Shalom from Beta Vikhay and thank you for joining me in the study of Parashat Matot Masay. You can also watch this class on your favorite podcast platform. Today we will discuss the last war. And what do I mean by that? Hashem says to Moshe, Nekom nikmadbne Israel Meta Midianim, Ahar te asef elamecha. It cannot be more direct than that. Hashem says to Moshe, I would like you to lead the war against the Midianites and to revenge what they did against Am Israel, against the nation of Israel. But after this war, you're going to die. We can all hear, we can feel the weight of this commandment. It's basically telling a leader, I'm giving you last more one mission. That's it. Your last mission, you do it, and you die. So obviously there are a few options for the leader. He can say, Thank you, but no, thank you, I'm not going to do it, and then I will not die. Or he will say, For sure, I will do it, and if I die, I die. But the idea is daunting. This is your last task, and then you will die. So what does it mean? What exactly Hashem would like to accomplish here? So the Midrash in Bamid Barabba says the following. He would be able to do it. Why? Shamarwa kadojbaru, nekom vechartef. Because Hashem told him, you will wage this war, and only after that you will die. So if I don't wage this war, I'll live forever. This entire verse comes to teach you about Moshe's leadership and to praise him. When Moshe heard this commandment that you should wage the war against the Midianites and to revenge what they did against Am Israel and then he will die, he didn't hesitate for a second. He says, I understand, I can you know schlep it, I can carry the time as long as I want and then to live forever, but I'm not. I am not going to create any delay for Am Israel to take their revenge because of me. Again, Moses, the leader, looks at the people. He looks at the people and says, What's good for the people? If it's good for me, great, but even if it's not good for me, we are going to do what is right by the people. And then he says, Anashim Natsava, Anashim Tzadikim, the people he is get, he's gathering the troops and he takes righteous people. When Moshe presents it to the army and says to them, you need to wage a war against the Midianites, he says, in order to take revenge for God, not revenge for Am Israel, but for God, says the Midrash. And Moshe says, No, it's a revenge for God. So therefore, what do we have here? We have a very interesting discussion. Hashem says to Moshe, you need to understand that that's a revenge for Am Israel. Moshe says to Hashem, no, no, no. Which is by the way incredible that the midrash describes such a discussion between Moshe and Hashem. Moshe says to Hashem, no, no, no, it's not true. I am telling you, even if we will not be religious, we will not keep even one mitzvah, we will not circumcise ourselves, we will not we will even worship idols. Because you chose us to be your people, they will hate us. So what they did is because they hate you. And therefore, when we go to take revenge with the Midianites, it's for you. If you look at the Pasuk that we mentioned before, you can see it. Hashem says, do it for Am Israel. Many people of Am Israel died as a result of the Midianite, so do something for it. And Moshe crystallized the relationship between Amisrael and Hashem. It's not about us. Anyone who wages a war against us, Am Israel, it's against you, God. It doesn't matter if we are as religious as we should be or less religious. It's about our DNA, our in a way, ontological identity as Am Israel. And that's what Moshe says to Hashem. You're talking about my last war. The last war is not about for Am Islaim. It's for you. Rashi says, Me'eta Midianim, why is Moshe commanded just to wage a war against the Midianites and not the Moabites? Now, why not the Moabites? Because if you remember, in Parashat Balak and later on in Parashat Pinchas, we all know the story that Bilam was hired by the Moabites to curse the Jewish people. He failed, but he gave an advice to the king of Moab to create an environment of seduction and create idol worshipping among Am Israel, and that's what happened. And a tribe, the head of the tribe of Shimon, did something totally inappropriate with Kozbi Batsur, who was a princess from Midian. And Moab and Midian were partnering in it. So why not to wage a war against the Moabites as well? Says Rashi, Sha Mu'avim nich Nasula Dabamati Rashim, Shiusholimutam, Aval Midianimnit Abu al Rivi, Al Rivlolahim. Says Rashi, the Moabites I can justify. Because they were terrified that Am Israel will conquer the land and will basically destroy them. So they try to protect themselves. So I can understand it. Not to accept it, but I can understand it. However, the Midianites, they just did it out of pure hate towards Am Israel. And therefore, the war should be waged against them. Now let's pause here for a second. This