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July 25, 2025 - 30 Tamuz 5785
A Funny Thing Happened Dear Friends, I will be away this Shabbat, but I'm pleased to have Rabbi Menachem Creditor fill in for me. Rabbi Creditor is a scholar-in-residence at UJA-Federation of New York and is also an author and musician, so please join us on Shabbat morning and give a warm welcome to Rabbi Creditor. "What if we just stayed here instead?" Amidst the wandering, squabbling, putting down insurrections, negotiating and battling with neighboring peoples, the question must have been pretty jarring to Moses. As the Israelites' journey brought them just to the east of the Jordan River, two of the tribes looked around at the land they stood on and couldn't imagine anything more fitting for them and their families. In Numbers 32, we read “The Reubenites and the Gadites owned cattle in very great numbers.” Noting that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were a region suitable for cattle, the men came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the chieftains of the community, and said, "The land that the Eternal has conquered for the community of Israel -- is cattle country, and your servants have cattle. It would be a favor to us if this land were given to your servants as a holding; do not move us across the Jordan.” Moses hears this and seems to have a post-traumatic reaction. In their request, he hears the seeds of another rebellion against God and himself, just like when the scouts from each tribe spread calumnies in attempts to influence the people, and have them turn back towards Egypt. He confronts them directly, sharing what he is fearful of, recapping that unfortunate episode, and reminding them what the ultimate fate of those rebels was: "Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here? Why will you turn the minds of the Israelites from crossing into the land that the Eternal has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to survey the land. After going up...they turned the minds of the Israelites from invading the land that the Eternal had given them..." God -- Moses goes on to remind them -- then punished the entire nation of those twenty and older, decreeing that they will never set foot in the Promised Land, only allowing Joshua and Caleb from that generation to do so. "And now you, a breed of sinful men, have replaced your fathers, to add still further to the Eternal's wrath against Israel. If you turn away from [God], who then abandons them once more in the wilderness, you will bring calamity on this people." In their efforts to disabuse Moses of his insurrectionist fears, the Gadites and Reubenites offer a deal. If they can set up shop on this cattle-rich land and allow their families to begin residing there, the men will serve as shock-troops (i.e. the first line of soldiers to invade), incurring much greater risk to themselves to ensure victory for the whole nation. "We will not return to our homes until the Israelites -- every one of them -- are in possession of their portion." Moses feels this is a fair deal, but wants to underscore that this would be a deal made with God, not just with Moses and the people. The stakes are much higher for everyone involved. "If you do this...you shall be clear before the Eternal and before Israel, and this land shall be your holding under the Eternal. But if you do not do so, you will have sinned against the Eternal; and know that your sin will overtake you." While most likely this has been preserved in our tradition to explain the presence of certain peoples in certain geographical areas, I wonder what other purposes this short but significant episode serves. Perhaps it demonstrates another example of a request or challenge to the status quo of the moment that is reasonable, like the plea of Tzlophechad's daughters to inherit their father's land. Perhaps it is to show us that Moses, while clearly much older now, is still of very clear mind and wisdom to be able to deliberate thoroughly and fairly. Or perhaps it's here to remind us, as Voltaire famously did, that sometimes "perfect is the enemy of the good." Sometimes the bird in the hand really is worth two in the bush, and it seems like the Gadites and the Reubenites felt that way. Despite the ill-fated spying expedition that provided some intel on the land, no one beyond those twelve scouts actually saw it, and they certainly didn't see all of it. So who knew what the land there actually was like? What if they got to their portion and it was awful for cattle? As it was their literal livelihood, they just couldn't take that chance. And when you have perfect farmland in front of you, how can you walk away? I know I am like so many of us, who can endlessly chip away at every side of a project, or wordsmith every letter and punctuation mark of a presentation or sermon, convincing ourselves that there is a level of complete and total perfection that we can achieve. While that can serve us by pushing ourselves to continually aim higher and strive for better, it can also put undue and unfair pressure on ourselves, and make a B+ grade feel like an F. That doesn't do us any good at all. It only drains our energy and saps our self-esteem, so that we don't feel as confident or positive the next time around. It is indeed a tricky and delicate balance to simultaneously push ourselves to be the best we can be, while also being compassionate and nurturing to ourselves, allowing us to at least be okay, if not good with, being "good enough." We set out hopes and goals for ourselves based on the world we see, but then life and that world changes, sometimes violently, and we need to pivot to find and recognize the best we can do, and the best that is available to us. Perhaps that is the enduring lesson of the Gadites and the Reubenites. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Joshua Strom
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