“Shall Your Brothers Go To War While You Sit Here?”

“Shall Your Brothers Go To War While You Sit Here?”

Rabbi Ari Kahn

Excerpt from A River Flowed from Eden

“Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?” With these words Moshe hurls a devastating moral attack against the tribes of Reuven (Reuben) and Gad, an attack that reverberates until this very day, and is used as ammunition against those who live in the modern state of Israel yet choose to take advantage of the service deferments.

As the Jews drew nearer to the Promised Land, they came into possession of lush grazing land, and two tribes expressed a desire to make their homestead east of Israel. In short, they sought to trade their future portion in the land of their forefathers for the green pastures across the border. For them, the Promised Land would remain an unfulfilled promise - not because God did not want to keep His promise, but because they were less interested in what the Land of Israel had to offer than they were in the lucrative opportunity they saw on the outside.

Their request was met with a rhetorical question, a response so full of moral outrage that its critical tone was unmistakable: “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?” The historic moment in time should not be overlooked: the conquest of the Land of Israel and the very existence of a Jewish national entity in the Land of the Patriarchs hung in the balance.

Upon closer inspection, their wish not to be a part of the “Zionist” enterprise is not really analogous to those who live in Israel today and choose not to fight. We have become so accustomed to hearing these words used out of context that we fail to take note of the differences: Those who live in Israel, regardless of their political orientation or the degree to which they take part in national or military institutions, do not fit squarely into the moral attack hurled by Moshe against the two tribes who sought to remain outside the land. When considered in context, Moshe’s charge against those who would choose the lush fields over the Land of Israel would be more appropriately directed at modern-era Jews who choose to remain in the diaspora rather than taking part in the rebuilding of the Land.

Moshe’s response to the two tribes’ request goes one step further, lending context and depth to his critique: “And why do you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over to the land which God has given them?  This is what your fathers did, when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the land.” (Bamidbar 32:7-8)

Moshe compares their request to the sin of the spies, perhaps the most nefarious episode endured during his tenure. He identifies the crux of the spies’ perfidy not simply in the rejection of the Land of Israel, but in the fear they instilled in the hearts of the nation. This fear escalated into panic and led to a massive breakdown of faith and purpose. The spies’ insidious report caused the nation to doubt their leaders, to lose sight of their goals. The entire community of Israel began to have second thoughts about the Land and their collective destiny. Can a similar charge be made against those who live in Israel today, even if they do not share the burden of protecting the Land and the People of Israel? I think not.

With this in mind I wish to put forth a few suggestions:

First, to those living in Israel who do not serve: By any moral and religious logic, those who live in Israel must offer their full support to our soldiers and their sacred mission. Too often, demagogues get caught up in their self-serving ideology and attack the State, the government, and the I.D.F. as if they are all part of an elaborate plot designed to uproot Jewish values. The role of the army is far more prosaic; they are indeed involved in elaborate plot - to protect the lives and freedoms of as many Jews as possible. This is a responsibility that must be shared by each and every one of us.  Often old skirmishes and battles are conjured up, and present day reality is ignored, rather than focusing on old internal battles, they should treat themselves to a healthy dose of present-day reality. 

The same rabbis who attack the army and proscribe military service often hand down halakhic rulings that permit soldiers to break Shabbat laws when lives are in danger. It is a strange sort of cognitive dissonance that allows them to understand that our soldiers’ efforts are sacred acts, while at the same time labeling those who perform this life-saving labor as impure. Is a soldier who risks his own life for the protection of his brethren no more than a “shabbos goy”? In point of fact, today’s I.D.F may have more religiously observant officers than secular ones. The iconic brave kibbutznik of the past has been eclipsed by the brave kippa-clad young man.

Among the rabbis who saw things differently, two come to mind: one was my revered teacher, Rabbi Yisrael Gustman, who, upon seeing the graves in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl, declared, “Kulam kedoshim”, “They are all holy martyrs.” Another is Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. When a student asked the Rabbi’s permission to take a short leave from the yeshiva in Jerusalem to travel to pray at the “graves of the righteous,” Rabbi Auerbach told him that he need go no further than Mount Herzl, to the military cemetery.

