Reuven-Gad episode is redundant at best. Following Moshe's initial protest, benei Gad and Reuven propose a seemingly acceptable solution, which is repeated by Moshe and then echoed by benei Gad and Reuven.

The commentators noted that Moshe does not merely repeat the proposal, but rather modifies it.

In his response, Moshe introduces a number of changes. First of all, Moshe insists that benei Gad and Reuven be "armed before the Lord," while the initial proposal had been to go "armed before the Israelites." It was important for Moshe to emphasize the religious nature of the battle for Eretz Yisrael, especially within the context of the request of benei Gad and Reuven (see Abarbanel).

Furthermore, in contrast to Benei Gad and Reuven, who mention their flocks before their children, Moshe switches the order and places the children first. The significance of the switch was noted by Rashi.

In fact, the entire proposal of benei Gad and Reuven reflected a warped sense of priorities. For the economic benefit of better grazing land, they were prepared to leave their families for fourteen years. The prolonged lack of paternal influence was clearly not in the best interest of their children. Although Moshe does not reject the proposal, he demands a reevaluation of the priorities which it indicated.

Benei Gad and Reuven appreciate and accept both of these corrections. Therefore, they repeat the proposal, stressing the innovations imposed by Moshe.

However, Moshe introduced a third modification as well. Benei Gad and Reuven had volunteered to remain in Eretz Yisrael proper until the remaining tribes became settled. Moshe, on the other hand, thought it sufficient that benei Gad and Reuven remain with the rest of the tribes only until the end of the fighting. The reason for Moshe's final modification is obvious. Benei Gad and Reuven were required to participate in the battle against the Canaanites; therefore it was sufficient that they join the rest of the tribes only during the seven years of war. In fact, it is difficult to understand why benei Gad and Reuven voluntarily agreed to remain on the western side of the Jordan after the end of the military campaign. Nevertheless, according to Rashi (32:24), the position of benei Gad and Reuven ultimately prevailed in this matter (Abarbanel disagrees with Rashi on this point).

A glance at sefer Yehoshua will shed light on this issue. When Yehoshua eventually allowed benei Gad and Reuven to return to their families on the east bank, they built a large altar on the banks of the Jordan River. The rest of Israel immediately perceived this act as mutinous, and civil war seemed inevitable.

Pinchas headed a diplomatic mission to benei Gad and Reuven aimed at avoiding fraternal violence.

Benei Gad and Reuven offered a revealing justification for building the altar:

From the episode in Yehoshua we see that the geographic border separating the two sides of the Jordan endangered the unity of Knesset Yisrael. The tribes on the west of the Jordan worried that benei Gad and Reuven might break away. For their part, benei Gad and Reuven were concerned that their national affiliation may, at some point, be challenged by the majority of the nation residing west of the Jordan.

Based on this, it seems clear that benei Gad and Reuven's decision (to remain on the west side of the Jordan until the rest of Am Yisrael was settled) was as an act of solidarity. They felt it was improper to return to their portion and begin to develop it before the rest of Israel received their estates. They feared that such behavior could cause jealousy, which could lead to division. Although Moshe would have been satisfied had benei Gad and Reuven returned to the east bank immediately after Canaan was conquered, he appreciated the sensitivity displayed by their offer to remain for an additional seven years. Therefore, he accepted their proposal, despite the high price paid by the families still waiting east of the Jordan.

Now we can also appreciate why Moshe chose to include half of the tribe of Menasheh east of the Jordan. Both in the request of Tzelofchad's daughters (ch. 27) and in the counter-request of the rest of the tribe (ch. 36), the tribe of Menasheh is singled out in their concern to attain and retain their portion in Eretz Yisrael. The actions of Makhir, Yair and Novach, members of the tribe of Menasheh, attest to this attitude as well.

In an attempt to connect the tribes east of the river with the rest of the nation on the west, the tribe of Menasheh, whose devotion to Eretz Yisrael was unquestioned, was chosen to bridge the Jordan.

Summary

Throughout sefer Bemidbar, I have focused on the development of the "machaneh," the harmonious and multi-faceted religious national entity. I have tried (at the risk of being repetitious) to show how this issue constitutes a pivotal theme of the entire sefer. Following the initial formation of the machaneh we noted the failed attempt to form a machaneh at the beginning of "Chumash Ha-pekudim," and tried to analyze the reasons for this failure. We then focused on the renewed effort of the generation born and raised in the wilderness. At the close of the sefer, we find the revived "machaneh" in action against Midian, poised to cross over the Jordan. However, the main test will arrive during the reign of Yehoshua. How will the nation stand up to the military and social challenge during the war against Canaan? In what way will national unity continue after each tribe receives independent portions in Eretz Yisrael? Moshe, the faithful shepherd, spent the end of his life trying to ensure, to the best of his ability, that Knesset Yisrael will continue to remain unified in their commitment to God and His commandments.