Shalom.
This week we complete the book of Bamidbar, Numbers, with a double reading this Shabbat,
of the last two parshiot of Bamidbar, the Torah portions of Mattot and Masei.
With the exception of certain leap years, these two parshiot are generally read together,
thus facilitating parashat Devarim to always be read on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av.
Parashat Matot, the ninth Torah portion, begins in Chapter 30 and verse 2.
Matot begins with the laws of vows and their annulment, and then continues with Hashem’s
command to Moshe to go out to battle against the Midianites.
The children of Israel went out to do battle with Midian as vengeance for the episode of
the sin of Baal Peor.
These verses include details of the division of the spoils and sanctifying part of it for
Hashem, also the laws of koshering vessels.
The tribes of Gad and Menashe requested of Moshe to receive their inheritance on the
east side of the Jordan and not in the Land of Israel, west of the Jordan.
After initially expressing serious reservations, Moshe acquiesces to their request on condition
that they obligate themselves to participate in the war to as the vanguard of Israel’s
army to conquer the land from the Canaanites, and he joins to them half of the tribe of
Menashe.
From Moshe’s reaction we can understand that he felt this request displayed a lack
of appreciation for the land of Israel, as if the place where one lives should be determined
only according to financial or material considerations, when in reality all blessing in this world,
the physical as well, is only achieved with Divine aid and by following Hashem’s commandments.
Parashat Masei is the last parasha of Bamidbar, and the first 49 verses recount the journeys
of the Children of Israel, the 42 waystations that they traversed throughout the desert,
starting from the exodus from Egypt until the Jordan river opposite Jericho.
The portion deals with other preparations ahead of entering the land of Israel, in preparation
for living the life in the land: such as G-d’s commandment to destroy idolatry in the land
of Israel; a description of the borders of the land; the appointment of princes of the
tribes, those who will be leading the people to take possession of the land, and preparation
of cities of refuge and Levitical cities and laws of unintentional murder
In a continuation of the events concerning the daughters of Tzelefchad that were described
in last week’s Torah portion of Pinchas, we also learn here in parashat Masei that
the tribe of Menashe, the tribe of Tzelefchad, complained that the transference of his inheritances
to his daughters may result in the subtraction of his portion from the tribal inheritance,
if they will marry outside the tribe.
G-d informs Moshe to honor their claim and he obligates Tzelafchad’s daughters to marry
men only within their tribe.
Our sages clarified that this edict was not intended to be binding in perpetuity on all
generations but was only commanded for the generation that entered the land, and was
only in effect while the portions were being divided between the tribes.
Indeed, as the Talmud states in tractate Ta’anit, one of the occasions that mark the festival
of Tu B’Av, the 15th of Av, one of the reasons for that day becoming a day of celebrations,
was that later this edict was rescinded on that very day and this became the day that
marriage between the tribes of Israel became permitted.
That’s a very concise and birds-eye view of the two parshiot.
I’d like to reflect on one amazing idea in parshat Matot.
Hashem commands Moshe to take vengeance from the Midianites, and He links this revenge
directly to Moshe’s death, saying, “Take vengeance for the children of Israel against
the Midianites, and afterwards you shall be gathered to your people.”
Even so, or despite this, Moshe does not hesitate or stall for the slightest moment in executing
this order, and the very next verse tells us “and Moshe spoke to the people saying,
‘arm men from among yourselves for the legion, that they may be against Midian to inflict
Hashem’s vengeance against Midian.”
Moshe is very soon to take his leave of his beloved people, but this is one of the most
powerful examples of Moshe’s unparalleled greatness, his total dedication to the Jewish
people and his total lack of self-interest.
Any person, upon being informed that his death was dependant on some circumstance or action,
would certainly endeavour to postpone and delay this, whether consciously or subconsciously.
Not only does Moshe immediately go out to battle… he urges his people, ‘arm yourselves’
– as Rashi points out, even though he understood that his death would follow, he did it with
joy and did not delay.
If he loved his people so much, and he knew that they needed him so, maybe for the sake
of the Jewish people he should have been more slothful in the fulfilment of this commandment,
so that he could have remained in the world longer?
One might think, the longer that Moshe remains in the world, the better for the nation and
the world.
But that is the secret of his humility and his secret altogether.
Open up your heart in the deepest way.
You know how each us has thoughts?
Like, constantly in our head: ‘What am I going to eat for breakfast today?’
‘I am going to such and such a place’…’Oh, I am feeling like this or like that’ or
‘you are so good looking’….Moshe had no personal thoughts, there were no thoughts
of himself in his head, he was totally focused on Hashem’s will.
So when Moshe is given a Divine command, there’s no processing, no considerations, angles,
spins, calculations, how do I feel about this, this fits in to this space in my mind, he
just totally becomes an object for fulfilling that command.
Hashem is in head, and nothing else.
Moshe’s soul was completely bound up with the collective soul of the Jewish people.
So when he said back in Exodus, 32:32 – When said ‘and if not, erase my name from Your
book’ – do you understand what he was saying?
Meaning, remove me completely from the timeline…because the book he was referring to, Hashem’s book
– that wasn’t a reference to the Torah, but a reference to the next world…the directory
of the Coming World…so Moshe was saying take me out by the roots if you don’t forgive
Israel because I have no existence without them.
Again, he has no thoughts of himself…both physically and spiritually he is totally dedicated
to the am Yisrael, because his thoughts are only of Hashem…open up your hearts…since
he understands that the nation of Israel is the manifestation of G-d in the world, the
only conduit through which the kingdom of G-d is revealed in this world.
So what happened here…when Hashem commands Moshe in 31:2 “take vengeance for the Children
of Israel against the Midianites,” in the next verse Moshe turns to the people and asks
them to ‘avenge the vengeance of Hashem,’ not of the children of Israel….because Moshe,
the true leader of Israel, understands that they themselves are the manifestation of Hashem
in this world, as the Zohar states, Israel and the Holy One blessed be He, are One.