is very interesting. And I think it fits really well to the midrash that we just mentioned before. Moshe is conveying a message to Hashem Hashem. It's not about the uniqueness of Torah and Mitzvo that we received, it's about our DNA, our really anthological identity of who we are as your chosen people. Rashi adds another point. He says, this is why we go after the Midianite. The Muabite try to protect themselves from Am Israel, thinking that Am Israel is going to conquer them. The Midianite had no dog in the fight. They just joined because of their pure hate towards Amisrael, which is not about because we want to conquer the land. It's not because we're going to have a war against them. It's not because they don't like the way that we keep Torah or not. They just don't like us. And therefore the war should be against them. The Ramban shifts the discussion and the interpretation towards another path. And he says the following. Moshe's the decree against Moshe was that he cannot cross the Jordan River, he cannot enter the land of Israel. But before he entered the land, he did everything for war against the two giants and the two great kings from the Emirites. And he divided their territory for the tribe of Ruven, God and Menashe, basically the Ramban is answering a question. Why do you expect Moshe to do this war? Give it to Yoshua. Answer is no. Yeshua will enter the land and then his job will begin. The leader, until they reach that place, until they reach the Jordan River, it's Moshe. And also, in a way, Moshe received this honor from God that he knows that he did everything he could until his decree will come to an effect, which means even though he's not entering the land of Israel, knowing it, he didn't just give up. He didn't just say, okay, so if I'm not doing it, so I'm retiring. It doesn't work like that with Moshe. He continues to do whatever he can until he reaches a point that he can't anymore. And then Moshe Khalaka vodle Pinchas, shitba mitzvah va lavle gumra, zoo, ven Ru shele, na gadol. And Moshe took this honor that God gave him and he gave him to Pinchas. Because if you remember, Pinchas was the one who took the spear and killed the head of the tribe of Shimon, Zimri ben Salu, and Kozbi Batsur, the Midianite princess. So he was the one who really initiated the war against Midian at the beginning. So he should be the one to complete it. Again, you see Moshe's leadership. He receives an honor and he gives it to someone that he thinks is even more worthy than him. So according to the Ramban, and this is the shift, he basically says his questions that he had to address were A, why would Moshe lead the world? Why not Yoshua? Answer, this is Moshe's job. B, Hashem wanted to honor him, so he sees that at least part of the mission is already being accomplished by him. Third, look at Moshe's leadership. He receives this incredible gift from God and he gives it to someone that he thinks is even worthier than him. The Malbim also is bothered by the fact that the war is only against the Midianites and the Moabites are basically not being touched. And he says, even though the Moabites really were the first instigators against the nation of Israel, so basically the Malbim, the Malbim gives us a little bit of an introduction to what's going on here. So let's pause here, let's digress here for a second, and let's just go back to Parashot ago. We all know the story with Bilam, he's trying he's trying to curse the Jewish people, fails, then he gives an advice to the king of Moab. He says to him, Go ahead, send the girls, and they will seduce the Amisrael, the men of Am Israel, and then they will lead them to worship idols, and then God will kill them. The king of Moab says, I'm not doing that. The Moabite girls are not uh not like a product that you send. I'm not doing it. The Midianites did it. And therefore, Moab was spared. The Malbin describes the Midianites as really a wicked nation. Think about it. Moav is hiring Bilam to curse the Jewish people. When they see he failed, he gives them an advice to hurt the Jewish people and they don't accept it. The Midianites, who had nothing to do with us, they piggyback on the Moabites and they take the lead now. They send their daughters to seduce the men from Am Israel to create this terrible environment of inappropriate behavior. God really brings a plague. 