D'var Torah for Shabbat Mattot (Numbers 30:2 – 32:42)

Week of July 18, 2014

The Torah, and the Fury of War

It is no coincidence that our Torah portion, Mattot, deals with the very issues pressing on the minds of Jews around the world this week. Just as last week’s portion, Pinchas, addressed issues of extremism and violence, of zealotry and extrajudicial punishment, very much in last week’s news headlines, so, too, does Mattot speak to us about unleashing war and fury, which weigh on our minds this week. This should be no surprise. Words of Torah come to provide us with a mirror in which to peer and see ourselves and our lives reflected. The Torah portion arises in this very moment to speak to us where we are in our lives, just as it always does.

In Mattot, Moses is commanded by God to engage in war of revenge against the Midianites, the nation that seduced the Israelites into committing idolatry a few portions ago. The Israelites call up their troops, a thousand from each tribe, sound the shofar and take to the battlefield, and proceed to slay every male, including the five kings of Midian. But the Israelites spare the women and children, and present them to Moses. Moses becomes enraged that they have not killed out the women as well. Moses becomes angry they have done so, and in his anger, commands the troops to put all the Midianite women to the sword, because earlier they were responsible for the lascivious idolatry of the Israelites, and commands that all the male children, too, be slain. Surprisingly, the next command to the Israelites is uttered not by Moses, but by Elazar the Kohen.

Without offering any further comment, the Torah seems to approve of these acts of warfare and revenge, the killing of the Midianite women and their innocent children, the anger of Moses. And yet, despite this narrative, the Rabbis of Jewish tradition offered their own internal protest against the portion’s events. In a few, select fascinating statements, the Rabbis who shaped Judaism read this portion and voiced their opinions about its events. Frequently, to be sure, the ancient Rabbis accepted the events of this war and bloodshed as necessary. But in other comments, some of the ancient Rabbis also voiced their discomfort with aspects of Moses’ and the Israelites’ behavior.

In Midrash Numbers Rabbah 22:4, the Rabbis imagine Moses’ internal struggle with God’s command to exact revenge. They write: “When the Holy One had told Moses, ‘Seek vengeance,’ God used the singular form of the verb (n’kom), meaning, ‘You yourself shall do it.’ But Moses sent others [by recruiting troops, and not going to war himself]! Moses thought: It is not right for me to cause distress to a people who have been good to me! As the proverb puts it: ‘Do not cast a stone into the cistern from which you drank.’”

This passage demonstrates the Rabbis’ discomfort with this war. Didn’t Moses experience compassion and shelter in Midian, and weren’t Moses’ wife and beloved father-in-law Jethro both Midianites? The Rabbis depict Moses as remembering his personal experiences with them, and as remembering that elements within the Midian people are capable of goodness and compassion. Indeed, they have been his very family members. Moses sees the basic humanity of those against whom he is commanded to engage in war. He is moved by this realization, moved to examine his personal responsibility regarding the war. This is an alternative perspective on violence, and it is our ancient Rabbis who give expression it.

We turn our attention to the wholesale slaying of the Midianite women and children, an act which in modern times, too, has drawn the criticism of many readers. Another ancient Talmudic midrash also shows the Rabbis’ own deep protest against the slaying the women. In tractate Pesachim 66b, Resh Lakish (Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, 3rd century rabbi) said: Any person who becomes angry, his wisdom will depart from him, and his prophecy will depart from him. For example, see Moses; as it is said: “Moses became angry with the commanders of the army” (Numbers 31:14). Moses then commanded the slaying of women and children. The Torah reports that it was Elazar the Kohen, not Moses, who issued the very next commandment. From this we learn, says Resh Lakish, that God’s word was unavailable to Moses, that it was hidden from him, because of his anger.

The Talmud’s conclusion is deeply instructive. At the very moment when Moses instructed his commanders to kill the Midianite women and children, his access to God’s wisdom and prophecy had fled from him. Here the Rabbis present an alternate view to the Torah’s narrative; they do not approve of indiscriminate killing of civilians, even in wartime. Though they do not go so far as to call Moses’ act a violation of human rights, we can read in their judgment of Moses a protest against unleashing fury on innocent people.

Repeatedly, our ancient Rabbis used their midrashic imaginations to write new layers to the Torah and lay them over its explicit words. On occasion, they even showed their willingness to question the mainstream narrative, to articulate alternative viewpoints, to challenge authority for the sake of justice. Jewish tradition approves of internal debate and sees protest as very healthy. Such debate helps to clarify our values, and ideally, to inform what actions we take as a people. It helps us better achieve justice.

At this week of turmoil, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Israel, for safety and security. We pray that bloodshed and war will end, and that our people’s leaders will recognize the humanity of innocent people, and be blessed with wisdom to truly bring peace, justice and tranquility for all God’s creatures.