This week, we are reaching the end of the Torah as it was given by Hashem to Moshe Rabbeinu. Sefer Devarim is Moshe speaking and reviewing the entire Torah with Klal Yisrael.
How does Bamidbar end? It ends with the B’nos (daughters of) Tzelafchad, being instructed to marry men from their shevet, in order to keep their father’s portion of land within their shevet. What is so special about the B’nos Tzelafchad that the Torah ends with this?
The following explanation was given by Rav Yisrael Altusky shlita, Yeshivah Torah Ore, Yerushalayim.
Let us back up to the beginning of the parshah, to Klal Yisrael’s war against Midyan. Hashem commanded Moshe to take revenge against Midyan. Klal Yisrael killed all the men, and they took the women and girls captives. Moshe then commands them to kill all the women and girls above age three. How many girls younger than three were left? 32,000.
This means that there were hundreds of thousands of Midyanim, all males, all women, and all girls over three who were killed by Klal Yisrael! (Imagine what the UN and the media would say?!) It was all according to the instructions of Moshe, from Hashem. Okay, to kill all the warriors could be understood. To kill the women who were involved in causing the 24,000 from Klal Yisrael to sin and die could also be understood. But why everyone else? This needs explanation.
Rashi brings the Medrashim that explain why it was Pinchas who was chosen to lead the war against Midyan. One reason is because Pinchas was taking revenge for his great-grandfather (from his mother’s side), