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Settling The Score
When Moshe asked the Jews to go fight the Midianites, they refused. They needed to be impressed into service. They knew that Moshe would die after this war, and demonstrated their love for him. (Rashi)
Who had told them that info, and why?
It can only be that Moshe himself had told them. Hashem had directed him to discuss it with the nation. Why did the Jews need to know?
This battle was a personal satisfaction for Moshe. The Midianites had deeply injured the Jews, and the debt was still unpaid. The war made Midian settle with them. Moshe would not die without being vindicated. He was promised; ‘take revenge from the Midianites and (only) then die’.
The Jews were entitled to learn that Hashem was holding off Moshe’s death so that he could have the satisfaction of seeing revenge. They needed to know that Hashem cares for His tzaddikim, even resolving their insults.
And reading this parshah, we know it too.
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Sh’china And Accidents
When the Kohen Gadol dies, an accidental-murderer may leave the city of his refuge, which protected him until now. He had fled there after the accident so the blood-avenger not kill him. Now he is atoned for; no one may touch him.
How are fatal accidents tied to the Kohen Gadol? Why does he atone for them?
Accident are tragedies that just came together in a bad way. One fellow carelessly chops wood, the other drifts into the danger zone and gets hit. There is no plot, no real guilt. Coincidental tragedy means that Shchinah, – Hashem’s revealed Hand, – is missing. Happenstance governs.
Bringing Shchinah is the Kohen Gadol’s job. The Kohen Gadol is accountable for praying that mishaps don’t happen. This is the responsibility a Kohen Gadol has in a fatal accident.
The lesson: Shchina and accidents don’t go together. Bring the Shchina closer – help keep us safe!
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Levels Of Obligation
Of from the soldiers’ tithe it says ‘…from people (captives), cattle, donkeys and sheep’ (only these were tithed – Chizkuni). The Jews however, tithed the above and ‘…from all the other animals’ too. Why?
The soldiers gave one of five hundred; the other Jews gave one out of fifty. (Ten times as much!) Why?
One is obligated to be more generous with windfall money than with money earned. It’s more difficult to part with hard earned cash, so less is expected of him.
The soldiers had worked hard. So they tithed only certain animals and only 1/500. The Jews did not work for that money, so they tithed all at 1/50.
The lesson? Don’t compare your donation to anyone else’s. You may be obligated more, or you might have less responsibility. To each their own.
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Because I Said So
The Torah asks us to keep our word. It tells us to not profane our word. We understand keeping our word; committing to what we have said. But profanity? Is holiness in our words?
‘Holiness’ here does not refer to classical holiness. Presumably our usual chatter is not hallowed. Rather, our words are not mere talk; they are binding. In other words, they are meaningful halachikly. Breaking them is illegal.
Committing to something creates a power binding us. Breaking our word is acting as if it were not binding – as if it were profane and unmeaningful.
Besides keeping to our word because you accept responsibility for it, know that your word is a legal item.
Sometimes you just don’t feel the responsibility; I’m thinking of the time someone wrangled an agreement out of me because ‘you anyhow do lots of travelling’. But it can still be binding, because you said so…
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Paying Our Debts
The Jews split the booty from the Midyan war; half to the soldiers and half to the rest of the people. Why ought the soldiers give half their spoils away?
The soldiers fought as representatives. The entire nation took revenge through their soldiers. While the soldiers fought, the People’s merit protected them, resulting in very few soldiers winning the battle with no casualties! Each contributed, so the booty was split.
Each group – the soldiers and the Jews – gave a tithe. The soldiers’ was 1/500. The nation’s was 1/50, ten times as much! Why?
In this partnership, the Nation supplying Merit, and the soldiers Action, Hashem helped out more with the Nation’s portion than with the soldiers’. Merits are sort of doubtful; we need Hashem’s kindly eye to validate them. The soldiers’ acted. Action is factual.
The tithe represented our debt to Him. Our debt was 10 times greater than the soldiers’ was, so the Tithe was more too!
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The Story IS The Message
The Parshah begins with a list of the Jewish camps through the desert. Why are these necessary?
Rashi answers that we are like a prince who became deathly ill. The royal physician suggested a trip so that he recover. So the king took his son and they traveled long and hard, finally reaching where they needed. The prince recovered. On the journey back, the king showed his son “Here you had a violent headache, there you began vomiting etc.”
What is the lesson in this parable?
Perhaps indeed there is no lesson whatsoever, and that’s the idea. Hashem is the king, simply reminiscing with his son, Prince Yisroel about times they shared. He cares about His People and the little episodes are meaningful to Him. There is no lesson here, just a huge message of caring and love..
That’s huge. Why did I think there was no message?
