Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bamidbar
- Matot-Masei
& vows. In Halacha, a promise is a promise & must
be kept; our words create a tangible reality that
binds us, as surely as Hashem created the entire
universe through "speech:" ("And G-d said, let
there be....."). So it seems appropriate that
this section of oaths is followed by the call for
war against Midian, which hired Bilaam to "curse
us to death." The time had come for vengeance mida k’neged mida.
What is perplexing is that after the war, the
laws of kashering vessels is given. The
utensils captured in battle had to be purified
with a purging either via water (hagala) or fire
(libun), before it was permitted for us to use
them (this is still how we kasher to this very
day). But does it not seem rather odd to
interrupt the narrative for a lesson in practical Jewish law?!
The pasuk introducing the laws of kashering
states: "Zot chukat Ha-Torah," this is the
statute of the Torah. "Chok" refers to laws for
which the reason is not readily apparent, such as
wearing tzitzit or keeping kosher. But "hagalat
keilim" seems logical: if non-kosher food is
absorbed into a pot through heat, traces of that
same food should be removed via heat. (The
operative principle of kashering is, "k'bolo,
kach polto," the medium by which something is
absorbed is the medium by which it is then
expunged). So placing these laws here – more than
the law itself - is indeed its own a kind of chok, or mystery.
I suggest that perhaps this Halacha of kashering
was davka stated here, just after the war with
evil Midian, to tell us that as horrible as war
can be, with all its concomitant suffering &
indiscretions, at times it is necessary as a way
of cleansing, or purging something treif in our
midst. In this case, we had to completely cleanse
ourselves of the impure influence of Midian &
their despicable, repugnant form of scatological
idolatry, a ritual totally abhorred by Hashem.
In Masei, a similar warning is given to Bnei
Yisrael. We are told to demolish the idols we
found in Canaan & completely purge Israel of the
immoral Canaanites & their practices, driving
them out of the land. If we fail to do so, says
G-d, "they will be pins in your eyes & thorns in
your sides & what I had meant to do to them, I will do to you."
We are now embroiled in an existential war to
"kasher" our part of the world, ridding it of the
perverse ideology of Hamas & fundamental Islam,
which glorifies death, has no regard for human
dignity & plots to bring the entire world under
its oppressive control. Hashem has placed us in
position to purge this evil cancer before it
spreads & engulfs humanity in its wake. Today's
attack on a leader of this evil alliance displays
our daring and determination to rid the world of
those who would disgrace and destroy it. May G-d give us strength.
At The Shabbat Table
Matot - Masei 5778
Rabbi Daniel Kirsch | Tamuz 29 5778
