Parshas Mattot begins with the law of vows. A vow made to G-d whether in a positive or negative form was binding. However, this rule had some exceptions. A vow made by a woman, who was a minor, could be annulled by her father. A vow made by a married woman, could be annulled by her husband. The vows of a widowed or divorced woman were binding.

The war against the Midianites was fought with twelve thousand soldiers (one thousand form each tribe). This was Moses’ last battle. Pinchas led them along with the Holy Vessels, and trumpets for sounding alarms. During the battle, every male Midianite soldier was killed along with the five kings and the infamous Bilaam. However, the women and children were spared (against G-d’s orders) and the spoils were brought back to the camp. Moses reprimanded the commanders for not wiping out the entire population as G-d commanded. The soldiers were now ritually unclean, having been in combat and in contact with dead bodies. They had to remain outside the camp for seven days. The spoils were evenly divided amongst the tribes.

The tribes of Reuven and Gad had large herds of cattle and wanted to remain on the Eastern side of the Jordan River. They would settle in the fertile pastures of Gilad. Moses was afraid that they would not offer to share equally in the burden of fighting for the conquest of Canaan. The tribes promised to support all of the efforts and Joshua was told to make sure that they kept their promise.

Parshas Mase'ei begins as the journey of the Israelites comes ot an end. Moses begins to recount all of the journeys and wanderings. These include all of the places where the people had camped. They stopped at forty- two places during their forty year journey. After they conquered the land, the people were commanded to destroy all evidence of idol worship. The land would then be divided by lots, based on the proportional size of each tribe. Ten leaders would be chosen. They, along with Joshua and Elazar (the Kohen Gadol) would be entrusted to make sure that this division was completed as commanded. The Leviim were not given separate territory, but had Forty-eight cities designated on both sides of the Jordan River. Six of these cities (three on each side) were designated as cities of refuge. A person could flee to one of these cities for accidental murder. These were called Orei Miklot. A person had to remain there until the death of the current Kohen Gadol and would be free from revenge by the victim’s family (assuming the court’s verdict was one of accidental murder).

The Torah places great emphasis on a person “keeping their word”. In the Talmud, a portion of tractate Bava Metzia deals with the laws of fraud in sales. The gemara writes that someone who makes a promise to purchase something, having fulfilled the proper acts of acquisition, (known as kinyan), but now reneges on the deal, is subject to the following curse (Bava Metzia 47b):

“G-d who punished the generation of the flood, will punish anyone who does not stand by his word.”

King Solomon writes in Koheles: “It is better for one not to vow at all, than for him to vow and then not fulfill.” We have already discussed the laws of the Nazir. A Nazir vows to abstain from some permitted act (like drinking wine) and cannot cut his hair. The Talmud devotes an entire tractate to vows in Nedarim. We must, however, distinguish between vows (nedarim) and oaths (shevuos). When a person acts as a guardian (shomer), there are different levels of responsibility that depends on whether they are paid or not. If something happens to the item (through no act of negligence), then the Torah commands that the shomer take an oath (an oath between them and G-d), that they were not responsible for the loss or damage. So great was this oath, that nobody would dare take an oath like this in vain!

According to the Torah, a vow (nedar) is a solemn promise made voluntarily (not under compulsion) to dedicate something in honor of the Eternal. In our parsha, the verse reads:

“When a man vows a vow unto the Eternal, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not profane his word; he shall do in accordance with all that proceeded out of his mouth.”

Later, in Sefer Devarim, we read:

“When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Eternal they G-d, thou shalt not delay to pay it; for the Eternal they G-d will surely require it of thee; and it would be a sin in thee. That which proceeds from thy lips thou shalt observe and do; according as thou hast vowed even a freewill offering unto the Eternal thy G-d, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.”

The sages extended the law of vows beyond promises made to G-d to include all binding oaths and promises in civil law. Politicians are notorious for not fulfilling promises. The Torah prohibits this practice by stressing that one should not take on too much responsibility, by promising to fulfill an obligation, unless one is sure that it can be followed through. Now, there are always unforeseen circumstances that change the situation. The Torah, however, is speaking of making promises that one has no intention of fulfilling.

Part of the problem with keeping vows, is a person’s natural inclinations. The sages attribute this to the yetzer hara or evil inclination. The yetzer hara is that little voice inside of your head telling you to do things that you know is wrong. “Why keep the vow”, it may say. “After all, nobody expects you to be a saint. Just say you were to busy. Everyone believes that!” The war against the yetzer hara has been fought by even the greatest of sages.

The Chofetz Chaim told the following story: A merchant hired a coachman to drive him home. “Listen carefully”, he told the coachman. “I have just finished a heavy meal and will likely fall asleep during the drive home. I don’t want to be jostled unnecessarily so hold on tight to the reins and make sure the horse stays on the proper path.” The driver promised and off they went. The trip was very boring and soon the coachman nodded off into a deep sleep. The horse quickly diverted from the road and galloped through a rough field. The jerking motion awakened the merchant who shouted for the driver to stop. In the end, he was bruised from all of the bouncing. “Fool”, cried the merchant. “I told you to stay awake and the watch the horse. Now I am injured and I have a mind to sue you for the damages!” “Don’t blame me”, protested the driver. “It wasn’t my fault. The horse knows the way home and I trusted that he was intelligent enough to stay on the correct path.” “Are you mad”, screamed the merchant. “Do you want me to sue your horse? The horse has a tendency to run wild; that’s why he’s kept on tight reins. It was your job to keep him under control at all times, so that his natural instincts wouldn’t take over!”

It is the same with the yetzer hara, explains the Chofetz Chaim. How often do we attribute a person’s actions with the cliché, “After all, he’s only Human” or “boys will be boys”. Judaism places restraints on our animal instincts so that they do not enslave us. Being able to act and do as we please, with no restrictions, is not freedom. Once we get a taste of the “good life”, our instincts crave more. Like an addict, we will do anything to maintain our standard of living and level of excesses. This is not what I call freedom to choose. These instincts prevent us from studying Torah and performing mitzvos. Moderation, in the words of the Rambam, is the proper path for a person to follow. This is why the sages placed such emphasis on the concept of tzenius or modesty. Humility and modesty are two traits that we should try to foster.

Parshas Mase'ei ends with a long description of the travels of the Children of Israel. The sages debated this issue as a lesson in learning from the past. In all of their travels, through all of their troubles, G-d was always with them. The story is told of a man who died and went up to heaven. There, he was shown a movie of his life. In most places, he saw two sets of footsteps following him. One set, for himself, and the other set, for G-d. However, during the bad times, he could see only one set. He cried bitterly out to the Heavenly Host, “Oh G-d, why did You forsake me during my times of troubles?” “Silly man”, replied G-d tenderly. “The set of footprints you see during the bad times are not yours, but mine. You see, it was then that I was carrying you!”

It is impossible to foresee the future. The lesson for us, from Sefer Bemidbar, is that G-d is always with us. Through faith and trust in G-d, we can prevail. The torah is the blueprint for life. Whether we build with it or not is up to us!

CHAZAK! CHAZAK! V’NITCHAZEIK!
BE STRONG! BE STRONG! AND GROW IN STRENGTH!

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