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Seize The Inspiration!
When the generals saw that not a soldier was lost, they offered a Korbon to Hashem; a gift of the most sensual and seductive jewelry around. Why this?
Perhaps they responded to Hashem’s sign of love by embracing spirituality, renouncing sensuousness to a degree. They felt closeness with Hashem, and they knew to capitalize on it and propel themselves to be more.
They symbolized this by giving away the objects of sensuality that they had won; ‘We are holier now. We are more spiritual’.
The lesson for us is that when inspiration strikes, capture it in an action. Create lasting value of it.
P.s.; Thats why inspiration strikes! Think of it as a man lost at night. He strikes a match. It lasts but a second or two, but gains him his bearings. Inspiration is a match lit up – use it to align yourself!
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Vengeance!
The Torah emphasises revenge twice in these parshios:
1. In the beginning of Matos Moshe is asked to take Hashem’s revenge for the Jewish people and then die. Does his death connect to revenge? Yes. It comforts to see payback on your enemies before you die. Moshe deserved that vindication. Getting even is important. [-Midrash]
2. In Masai, the blood-avenger, relative of the victim, ought to kill the murderer. Don’t pity the murderer, ‘for blood has corrupted the earth, and the earth cannot be atoned… without the blood of the killer’.
Getting even is an expression of justice – let the score be settled. Unless revenge is extracted the balance is out: the one has injured the other. With revenge things are normalized, balance restored.
However we are prohibited from taking revenge. The Torah forbids: ‘take no revenge against the sons of your people’. Does that fit with the revenge we speak of here?
The Rambam (Hilchos Deos) explains that we refrain from revenge because most things are not worthwhile. Someone insulted us. Or didn’t lend us their pen; ought we avenge that? Isn’t it silly? The Torah is telling us not to be petty-minded!
If this is why we don’t avenge, in a matter as significant as murder or incitement to sin, revenge would be appropriate. And a mitzvah!
Perhaps too, vengence is the Lord’s. Exclusively. Sometimes He appoints Man as His tool. But ultimately we are not the avengers.
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Win Win
The Torah specified that female first-generation land-occupier marry into her own tribe. This was limited to that generation. A holiday – Tu B’av – was established at its official dissolution, allowing the shvatim to marry into one another.
Why was the mitzvah established only for that generation? If the claim of the Bnei Menashe – that they lose when a land owning woman married into another tribe and then bequeathed her property to her sons – was valid, why isn’t this a permanent mitzvah?
(Truth is that the argument seems specious – the very same process can give new land to Menashe too!)
Perhaps Bnos Tzelofchad were correct. Indeed, the land was theirs, and they ought not to be limited in their options. The Bnei Menashe were wrong, and their argument weak.
Yet Bnei Menashe worried that their territory would become compromised. Very worried.
The Torah pointed to a basic principle: right as you may be, if you can easily accommodate the next guy, please do so. Do not stand on your rights.
Some people say this still applies today. You think?
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Double Sided Warheads
If we do not wipe out the evil nations we find in Israel, the Torah warns, ‘they will be a thorn in your side and a pain in your eyes. And as I planned to do with them, I shall do with you!’
The forces of destruction have been loosed. They are designed to crush the wicked people living in Canaan. But take care: if those forces are not used against them, they will turn against you, and destroy you. Terrible!
Evil is not neutral. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem. And ‘then as I planned for them, I will do to you…’
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Be Nice, For Your Sake
“And they campaigned against Midyan as Hashem told Moshe” What was that? The Sifra explains that they left the fourth side open to excape. They did not encircle their enemies.
This was not specific here, says the Rambam, but applies to any war we fight. The Ramban explains two reasons for this; A. that we practice compassion even in war, even on our enemies, leaving them a escape route, and B. that the enemy not become desperate. Some explain this that when the enemy soldiers become desperate, they fight harder. Better leave them recourse, for it increases the odds of victory.
We also suggested that people sicken when they need to act cruel. The Einsatzgruppen collapsed because even SS Nazis could not go on shooting unarmed civilians. The gas chamber guards also often needed to get drunk before their shift. They couldn’t cope otherwise.
So act with humanity towards your enemies – even if only for your own sake.
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Ends And Means
The pasuk in the beginning of the parshah says:
????? ??? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ?? ?’ ???? ?????? ????????
What is ‘Motzah’, and what is ‘Masah’?
Motzah is the origin and destination. Masah is the journey from one to the other.
These are two separate functions: knowing where you are and where you need to be at, and moving from one to the other. In life we need both – action without planning is worthless, a journey to nowhere. On the other hand many of us know precisely what are problems are and where we need to go to. We even know how to get there. But we don’t act.
One without the other doesn’t work…