Better Ideas

Weekly Torah Lesson

Parasha: Matot (Tribes)
Torah: B’midbar 30:2 – 32:42

When Avinu gave man “a living soul”, he wanted him to use his intellect to “work the land ”and “have dominion over the earth”. Man seems to flourish under these conditions but on several occasions in the Scriptures we read where man thinks that he “has a better idea” than what he was told to do. One of these “occasions” appears in this week’s Torah portion.

32:1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; 2 The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moshe, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying, 3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 4 Even the country which Avinu smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle: 5 Why, said they, if we have found grace in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.

** Their reasoning seems to be logical. This was the same land that Lot had found very appealing about four hundred years earlier. Immediate gratification is hard to resist.

6 And Moshe said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brothers go to war, and shall you sit here? 7 And why discourage you the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which Avinu has given them?

** Moshe sensed what losing approximately 20% of the nation’s population and more importantly, 20% of the armed forces would do to the morale of the people.

14 And, behold, you are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Avinu toward Israel. 15 For if you turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you shall destroy all this people.”

** Moshe presented the reasons why he opposed this request from these tribes. He equated this “better idea” as being another rebellion against Avinu. However, the tribes persisted in justifying their “better idea” for Israel.

“16 And they came near to him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: 17 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

** Notice how the tribes are “spinning” their “better idea” as if it had already happened.

** Avinu, through Moshe, decides to let the two and one half tribes have their way.

20 And Moshe said to them, If you will do this thing, if you will go armed before Avinu to war, 21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before Avinu, until he has driven out his enemies from before him, 22 And the land be subdued before Avinu: then afterward you shall return, and be guiltless before Avinu, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before Avinu. 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Avinu: and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth.

** There are times when we “get what we want” and don’t see the consequences of receiving what we wanted for years later.

33 And Moshe gave to them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sichon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.

This “better idea” lasted a couple of hundred years before it was conquered by their long standing enemies and disappeared into history.