24,000 people from Amisrael were dead after that plague. And they caused a tremendous damage. And they did it out of not only pure hate. There was nothing between the Midianites and Amisrael. You can call it maybe the beginning of anti-Semitism or another example of anti-Semitism. But the Midianites, and that's why they call them Midianim from the word Din, judgment. It's not justice, it's really judgment. They had like a we'll call it animosity, a built-in animosity against the Jewish people with really with nothing to justify it. And that's what the Malbim says. The Orachim brings um the focus on the end of the sentence. That after you finish that war against the Midianites, you will die. I would say mystical realm. And he says like that. Moshe Rabbeinu, he's called him Shalem, a wholesome person. But even a wholesome person cannot really be fully wholesome because he's not God. What was Moshe's Moshe what was Moshe exactly? What was he missing? Says theim that he was missing one time that he didn't do the right thing. And it's not about hitting the rock. When Zimu ben Salou, when the head of the tribe of Shimon, did what he did with the Midianite princess, Moshe didn't do a thing. By him not doing a thing, it was a sign. People probably interpret it as, oh, Moshe is okay with that, or Moshe is too weak to respond. Moshe in a way had to do something about that specific thing in order to rectify what he didn't do and in order to become again Shalim. Says the war against Midian was Moshe's opportunity to fix what he didn't do at the moment where the head of the tribe of Shimon did whatever he did with the Midianite princess. And only after that, his Neshamah, his soul, will be able to be gathered to his people. And therefore, says the Orachim, when it was Moshe's time to depart, Amar Hashem elav tikunla davem gave him an opportunity to fix it. So he will go ahead and take the revenge, not only for Am Israel, and not only for God, but for Moshe himself. That's the khidush, that's the nobility in Orachim's interpretation. He says, We looked at the Pasuk as, oh, this is a terrible task. Do this war and then die. Says the Orachim, the war against the Midianites is basically your opportunity, Moshe, to die in a quote-unquote, in a perfect way. This is obviously more of a mystical interpretation, but a very original one. Because you look at that and it seems to be a little bit cruel that Hashem says to Moshe, okay, you have a choice. If you want to do the war, you will die. You don't want to do the war, you will continue to live, but you didn't do the war. Here, the Oakhaim suggests a totally different interpretation and says, No, because of Hashem's love to Moshe, he presents him with an opportunity to elevate himself, to repent, to do something that will be beneficial for him. So that's the reading of the Oakheim. He says, to take revenge does not mean just to basically defeat the enemy and to cause him the same harm he did to you. Because if that was the purpose, meet from the Midianites, but be, which in English translation will be in the Midianites. He says the entire goal of this war was just that, okay, you caused me that 24,000 people will die, I'm going to cause you the same thing, or I will double the numbers. This is not the issue. This is not the niqamah, this is not the revenge we are talking about, says the Rashal Hirsch. The true niqamah, the true revenge is to what? It's to take the Midianites out from Am Israel. Which means this sin that the Midianites cause Am Israel to do, you need to, in a way, to clean it, to wash it. So Am Israel will not be attached to the Midianites. From the Midianites that are within them. This is also an incredible original reading of the Pasuk, a little bit of a, in a way, a for midrashic reading, but it's brilliant because basically it says for the time that the Jewish people are still glued, attached to the Midianites, there is no moving forward. The war is to declare we have nothing to do with them anymore. We are not influenced by them, we are not affected by them anymore, we are again back to our path. He says if the war against Midian was only after Moshe's death, people would say, ah, you know why Moshe didn't fight the Midianites? Because Moshe really flattered them. Why would he? Because he was Itro's son-in-law and he dwelt in Midian for many, many years. So as a result, he he just couldn't do it. This is a very, also very original interpretation, but in a way very realistic, I will call it, or technical. Moshe had to show that even though he dwelled in Midian for many, many years, and Moshe was always grateful, but when it comes to what? To nekamah for a revenge for Amisrael or for God, it will not stop him from doing so. The Rabbi Melubavic obviously adds another, an additional dimension. And he says in the battle against Sichon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites, Moses played an active role. Here, however, he merely prepared the people for war while Pinchas actually led them in battle. So the Rabbi Melubavic obviously highlights a little bit of an issue. We talk about the idea that Moshe has the opportunity to rectify his sin. He is willing to lead the people in war to make sure that. He can complete all his mission, but he gives it away. He tells Pinhas to do it. When he fought against Sihon, you know, he did it, he led the war, and here he led Pinhas to do it. Why? This is