These great rabbis recognized that our brothers who went to war and did not return were holy. It behooves all those who remain in yeshiva and devote themselves to learning Torah, to bolster the spirit of those around them and aid in the national effort in any way they can. First and foremost, they must recognize the sanctity of the sacrifice others are making on their behalf, and the holiness of our brothers who have fought to secure their freedom to build and populate great centers of Torah learning in Israel - especially those who paid for these blessings with their lives.

As for those who have chosen the diaspora as home: Make sure that your choices do not instill fear in the hearts of those who dwell in Zion. Be active in your support: Send your children to Israel. Allow them to serve in the army if they express the desire to do so. Remember that this moral fortitude and bravery is the culmination of a proper education.

Consider the Israelis who give three years of their lives to military service, and then continue to disrupt their normal routine for a month or more each year for decades thereafter. Keeping that time-frame in mind, create a structure for donating resources or time to Jewish causes, and strengthen the spirit of those who live in Israel. Israel should be more than just a destination for vacations. It is the inheritance of all Jews, and a part of our personal and collective destiny.

Parshiot Mattot and Mas’ei 5775 - A Lush Land

Echoes of Eden

Rabbi Ari Kahn

Parshiot Mattot and Mas’ei 5775

A Lush Land

After countless delays, punishments and disappointments, as the Jews draw tantalizingly close to the Promised Land, a strange request is made by the tribes of Reuven and Gad:

They said, 'If you would grant us a favor, let this land be given to us as our permanent property, and do not bring us across the Jordan.' (B’midbar 32:5)

These words must have been particularly painful to Moshe: He pined and prayed for permission to cross into the Land of Israel, while these tribes, Reuven and Gad, seek permission to do just the opposite. They hope to remain outside the Land, on the eastern bank of the Jordan River.

Moshe’s initial response is far from enthusiastic, but subsequently terms and conditions are worked out to satisfy both sides: These tribes will take an active role in the conquest of the Promised Land, and only then will they return to the lush grazing land they have chosen outside of Israel proper.

The descendants of Gad and Reuven responded, 'We will do whatever God has told us. We will cross over as a special force to the land of Canaan, and we shall then have our permanent hereditary property on [this] side of the Jordan.' (B’midbar 32:31, 32)

Quietly, almost imperceptibly, when the deal is finalized, a third tribe materializes, and joins the other two tribes in Transjordan:

To the descendants of Gad and Reuven, and to half the tribe of Menasheh (son of Yosef), Moshe then gave the kingdom of Sichon (king of the Amorites) and the kingdom of Og (king of the Bashan). [He gave them] the land along with the cities along its surrounding borders. (B’midbar 32:33)

For some unexplained reason, a third tribe, Menasheh is included in this arrangement. The Torah offers no explanation; various commentaries have attempted to fill in the gaps. Ramban suggests that the tribes of Reuven and Gad initiated the broadening of their “coalition” in an attempt to ameliorate their feelings of isolation. A considerable number of the members of Menasheh were persuaded that the “REAL estate” already conquered by the Israelites on the eastern bank of the Jordan was preferable to the “theoretical” land that awaited them, as yet unconquered, on the other side. In Ramban’s view, Menashe joined the other two tribes in an arrangement motivated by greed; their only thought was of turning a “quick buck.”

An almost diametrically opposed explanation is offered by the famed Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin. In his view, the addition of the Menashites to this group was not initiated by any of the three tribes involved; rather, the “culprit” was Moshe himself. Moshe was the greatest leader of the Jewish People and as such, he was unwilling to leave part of his flock - especially those who seemed to be “ideologically challenged,” who preferred the anticipated profits from their flocks to life in the Holy Land – all alone outside the borders of Israel. Moshe chose a group of people whom he felt he could trust to be the spiritual leaders and teachers of this far-flung community. Moshe hoped that these descendants of Yosef would follow their forefather’s example, and take care of their brothers. He had faith in the power of Jewish community, and relied upon the mutual responsibility that members of all Jewish communities have to look after one another – socially and spiritually.

