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Jeff and Lori Lasday in Petra, Jordan
Parshat Matot: Numbers 30:2-32:42;
Jeremiah 1:1-2:3.
R
ecently I had the opportunity
to cross over to the other
side. It happened last month
when I joined the tour group that my
wife was leading in Israel.
One moment we were in
Israel and the next moment
we had crossed the border
into Jordan. We were on our
way to explore the remains
of Petra, an ancient city that
was carved into the rock
face of steep cliffs more
than 2,000 years ago.
From the Jordanian port
city of Aqaba we boarded
our bus for the two-hour
drive. We drove due north,
through winding moun-
tain ranges, alongside Israel's eastern
border, which was now to our west.
From high up we were able to look
down into Israel. It was hard not to
imagine what it must have been like
for the Israelites to look down into the
Promised Land from our vantage.
In fact, along the way we could see
the glimmer of a dome in the distance
that traditionally marks the spot where
Aaron is buried, over-looking the Land
of Israel, but not quite there.
What must the Israelites have been
thinking? In this week's parshah,
Matot, we find out.
The parshah describes that, while
the time is almost at hand for the
Israelites to cross over into Israel, two
of the tribes balk at entering the land.
The tribes of Reuben and Gad ask
to stay on the east side of the Jordan
River, which they feel will be a better
place to feed and grow their cattle.
Moses angrily rebukes them for their
disloyalty and shirking their responsi-
bilities.
As part of a negotiation, Reuben and
Gad reassure Moses that they will help
conquer the Land of Israel, and only
after the land is won would they then
return to their lands east of the Jordan.
With this promise Moses relents to
their request.
Nehama Leibowitz understands this
story as an example of a classic "dilem-
ma between the choice of a career —
personal advancement — or the fulfil-
ment of a mission:' On the
one hand, stood men whose
interests lie in the material
possessions of their cattle
and their wealth, while on
the other hand, stood a man
who for more than 40 years
had never forgotten his
Divine-driven mission, his
charge from God to bring
the people into the land.
Reuben and Gad pres-
ent their case in terms of a
material quid pro quo; they
will help in the conquering
of the rest of Israel and in exchange
they will receive the land that they
desired. Moses presents his arguments
in terms of relationship to God. It
is God alone who will drive out the
enemy and divide up the land.
Often we start out on our daily life
journeys with a mission, a higher goal
in mind, but become distracted along
the way. We mean well, but the chal-
lenge is too difficult or the journey too
long. The immediate material reward
becomes more attractive than the spir-
itual or higher level goal. We detour
from our original plan.
It's an interesting experience cross-
ing over to the other side, as long as
you can find your way back home. ❑
Jeffrey Lasday is director of Federation's
Alliance for Jewish Education in Bloomfield
Township.
Conversations
• What do you do to help your-
self stay on mission?
• Is your job a career or a
mission?
• If you were God, would you
have let Gad and Reuben (and
half of Menasha) stay on the
other side of the Jordan?
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July 17 • 2014
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