because God commanded the Jewish people to take vengeance against Midian for enticing them into idolatry of Peor. No Midianite territory was captured or annexed to the land of Israel. So how is that have anything to do with Moshe giving it to Pinchas? I think that what the rabbi is trying to tell us is that here in this war it was nothing to do with the land of Israel. And therefore, Moses said, you know what, this is a real quote-unquote a religious war that I will give to Pinchas. Because Pinchas, who would go into the land of Israel, he will be the Kohen, and he should quote unquote lead this religious war. If it was for the land of Israel, Moshe will go ahead and fight. Sichon, Og, their territory was divided for Am Israel. But here it's not about the land. In a way, it's almost like a reverse psychology, because you would think that because it had nothing to do with the land of Israel, Moshe should lead it. But no, Moshe is trying to do everything for the land of Israel that he will not be able to enter. So Moshe gathered the troops and he says to them, and Moshe spoke to the people, saying to them, please volunteer, send people for the army, and they should fight midyan, la tet nikmat ashembe Midian. So here is the change, not nikmat Israel, revenge for Israel, but rather revenge for God. Moshe speaks to the people, not to the leaders. Moshe is talking to the people, not to the leaders. Because we are talking about the issue of holiness. This entire war against the Midianites, it was about what they cause us in terms of holiness and sanctity of the camp. So therefore, Abshim Shalom Falhir suggests that Moshe addressed the people, not the leaders, because at the end of the day, the leaders can talk, preach, demand holiness, but if the people don't do it, it will never be accomplished. He says this entire war was against Midian, not against Mu'av, because Mu'av tried to really weaken us physically. It's not to conquer the land, it's not to take the spoil of the war. It's about kdusha, it's about holiness, it's about ethics, it's about morality. Here Rap Shimson Rafael Hirsch from obviously 19th century in Germany, he wanted to claim that the real enemy for Am Israel is the enemy who would like to destroy us morally and ethically, not only physically. And I would suggest that in the 21st century, it's probably both. Enemies that want to destroy us physically are obviously a tremendous enemy. And people who try to claim and to accuse us in being immoral and unethical are also a tremendous threat to us because they would like to destabilize any right that we have, not only for our country, but for the basic right to defend ourselves. So the idea that Rabshib Shanfa al Hirsch is talking about is something really important. It's both. Both enemies are someone that we need to address and we need to defeat. The people who literally just want to kill us and the people who would like to destroy us morally and ethically. Rafsanovechik says the following Arm from among you men for the army. If you ask me how do I, a Talmudic Jew, look upon the flag of the state of Israel and has it any halachic value, I would answer plainly. This is one of the most incredible insights into the flag of Israel that Raf Salovechik provides for us. He says the following: He is a halachic person. How does he view an Israeli flag? And he says, I do not hold at all with the magical attraction of the flag or a similar symbolic ceremonies. Judaism negates ritual connected with physical things. Never nonetheless, we must not lose sight of the law in the Shulchon Auch to the effect that one who has been killed by an unju is buried in his clothes, so that his blood may be seen and avenged. As it is written, I will hold the heathen innocent but not in regard to the blood they have shed. In other words, the clothes of a Jew acquire a certain sanctity when spattered with the blood of a murderer. Which Mr. Absalovich says, and this is a very famous law in the Shucha Naochin that codified the Jewish law, saying that if a Jew was murdered by a non-Jew, he's buried with the same clothes that he was murdered with. So the blood is there, and in a way it's to besiege God and to tell God, God, look, Jewish blood is being shed, and it's being buried with that person. So you buried him with the same clothes. So the clothes who basically observe the dam, the blood, become now like shrouds that you give to everyone that you bury. Says Raf Salovechik, how much more is this so of the blue and white flag which has been immersed in the blood of thousands of young Jews defending the country and the population? Religious and irreligious alike, the enemy did not differentiate between them. It has a spark of sanctity that flows from devotion and self-sacrifice. This is an incredible thing. This flag of Israel that are so many, so many men and women who are serving in the army, and so