Was it greed or ideology, then, that led half the families of the tribe of Menashe to join those who chose the verdant lands outside of Israel? In either case, their social experiment was neither successful nor long-lived. When the Children of Israel were cast into exile, these two-and-a-half tribes were the first to be carried off into captivity, the first to be lost. The East Bank never became a place that could boast about its thriving, vibrant, Torah-centric community. In fact, the only thing they might have boasted about was their identification with the mysterious, unmarked grave of a great Jew who very much wished to cross the Jordan – the man who was outraged by their request to stay outside the Land: Tragically, Moshe, our greatest teacher and our most faithful shepherd, was forced to remain just beyond the border, together with a few tribes who were, just as tragically, indifferent.

For a more in-depth analysis see:

http://arikahn.blogspot.co.il/2015/07/audio-and-essays-parshiot-matot-masai.html

Echoes of Eden

Audio and Essays Parshiot Matot & Masai

Audio and Essays Parshiot Matot & Masai

Echoes of Eden Project:
A Lush Land
http://arikahn.blogspot.co.il/2015/07/parshiot-mattot-and-masei-5775-lush-land.html

Audio:

Thought, Speech and Action

Short version - http://rabbiarikahn.com/audio?id=123

Long version - http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/762874/Rabbi_Ari_Kahn/Parshiot_Matot-Masai_Words_Thought_and_Action

Parshat Matot

http://rabbiarikahn.com/audio?id=125

Parshat Matot / The war against Midian, and flying sorcerers

http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/762562/Rabbi_Ari_Kahn/Parshat_Mattot:_The_war_against_Midian,_and_flying_sorcerers

Parshat Matot / the power of a vow

http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/762556/Rabbi_Ari_Kahn/Matot_-_the_power_of_a_vow

Parshat Masai

http://rabbiarikahn.com/audio?id=115

Parshat Masai / Traveling

http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/762813/Rabbi_Ari_Kahn/Masei_-_Traveling_

Essays:

“Shall Your Brothers Go To War While You Sit Here?”

http://echoesofeden.rabbiarikahn.com/pdf/shall_your_brother_go_to_war

Walking in Circles

http://echoesofeden.rabbiarikahn.com/pdf/parashat_masei_walking_in_circles_5774

Thought, Speech and Action

http://arikahn.blogspot.co.il/2009/07/parshiot-matot-masay-5769.html

Vows

http://www.aish.com/tp/i/moha/48945591.html

Reuben and Gad

http://rabbiarikahn.com/writing?id=187

Half of Menashe

http://arikahn.blogspot.co.il/2010/07/parshiyot-mattot-and-masei-5770-half-of_04.html

Parashat Pinchas 5775 Moshe’s Mantle

Echoes of Eden

Rabbi Ari Kahn

Parashat Pinchas 5775

Moshe’s Mantle

As the Israelites move closer to entering the Land of Israel, issues of inheritance come to the fore. This is true regarding the Land itself, on the one hand, but also in terms of leadership on the other hand. Moshe, who will not enter the Land of Israel, raises the question: Who will be the new leader? Moshe insists that the People of God not be left leaderless: “Let God's community not be like sheep that have no shepherd.'” (B’midbar 27:17)

From the manner in which the request is made[1], and from God’s response, it seems that this is not simply a political or military appointment. The person God chooses will have the unenviable task of filling Moshe’s shoes.

