Matot-Masei
A large section of our Parshah deals with the war against the Midianites and its consequences. The Midianites, who had led to the disaster of Peor had to be punished for the damage they had caused, and their destruction and the resulting spoil is described in detail. Some of this story sounds harsh or even barbaric to modern ears. So when the army returns having killed all the enemy men but captured the women alive, Moses is angry and demands they also kill the women. According to today’s standards this sounds like a war crime, and thus makes us feel uncomfortable. Yet if we look closer we can discern a different story. According to ancient rules of war, and the Torah, it was permissible to kill all the males as suspected combatants. The women and children were to be kept alive as captives or left alone. This is what the Israelite army originally did, bringing the women back as captives. Moses sees them and blows a fuse. He demands that the adult women should also be killed like the men. But what was his rationale for breaking the established rule of war and the instructions of the Torah? It was that the women were not innocent civilians. It was they that had taken the lead in causing Israel to go astray, thus leading to the loss of 24,000 lives. They were the mainstay of the Midianite plan to damage Israel and thus were in fact enemy combatants. They thus had to share the fate of the men and be killed. Looked at in this way, Moses’ actions seem reasonable and even just. What can this episode teach us today? We also have rules of war that protect non-combatants or civilians. From Israel to Afghanistan to Sri-Lanka, armies are accused of ignoring or flouting these rules. Universally, they deny these accusations. What is the issue? Precisely that faced by Moses. In normal army to army conflict it is easy to distinguish between combatants and civilians and so kill the former and protect the later. In fighting groups such as the Taliban or Hamas, it is very difficult. These groups use civilians as human shields, have women and even children as fighters and generally themselves don’t distinguish between the two. In such a case, we may like Moses have to in fact declare that people who appear to be civilians are in fact combatants, and can share their fate. Like Moses did, we need to adapt the rules of law to new circumstances. There is no other choice.
ALIYAH BY ALIYAH SYNOPSIS
Rishon |
The laws of vows and vowing. The war against the Midianites. |
Sheni |
The purification of the Midianite spoil. The division of the Midianite spoil among the people. |
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Shelishi |
The children of Reuben and Gad ask for land in Trans-Jordan. Moses is upset. |
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Revi’i |
Moses agrees on condition they first fight for the rest of the Land. The stops on the wilderness journey. |
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Chamishi |
Settling the Land. The boundaries of the Land. |
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Shishi |
Dividing the Land. Levite cities. |
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Shevi’i |
The law of manslaughter and female inheritance. |
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Haftorah |
Jeremiah 2;4–28, 3;4, 4;1-2: The sins of Judah and their punishment. |
Sidra Statistics
Parshiot Matot-Masei
· have 112 + 134 = 244 verses;
· is the 9th + 10th in Numbers, 42nd + 43rd in the Torah
· 7th + 4th longest in Numbers, 24th + 11th longest in the Torah
· have 3 pos + 5 neg = 8 mitzvot.
· Numbers has: 10 parshiot, 1288 verses 41 pos + 19 neg = 60 mitzvot.
PAST PARSHAH PUZZLE
No need for Mohel.
Tzelophchad had only daughters, no sons.
PARSHAH PUZZLE
Moses fails to take the hint.
WEEKLY HALAKHA
From Rosh Hodesh Av, it is customary not to eat meat or drink wine, bathe for pleasure or wear newly ironed clothes.
