Rabbi Ari Kahn
Parashat Matot 5776
Word
The winds of war were blowing; the
Israelites were to prepare to fulfill the word of God and take vengeance
against the Midianites. The Moav/Midian incursion had left 24,000 Jews dead,
and the time had come to settle the score. Moreover, the plan of attack
employed by the Moavites and Midianites had introduced idolatrous practices
into the Israelite camp; revenge was to be meted out not only to avenge their
losses, but also to counter the affront against God. Interestingly, a close
reading of the text indicates that God’s primary concern was for the honor of nation;
He calls for the vengeance of Israel (B’midbar 31:2). Moshe, on the other hand,
speaks of taking vengeance for the honor of God (B’midbar 31:3).
God spoke to Moshe,
saying, 'Take revenge for the Israelites against the
Midianites. Then you shall [die and] be gathered to your people.' Moshe spoke to the people, saying, 'Call up
from among you men for armed service against Midian, so that God's revenge can
be taken against the Midianites. (B’midbar
31:1-3)
This touching display of mutual concern
aside, the reader is troubled by the sequence: Why is the narrative interrupted
with certain laws, as opposed to proceeding directly to the battle itself, the
much-anticipated and richly deserved revenge? Surely there must have been a
more appropriate place to insert these laws into the Torah; the Moav/Midian incident
is recounted back in chapter 25, and at the end of that chapter God first instructed
Moshe to take vengeance. A census is conducted, which is understandable – both in
terms of damage assessment and as a preparation for battle. The detailed
results of the census are followed by laws of offerings, primarily holiday
offerings, and then by laws of vows. Only then does the narrative return to the
matter at hand – the Midianites.
This strange progression of topics –
seemingly haphazard or disjointed – leaves the reader with two choices: Either
we may view these laws as an interruption of the narrative, randomly inserted
at this juncture and therefore unrelated to the issue at hand, or we may attempt
to analyze these laws in order to determine if, in fact, they are logically,
intrinsically connected with the narrative.
In fact, a common denominator connects
these two sets of laws: Bilam.
Bilam was hired by the Moavite king to
curse the people of Israel. To the modern reader, the entire concept involved
in such a curse seems absurd, foreign. It is difficult for us to relate to the
underlying belief in the power of words. Curses and blessings are often seen as
“mumbo-jumbo” connected to a primitive, superstitious world. Therefore, we are
somewhat surprised that God Himself intervenes to foil the curses that Balak
hires Bilam to cast - not merely to deflect them but to transform them into
blessings.
…and
because they hired against you Bilam the son of Beor of Petor of Mesopotamia,
to curse you. Nevertheless, the Lord your God would not listen to Bilam; but
the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord
your God loved you. (Dvarim 23:5-6)
Returning to the
beginning of Parashat Matot and the laws regarding vows, the connection to the
narrative becomes clear: The larger context is the struggle with Moav/Midian and their proxy, Bilam.[1] Their weapon of choice was
curses – words - and they were fully aware of the potency of this weapon: God
Himself is the source of the power of words. Words create reality; indeed, the creation of all that exists is the result of Divine speech. For this
reason, it was not enough to simply deflect Bilam’s curses; God’s love for the
Jewish People caused the curses to be turned into blessings – words, to be
sure, but words that have power far beyond what we might otherwise have
imagined. The laws regarding vows reflect this same underlying truth: Words
have power. We have the ability to shape reality with words, with vows, and it
is therefore our obligation to honor our vows. The Torah carefully lays out,
specifically in the aftermath of the confrontation with Balak and Bilam, laws
that reinforce this underlying truth, by creating guidelines for making vows and
cancelling them – neither of which is to be taken lightly. In turn, these laws
– inserted specifically at this juncture – help us appreciate God’s role in transforming
Bilam’s curses into blessings.
The other group of laws that “interrupts”
the narrative relates to sacrificial offerings. Most of the laws of offerings
were taught in the book of Vayikra; at first glance, the laws that appear in
our present parashah would be best placed there as well. However, we would do
well to recall the tactics Bilam employed against us: In his attempt to cajole
God into allowing him to curse the Jews, Bilam instructed Balak to build a
series of altars, and to bring offerings to God.
There is a certain irony in all of this: Eventually,
the Moav/Midian conspiracy led the Jews to worship Baal Peor, but along the way
Bilam and Balak brought offerings to the God of Israel, the creator and
sustainer of the universe; perhaps their being dragged into the service of God
is what inspired them to drag the Israelites into the service of their
deity. Whether this was their inspiration or not, the ad hoc
anti-Israelite coalition appealed to the God of Israel for assistance – or at
least permission – to destroy us. And while we can say with absolute certainty
that Balak’s offerings were ineffective in terms of swaying God, we cannot know
whether they did have some type of impact, perhaps creating some positive merit
for these adversaries of Israel.[2] If that is the case, we
may better understand why laws regarding offerings and vows are introduced as
we prepare to face the Midianites in battle. These are not random laws, nor is
this an interruption of the narrative; quite the contrary. These particular laws
have everything to do with the narrative. The laws of vows express the power of
the spoken word, and the laws regarding the “additional” or mussaf
offerings give us a tool for approaching God. These laws enable us to counter
the negative impact of the Moavites and Midianites. Only when these particular
laws are internalized, only when the lessons of the confrontation with Moav and
Midian are learned, only when we are given laws that enable us to counter the
spiritual effects of that confrontation, will we be ready to face our enemies
in battle, and, with God’s help, to be victorious.
For a more in-depth analysis see:
