How to do
Central America
on sr a day.
Each Must Contribute
For The Good Of All
RABBI ELIEZER COHEN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
ear the end of parshas Ma-
tot, the tribes of Reuben
and Gad (and later joined
by half of the tribe of
Menashe) come before Moses and
request permission to dwell in the
land previously captured from
the Amorites.
They have many animals and
these lands are particularly suit-
ed for raising their herds and
flocks. Moses objects very strong-
ly to their proposal. He accuses
them of "continuing in the evil
ways of the previous genera-
tion"—demonstrating their re-
luctance to settle in the land of
Canaan, the land promised to
their forefathers and thereby neg-
atively influencing the entire na-
tion.
In addition, in his initial reac-
tion to their request, Moses
seems to indicate another objec-
tion to their request. He asks
them pointedly, "Will your broth-
ers go into war and you will stay
here?"
Moses reproves these tribes for
separating themselves from the
rest of the nation and not joining
them to aid in the conquest of
Canaan. After all, the entire na-
tion fought to conquer the lands
of the Amorites, of Sichon and
Og, that these tribes wished to-
settle; it is only right that they,
in turn, should help conquer the
land of Canaan for the rest of the
nation. But even more than be-
ing only a matter of what is just
and right, Moses is pointing out
that it is improper for any seg-
ment of the nation to separate it-
self for purposes of its own
priorities and refuse to join to-
gether in pursuing the welfare of
the entire nation.
Moses indicates that the high-
est priority and concern of every
segment of the Jewish people
must be the welfare of the entire
nation as a whole. Thus, we can
understand the conditions placed
upon Gad and Reuben to settle
the land they requested.
Moses accepts their offer to
leave their families and proper-
ty in fortified cities while the men
join in the conquest of Canaan
with the rest of the nation until
the conquest is completed and
only then return and settle on
their own land on the east side of
the Jordan River. But Moses also
makes clear what will happen if
they do not fulfill their agree-
ment. Moses tells them as well
as the future leadership of the
Jewish nation: "And if they do not
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Eliezer Cohen is rabbi of Young
Israel of Oak-Woods.
go over the Jordan River armed
to fight together with you then
they will take as their possession
land in Canaan together with
you". That is to say, if these tribes
do not fulfill their commitment
to remain united in the war of
conquest, then they will be forced
to remain part of the nation as as
whole.
Actually they pay no penalty
for abrogating their commit-
ment—after all, at the outset
they stood to inherit land in
Canaan as did the other tribes—
but the point is they would not be
allowed to withdraw from the na-
tion entirely and pursue only
their own concerns. Moses made
it very clear the nation must, un-
der all circumstances remain one
unit—cooperating and working
together for the greater good of
the whole regardless of the indi-
vidual concerns or goals of any
particular segment. Parochial
concerns must be subordinated
to the welfare of the entire Jew-
ish people.
Shabbat Matot-
Mass'ei:
Number 30-:2-36:13
Jeremiah 2:4-28,3:4.
The emphasis on unity of pur-
pose can also be seen in this se-
drah in the distribution of the
spoils from the war with Midian.
Exactly one half of the spoils tak-
en went to the actual soldiers
(1000 from each tribe with the ex-
ception of Levi) while the same
amount was distributed to the
rest of the nation. Those that per-
sonally fought in the war did so
on behalf of the entire nation as
a whole.
The same type of distribution
of spoils can be seen in the Book
of Samuel I, Chapter 30, where
some of those who fought object-
ed to sharing "their" spoils with
those too tired to fight. David in-
sisted that they all share in the
spoils and, in fact, "established it
as a rule andjudgement of israel
to this very day." The Jewish peo-
ple are one and must function as
one.
Each of us personally and each
segment of the Jewish people
have concerns and goals. How
unfortunate it is that these con-
cerns become primary even when
they are mutually exclusive to
the greater good and welfare of
the Jewish people as a whole.
Throughout history we as