Bar-Ilan University
Parshat Hashavua Study Center
Parshat Masei 5774/July 26, 2014
This series of faculty lectures on the weekly Parsha is made possible by the Department of Basic Jewish Studies, the Paul and Helene Shulman Basic Jewish Studies Center, the Office of the Campus Rabbi, Bar-Ilan University's International Center for Jewish Identity and the Computer Center Staff at Bar-Ilan University. For inquiries, please contact Avi Woolf at: .
925
Moab's Relations with Israel
By Amitsur Barak[*]
The last verse of this week's reading and of the book of Numbers concludes the last compendium of commandments in the Pentateuch with the words, "These are the commandments and regulations that the Lord enjoined upon the Israelites, through Moses, on the steppes of Moab, at the Jordan near Jericho" (Num. 36:13). Scripture seems to be stressing the special place where these words were said or the place where the Israelites were situated.
This seemingly innocent verse raises two little questions: first, what importance attached to this particular place, the steppes of Moab? Second, what new point does the verse seek to convey, its message having been conveyed to us in the middle of the weekly portion, in the verse introducing the said compendium: "The Lord spoke to Moses in the steppes of Moab at the Jordan near Jericho, saying" (Num. 35:1).
One possible answer is that mentioning the land of Moab and the steppes of Moab, which come up many other times, too, is ostensibly superfluous. This is a paradoxical response that does not directly address our little question, but instead raises another, far greater question: what was special about the Moabites or their land (incidentally, mentioned in the Torah 49 times, as opposed to Ammon, which is mentioned only 9)? More specifically, the land of Moab is mentioned not only in the two above-mentioned verses, but also in four verses at the very beginning of this week's reading, three of them consecutive and another close by (Num. 33:44-50):
They set out from Oboth and encamped…in the territory of Moab…They set out from the hills of Abarim and encamped in the steppes of Moab, at the Jordan near Jericho; they encamped by the Jordan from Beth-Jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim, in the steppes of Moab. The Lord spoke to Moses in the steppes of Moab, saying...
What is more, eight times before this week's reading Scripture mentions that the Israelites were in the steppes of Moab, or the field of Moab, or the territory of Moab—in the readings of Hukat, Phinehas and Matot. Likewise, Deuteronomy contains seven more references to the Israelites being there—at the beginning of Parashat Devarim, the end of Ki-Tavo, and in the account of Moses' death at the end of the Torah, another five particularly perplexing times, insofar as they appear totally superfluous (at least three of them):
The Lord spoke to Moses,…Ascend these heights of Abarim to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab facing Jericho and view the land of Canaan,…You shall die on the mountain that you are about to ascend (Deut. 32:48-50).
Moses went up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land…So Moses the servant of the Lord died there, in the land of Moab…He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, near Beth-peor…And the Israelites bewailed Moses in the steppes of Moab for thirty days (Deut. 34:1, 5, 6, 8).
As we said, the answer to the question with which we began is paradoxical, for it only reinforces the question: why this repetition of seemingly neutral information that is known to any reader? What was so special about Moab as to justify mentioning it some twenty times regarding where the people were, five of these occurrences in the context of recounting Moses' death? Is there a special connection between Moses and Moab?
We surmise, historically and geographically, that notwithstanding the imperative, "Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession" (Deut. 2:9), the area called the "steppes of Moab" represented the beginning of the conquest and settlement of the land of Greater Canaan, under Moses' leadership. For this territory had already been conquered by the Israelites from the Amorites—the son of Canaan (Gen. 10:16) and one of the seven nations—who had taken it earlier from Moab, as stressed and detailed at length in Parashat Hukat (Num. 21:26-30).
It is noteworthy that the Torah repeatedly mentions the Amorite capital, Heshbon, which before the Amorite conquest had been the capital of Moab (Rashi on Num. 21:30) and was also one of the cities given to the Levites, Moses' tribe, by the tribe of Gad (Josh. 21:37). Of Gad, Moses says: "He chose for himself the first, for there is the plot where the lawgiver is buried" (Deut. 33:21), which Rashi interprets: "He chose for himself the first—he took for his portion territory in the land of Sihon and Og, which was the beginning of the conquest of the land. For there is the plot where the lawgiver—for he knew that there, in his territory, lay the field which was the burial of the lawgiver, namely Moses." In view of all this, perhaps the Torah mentions Moab repeatedly in order to tell us that also the eastern bank of the Jordan was the inheritance of the patriarchs, even though greater sanctity adheres to the western side of the Jordan River.
Alongside this answer, another answer on a higher spiritual level is in order. We may surmise at least two possible responses concerning the special and extremely important relations of Moab with the Israelites and Moses: Balak and Ruth, or to be more precise, the pair Balak / Balaam and, not to be compared, Ruth / David.
Balak / Balaam: It was the king of Moab who brought the strange and unique prophetic figure of Balaam into a most important relationship with Israel. The Torah ascribes great significance to blessings (as evidence, consider the way the Torah describes attempts at transferring blessings from one person to another: Rebekah from Esau to Jacob, and Joseph from Ephraim to Manasseh), and even blessings given or received by a simple person are sufficiently important for the Torah to see fit to note them: Rebekah's siblings to her, Isaac to his sons, Jacob to Pharaoh, etc. Balaam's conjoined blessing, stemming from a divine source, is the longest in the Torah and perhaps in all of Scripture, and is of tremendous importance:
· We rapture in this blessing every morning as we recite Ma tovu ("How goodly are your tents…"), and as the Sabbath day departs we incorporate six expressions from it in the poem, Amar H' le-Ya`akov.