many other Jews who were murdered just because they were Jews. They did it for the flag of Israel. Not only for the national component of it, for this religious component. The flag of Israel is not just only a national symbol, it's a religious symbol. It's a symbol of holiness, of dedication, devotion, passion towards the land, the country, the people, and their God. Raf Salovich looks at the flag of Israel as a holy item. And therefore, when you go to the army, and that's what Moses says to them, a khaltsume itchem, when you go to the army, you understand that you fight for the flag. It's not only about Zionism and nationalism. It's about the essence of Torah. To defend another Jew, to defend the country, to defend the nation, to defend Torah, to defend morality, to defend your people. So Raf Salovechik looks at this war as almost like waving the flag of Israel, encouraging us to think that nekom nikmat bne Israel, nekom nikamat Hashem, the revenge for Am Israel or for God. It's all under this flag. The Rebbe Milovavich again says the word Midian in Hebrew is derived from the word for strife and argument, madon, the evil of baseless hatred, had to be eliminated before we enter the land of Israel. You can see obviously the Hasidic perspective here. You need to destroy the Madon, you need to destroy the hate, the self-hate that is so prevalent, unfortunately, among us. Since baseless hatred is obviously at odds with the harmonious functioning of society that is prerequisite for attaining any national goals, let alone that of promulgating a divinity in the world. Which means the Rabbi Mirubavich saying the last war that motion needs to wage is the Midianites. But the Midianite is just a metaphor for what? For self-hate among the Jewish people, for baseless hate. For just we can have disagreements, but you must have a common goal. You must understand that we are one nation. And that's the first thing that you do, or should I say, the last thing that you do before you enter the land of Israel. When you enter the land of Israel, you need to leave this Midian outside of the land. Maybe it's easier said than done, but it's essential. It's essential for our survival, it's essential for our way to thrive as people in our land, in our country. Everyone, every tribe must send a thousand people. Every tribe, all 12 tribes, sent a thousand people to the army to fight the Midianites. Moshe didn't say, okay, only I need 12,000 from this tribe or from that tribe. All of us together. So every tribe will have the opportunity to participate in destroying this Midian, destroying this madon, this hate. To understand what does it mean to fight for the flag of Israel, for Medinat Israel. And who do we send with the troops? At Pinchas bin Elazarak. Pinchas, the son of El Azara Kohen, he goes with the holy vessels, with the trumpets. He just imagine Pinchas, the son of Ella Zara Kohen, he goes out with them, with the trumpets, with the holy vessels, he goes to war. Because this war is not only just to take revenge, it's about everything we stand for, for our morality and ethics, for God and for Am Israel, for the land, for the flag, for everything we believe in. This is the Rashar Hirsch says, He says, all the other battles on the other side of the Jordan River, Sichon, Og, the Emorites, the narrative does not say that the Aaron, the Ark, went out, and Pinchas or Aharon or anyone went out. He says, and you know why? Because all those wars were wars to defend yourself or to conquer. He says, this war against Midian, it was not about territory. It's about ethics, it's about morality, it's about holiness. And therefore, it is fitting that the Kohen Gadol will go out with the holy vessels, with the holy instruments to wage that war. A war has many dimensions. There is obviously a war that you need to defend yourself. What we call Milchemet Khovah. You are being attacked, you must go and fight for yourself. You must protect yourself. Also, a war, in that war, and I think we all go through that for the last few years. This is not only Milchemet Khovah just to defend ourselves. It's to defend who we are as people. What do we stand for? What our forefathers stood for. Avram, Itsraq, Yaakov, Sarar, If Kara, Khelea. What did we give to the world? We are fighting for that. We are fighting for what is true, what is right, what is correct, what is just, what is moral, what is ethical. We need to understand that this war is almost like a combination of a war against Midian and a war against Sichon and Og and the Emorites. It's to defend our own survival as people, but also the legacy that we would like to perpetuate, not only for our people, but for the entire world. So in this kind of war, elefamateh elefate, every tribe sends people. This is a shrut to be part of such a war that will ultimately lead, with God's help, to a much better world for all of us. Thank you.