Mattos Massei, 5775: Spoils of War

By Rabbi Joshua (martially known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

The Jewish people, following God's command as delivered by Moshe, waged a battle of vengeance against the Midianites.  An account is then given of the booty in various forms taken in the battle, and the use it was put to.  In regard to the “malkoach hashevi,” the plunder of captives and animals, it was divided between those who fought in the battle and the rest of the people.  After this account, the Torah tells us that members of two tribes, Reuven and Gad, had a lot of cattle, and, seeing that the land east of the Yarden was a good land to raise their flock, they approached Moshe and asked that they be able to settle there, rather than cross the Yarden and live in Eretz Yisroel proper, with the rest of the nation.  Moshe, although at first opposed, received a clarification that the two tribes would indeed join in the conquest of Eretz Yisroel, but would return afterwards to the eastern side, where they would have left their possessions and family, and settle there.  Moshe agreed to this arrangement, and allowed them to proceed as they requested.

Many questions arise in regard to the episode with the two tribes, but we will focus on two of them.  First, where did these two tribes get so many cattle?  Why did they seem to have so much more than the other tribes?  Second, why is this incident recorded immediately after the account of the distribution of the spoils?  What is the connection?  Rabbi Moshe Yehudah Jakobovits, in his Zichron Moshe, gives an answer that addresses both questions, and that can render some insights into the effects of war on the human personality.

Rabbi Jakobovits points out that the captured animals were divided between the soldiers and the rest of the people. The tribes of Reuven and Gad, as we see from what followed, were courageous warriors and thus probably played a greater role in the battle than did other tribes, and, therefore, received more cattle in the distribution.  Understanding that they were so involved in fighting then can perhaps explain why, in explaining their proposal to Moshe, they mentioned the provisions they would make for their possessions before mentioning the provisions they would make for their families.  Although Moshe, in repeating their proposal, reordered their priorities, as pointed out by Rashi, it could be that the brutal nature of battle, in which they had been so intensively involved, had a subliminal effect on their feelings of sensitivity towards human needs, that needed to be set straight.

In a related way, we can suggest that the reason for the tribe of Gad approaching Moshe first, before Reuven, who was the first born and should have spoken first, is also an indication of the effects of war. As Rav Chaim Dov Rabinowitz points out in his Da'as Soferim, the battle against Midian was really the first religious war in history, a battle against the ideology of Midian that lay behind their idolatry. What was that ideology?  Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, in his Sichos Mussar, says that it consisted of removing all boundaries around one's behavior. That was symbolized by the method of serving that idol, which was defecating in front of it. On some small scale, giving priority to the firstborn represents order and the setting of boundaries. It could be, then, that in confronting and battling the ideology of Midian, some aspect of its character affected the warriors involved, and led them to break the usual order of procedure. These suggestions, whether or not correct, should make us aware of the potential negative effects of doing battle, and lead us to appreciate the halachos surrounding its proper execution, as set forth in the Torah.