Replacing a legend in any industry is difficult; replacing Moshe seems impossible. In fact, a similar challenge is recorded in the Book of Kings, as the great prophet Eliyahu (Elijah) prepares to leave his student and heir Elisha. The master offers his anxious student one final blessing or wish:

And it came to pass, when they had crossed over (the Jordan), Eliyahu said to Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken away from you.’ And Elisha said, ‘I beg you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’ (2 Kings 2:9)

In what might at first seem to be a haughty or presumptuous request, Elisha asks not for the power of his master, but for double the power, twice the capabilities of the great Eliyahu. In fact, Elisha was far from haughty or power-hungry. He was fully aware of the greatness of his teacher, of Eliyahu’s unsurpassed gifts as a prophet and leader. If anything, Elisha felt inadequate to step into the enormous void that Eliyahu would leave behind, which led him to seek out some way to compensate for the shortfall in leadership and vision he foresaw. In Elisha’s mind, only an endowment of twice the power, twice the insight and vision, would be enough to compensate for his own lack of talent. Only in this way would he, who paled in comparison to his great teacher, be able to meet the challenge and fulfill the needs of the soon-to-be-bereft generation.

In contrast, when God answers Moshe’s plea for a replacement, God instructs him to take “take Yehoshua son of Nun, a man of spirit,… and invest him with some of your splendor so that the entire Israelite community will obey him.” (B’midbar 27:18,20)

Why should Elisha, the man chosen to replace Eliyahu, receive “twice the power” of his predecessor, while Yehoshua, the man chosen to replace Moshe, receive only “some of the splendor” of Moshe? To be sure, Moshe’s prophetic ability was unique. No other human being before or since will ever achieve that proximity to God.[2] Therefore, by definition, Yehoshua could not have been given “twice the power” of his teacher. But this does not explain why his mandate was so curiously limited from the outset.

We may say that this conundrum goes beyond the question of succession, and sheds light on the underlying issue that created the need for a change in leadership in the first place: Moshe could not enter the Land of Israel because, simply put, he was too great. The people could not completely understand or properly estimate Moshe’s capabilities. Instead, his unique relationship with God became a crutch that they had come to rely upon too heavily. Had Moshe continued to lead them into the Land of Israel, they would have remained passive, simply standing by and waiting for miracles to solve their problems and fulfill their needs. They would have become spectators rather than participants in Jewish history.

When God gives His commentary on Moshe’s death, He explains that Moshe was “guilty” of using too much of the power God had bestowed upon him.[3] By striking the rock, Moshe and Aharon gave the impression that they, and not God, were the source of this miracle. At this point in their development, the people had to be weaned from their reliance on miracles, from their expectation that miraculous events were the norm.  The supernatural seemed natural to them. Now, their impending entrance into the Land of Israel would require them to shift into a different mode of existence: The manna would soon be replaced by agriculture, and their sustenance would no longer be insured through the agency of Moshe, Aharon and Miriam. Rather than waiting for their leaders to perform miracles, the people would now become partners with God.

Eliyahu and Elisha lived in a time of religious anarchy. The people were deeply involved in idolatrous worship, and the novice Elisha would have to seamlessly take up the mantle of leadership once worn by Eliyahu. Elisha was well aware of what lay ahead, and he wisely asked to be endowed with even more power than his teacher: The Jewish People needed to see the power of God; anything less would have fallen short of what would be necessary to stem the tide of paganism that had washed over the nation. On the other hand, Moshe’s generation had witnessed unparalleled miracles each and every day. They had no need for one more miracle. What they needed was to begin a new chapter, in which their own relationship with God would blossom and grow through the continuous acts of faith and adherence that would make up their everyday life in the Land of Israel. Moshe’s unique, miraculous form of leadership was what they had needed in the wilderness; the next chapter would be written in a different style, under the leadership of a man who was endowed with a small portion of Moshe’s spiritual capabilities – but with the capabilities most suited to the life that lay ahead of them in the Promised Land.

For a more in-depth analysis see:

http://arikahn.blogspot.com/2015/06/audio-and-essays-parashat-pinchas.html

---

[1] In this section Moshe addresses God in an unusual manner: “Let the Omnipotent God of all living souls appoint a man over the community.”

[2] Dvarim 34:10

[3] See Dvarim 32:51 where the word trespass “maaltem” is used.

Echoes of Eden