· The Holy One, blessed be He, declares His love for us—something quite exceptional in the Torah—and cites as proof that Balaam's curses were turned into blessings: "No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord…because they hired Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Aram-naharaim, to curse you" (Deut. 23:4-5). But then another verse is added, not directly connected to this command: "But the Lord your G-d refused to heed Balaam; instead, the Lord your G-d turned the curse into a blessing for you, for the Lord your G-d loves you" (Deut. 23:6).
As for Moses' connection to Balaam and Moab, the midrash connects Balaam with Moses by means of the well-known saying (Sifre Deuteronomy, par. 357): "Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses—not in Israel, but among the other nations. And who might that be? Balaam."
Ruth / David: Ruth—the ideal model of a proselyte and wife of Boaz, who was the grandson of Nahshon, chieftain of the tribe of Judah and brother-in-law of Aaron the Priest—was the female progenitor of a royal dynasty, the great-grandmother of King David (genetically one eighth Moabite), who was both the psalmist of Israel as well as the ancestor of the Messiah known as the Messiah descended from David. Her Moabite origins are stressed even after her having converted. The midrash draws a connection between Balak, Ruth and Moab: Ruth is presented as Balak's granddaughter (Sotah 47a): "Rabbi Jose b. Honi said: Ruth was the daughter of Eglon the son of Balak!"
Now for the connection Moses had to Moab and Ruth—this connection runs through David. A fascinating array of associations can be drawn between these two figures, Moses and David, in terms of their character, perseverance and life story, despite differences between them:
· Both are central figures in the Bible. They are the two most thoroughly depicted figures in the Bible, with far more text devoted to them than to any other biblical characters.
· They are the two most highly mentioned by name in Scripture, their names appearing a multiplicity of times more than other biblical figures.
· Both were strong leaders that emerged for the Israelites, perhaps the very strongest, and both were chosen directly by G-d.
· Despite their status, their character and their closeness to the Lord, both had their leadership challenged by others.
· Both had been shepherds before becoming leaders of the people. Moreover, even as leaders they retained their heritage as shepherds. Both compared the people to flock. Moses—"so that the Lord's community may not be like sheep that have no shepherd" (Num. 27:17); and David said—"I alone am guilty, I alone have done wrong; but these poor sheep, what have they done?" (II Sam. 24:17).
· Both were raised in a royal palace.
· Each of them killed a gentile in order to save others, and on account of this deed, be it directly or indirectly, the king in whose house they grew up sought to kill them. Both managed to escape and to stand up successfully against the king or his heir. Both rescued the distressed whom they encountered along their path of flight; Moses, Jethro's daughters from Midianite shepherds, and David, the inhabitants of Keilah from the Philistines (I Sam. 23:1-4). Both in their flight happened upon the home of a priest who gave them bread (Jethro and Ahimelech).
· Both displayed the courage to fight under seemingly disadvantageous conditions: Moses against the Midianite shepherds mentioned above, and David against Goliath. When they succeeded, they were given in marriage the daughter of the patron whom they had helped: Moses, Jethro's daughter Zippora, and David, King Saul's daughter Michal. These women, by their initiative and resourcefulness, saved their lives: Zippora saving the life of Moses in the inn, and Michal, David in his bedroom (I Sam. 19:11-16).
· Both men married women born to a gentile father of elevated position—Zippora, the daughter of the priest of Midian, and Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur.
· They were the authors of the two books most widely read by the Jewish people: the Torah and Psalms. These works have had a tremendous impact on a large part of humanity to this very day, and will probably continue so.
· Both of them led the people for forty years and passed on their leadership position to special individuals who completed the life work they had begun: Joshua, in the promised land, and Solomon, building the Temple and extending the country to its full boundaries.
· The tremendous challenges that faced their successors required three essential traits of leadership: wisdom, to make proper and wise decisions; courage, to be resolute in their decisions; and might, to carry out their decisions. The strength and the courage they received by blessing: the only two figures in Scripture of whom it is said in the singular, "Be strong and resolute," are Joshua (six times, once said to him by Moses) and Solomon (twice by David). As for wisdom to lead, Scripture mentions explicitly and stresses that both received this quality from the Holy One, blessed be He: "Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the Israelites heeded him" (Deut. 34:9); "And G-d said to him [Solomon], 'Because you asked for this…for discernment in dispensing justice, I now do as you have spoken. I grant you a wise and discerning mind; there has never been anyone like you before, nor will anyone like you arise again" (I Kings 3:11-12).
· The Sages list another dozen similarities between Moses and David.
· And last but not least, Moses' grandsons worked in the service of David (I Chron. 26:24-26): "Shebuel son of Gershom son of Moses was the chief officer over the treasuries. And his brothers: Eliezer, his son Rehabiah, his son Jeshaiah, his son Joram, his son Zichri, his son Shelomith—that Shelomith and his brothers were over all the treasuries of dedicated things that were dedicated by King David and the chiefs of the clans, and the officers of thousands and hundreds and the other army officers" (I Chron. 26:24-26).
Translated by Rachel Rowen
5
[*] Professor Amitsur Barak, Raanana.