Summarized by Itai Weiss
Translated by David Strauss
Introduction: The War Against Midyan
The war against Midyan at the beginning of Parashat Matot continues the narrative sequence of Parashat Balak and the beginning of Parashat Pinchas. The narrative sequence, and the Divine command to "harass the Midyanites and smite them" (Bamidbar 25:17), were abruptly interrupted by a paragraph break in the middle of a verse at the beginning of Parashat Pinchas:
And it came to pass after the plague,
that the Lord spoke to Moshe and to Elazar the son of Aharon the priest, saying: Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel… (Bamidbar 26:1-2)
It would seem that the Torah wishes to emphasize that despite dealing with the sin of Ba'al Pe'or and the war against Midyan that came in its wake, we must not lose sight of the central goal – entering into the Land of Israel. For this reason, the sequence of the commandment to wage war against Midyan and its actual implementation is interrupted, and in the interim, we encounter passages that deal explicitly with entry into the Land of Israel: the census for allotment of the territories, the appointment of Yehoshua, and the musaf offerings.
As noted, after these passages, and following the transition from Parashat Pinchas to Parashat Matot, the Torah goes back to describe the war against Midyan, which is commanded as follows:
And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying: Avenge the children of Israel from the Midyanites; afterward, you shall be gathered to your people. (Bamidbar 31:1-2)
This verse clearly indicates that Moshe Rabbeinu's life's work will not be complete until the war against Midyan has been fought. Only after the mission is accomplished will he be gathered to his people. In addition, the verses indicate that the war against Midyan is almost as unmitigated as the war against Amalek, almost without mercy for the enemy. Why must this war be so harsh?
The Wilderness – and the Tents
To appreciate the nature of this war, we must go back to Bilam and understand the peculiarity of the ideology of Pe'or. In the previous parasha, Parashat Balak, Balak takes Bilam to the "top of Pe'or," for him to curse Israel from there:
And Balak took Bilam to the top of Pe'or, that looks down upon the wilderness (yeshimon). (Bamidbar 23:28)
What was Balak trying to accomplish? Why did he take Bilam specifically to the top of Pe'or? The verse seems to emphasize that Pe'or overlooked the wilderness, where the Israelites camped – a natural desert, full of primeval and untouched landscapes, a place with no trace of civilization or human culture. The "appropriate" idolatry in the wilderness is that of Ba'al Pe'or, for as Chazal have taught us, this idolatry is performed by opening oneself (Mishna Sanhedrin 7:6), i.e., by defecating. This is idolatry carried out in a natural, liberating, and uninhibited way, releasing the basic urges of man.
But in fact, what Bilam saw in the wilderness was quite different from the naturalness and lack of humanity that Balak had expected they would find:
And Bilam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him. And he took up his parable, and said: The word of Bilam the son of Be'or, and the word of the man whose eye is opened; the word of one who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, fallen down, yet with opened eyes: How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwellings, O Israel! As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the riverside; as aloes planted of the Lord, as cedars beside the waters. (Bamidbar 24:2-6)
The descriptive terms Bilam uses here are diametrically opposed to those appropriate to a desert: streams, gardens by the river – one might say he is looking at northern Europe! And Bilam does not only see the water, but also the order, the culture, and the humanity maintained in Israel's dwelling, tribe by tribe. These are all images of civilization, countering the wilderness and the void (pa'ur).
This distinction, regarding the contrast between the wilderness and primordial nature, on the one hand, and the camp of Israel, on the other, is also evident in Bilam's blessings, which differ from those that he had uttered on the two previous occasions. In the first blessings, for instance, Bilam uses images such as: "Behold, a people that rises up as a lioness, and as a lion he lifts himself up; he shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain" (Bamidbar 23:24). This is a description of a jungle, of wild nature. It is true that Israel will be the king of the beasts, but he is still likened to a beast himself; "and he drinks the blood of the slain"! It is precisely in the third set of blessings that these descriptions change, and the focus shifts to the culture and humanity with which Israel dwells by its tribes, as in the statement: "How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwellings, O Israel" (Bamidbar 24:5).
The War Against Unbridled Nature
In general, Judaism is not obsessed with the physical hygiene of the individual, as other religions are. Judaism is occupied with the war against impurity and death, but not with excrement. However, in one place the Torah demands high standards – in the laws of designating a place for defecation and using a trowel, which apply to a camp going out to war, and in the rationale: "For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp… therefore shall your camp be holy" (Devarim 23:15). Humanity, the restraint of primal and natural impulses and drives – these are the very basis for the resting of the Shekhina. Moreover, the greater the potential for unleashing the destructive inclinations of man, the higher the bar of self-control and restraint that the Torah demands.
There are many parallels between the sin of Ba'al Pe'or and the sin of the golden calf, all stemming from this fundamental point. With the sin of the golden calf, following their fear and apprehension over Moshe's disappearance, the Jewish people find an outlet for their passions and let loose all restraint. On the descent from Mount Sinai, Yehoshua hears "the sound of war in the camp" (Shemot 32:17), and Moshe responds that he has heard "the sound of revelry" (Shemot 32:18): a wild, licentious sound.
The uncompromising war against Midyan is a war against unbridled human nature – not against human nature, but rather against nature that is unrestrained. The Torah is not interested, God forbid, in neutralizing natural forces, but gives them their place; in fact, the war against Midyan is a war of vengeance. Vengeance is a primal human instinct, and the Torah gives it a place and channels it, to the extent that "vengeance is great, as it has been set between two Divine names" (Berakhot 33a) – but only after refinement and purification.
The Torah allows room for man's aggressive forces, but only when he has mastered them and is able to curb himself. Unbridled submission to nature, the unleashing of man's instincts without refinement or restraint, is the root of the all-out war against Midyan and the ideology of Pe'or.
[This sicha was delivered by Harav Mosheh Lichtenstein on Shabbat Parashat Matot-Mas'ei 5781.]
(Edited by Sarah Rudolph)
No comments:
Post a Comment