JHI Dvar Torah on Parshat Matot

PARSHAT MATOT – PURSUING PEACE

As their 40 year sojourn in the desert drew to a close, the Jews encamped in what is now the country of Jordan and prepared to enter the land by crossing westward across the Jordan River. The tribes of Ruvain and Gad then declared that they would prefer to remain in that area and forego their rights to ancestral land within Israel. They possessed a great deal of livestock, and they felt that the land east of the Jordan River was better suited to grazing than Israel proper.

The entire nation had just participated in the war for the area that these two tribes desired. The mainland of Israel itself, however, remained to be conquered. If so, it would have been unfair for these two tribes to settle and leave the conquest of Israel for the others. If the other Jews fought to secure their area east of the Jordan, the two tribes were duty bound to participate in conquering Israel.

Moshe (Moses) and the two tribes arrived at a compromise. The men of military age from the two tribes would enter Israel together with the rest of the Jews. They would remain there and participate in all of the battles until the wars were completed. The other members of the two tribes would remain in their area, and all of them would be reunited once the fighters returned.

The Commentary of the Sforno (Parshat Matot 32:28) explains that there was one remaining difference of opinion between Moshe and the members of the two tribes. Moshe felt that until the pledge to fight in Israel was completely fulfilled, they should not be granted outright ownership of their land. The members of the two tribes argued that the land should be given to them immediately based on their pledge to participate in the battles until their successful conclusion.

The Sforno (ibid. 32:33) further explains the sentences in Parshat Matot to indicate that in the end, Moshe acquiesced to their point of view…for the sake of peace. Moshe’s view was more inherently just, for he was representing the Wisdom of The Almighty. Furthermore, the Sforno explains that Moshe only honored the wishes of the two tribes for the purpose of peace. This clearly implies that the Torah is saying that were it not for the imperative to avoid strife, Moshe’s opinion would have been deemed correct and it would have therefore prevailed.

This teaches a basic and highly relevant idea on the obligation to prevent strife. As a rule, “It is more important to avoid discord than it is to be right.” Moshe was “right.” His view was aligned with the Divine Wisdom. Hence, accepting the position of the two tribes meant compromising Absolute Truth. One might assume that Divine Precepts must always be unconditionally followed – and compromise in matters of the Torah’s perspective is sacrilegious and forbidden. Moshe saw things differently. He agreed to forego being absolutely complicit with G-d’s Will in order to avoid quarreling with those who would have rejected his decision.

As a practical matter, in this day and age, whenever people quarrel, both sides are likely partially right and partially wrong. Unlike the prophets of biblical times, it is now extremely difficult for one to be certain of being altogether “right” in a quarrel. If so, it is even more obligatory for today’s people to compromise their views in order to pursue peace than it was for Moshe.

There is, however, one point that should be clarified. The Torah’s “rights and wrongs” can be divided into two categories: A) The 613 Commandments of the Torah and, B) Daat Torah. The first category denotes the specific positive and negative commandments of the Torah such as honoring parents and avoiding unkosher food.

Category B) encompasses the opinions and suggestions of the Torah that are not a part of the 613 Mitzvot. For example, the Talmud writes, “One should divide his money into thirds – a third in land, a third in cash, and a third in business.” (There is some discussion among rabbis as to the exact meaning of this phrase.) The fact that this suggestion is incorporated in the Talmud means that that it is a part of the sacred Torah; Torah-minded Jews therefore accept it as the word of G-d. Nevertheless, one who ignores this advice is not violating a Mitzvah of the Torah.

There is a basic difference between Category A) and Category B) that is most relevant to this Dvar Torah. As a rule, except in matters of life and death, Category A) mitzvot must always be observed. Daat Torah, however, has many adaptations. For example, even the poorest of Jews are not allowed to eat less expensive unkosher food or work on Shabbat in order to become financially solvent. However, extremely poor people need not follow the Talmud’s advice on dividing one’s assets into thirds – they cannot afford to. It is not that Daat Torah can be ignored – it is the Word of The Almighty. One, however, who is steeped in Torah is capable of discerning how and to what extent Daat Torah applies to specific situations.

Understanding this distinction is necessary in order to understand what Moshe did for the sake of peace...and what he would not have done. Moshe did indeed concede The Almighty’s preferred approach in order to maintain tranquility among Jews. Although the Daat Torah was to only hand over the land after the military service was completed, Moshe gave it to the two tribes earlier in the interest of communal harmony. Moshe, however, would have never compromised in a matter of Halacha (Torah Law) such as permitting the eating of unkosher food, no matter how it affected peace and harmony.

The imperative to avoid quarreling among Jews is of paramount importance. This dvar Torah expresses the extent to which one must go to promote harmony. However, the pursuit of peace does not justify violating any of the Torah’s outright commandments. Except for when human life is at stake, the Torah’s commandments are inviolable.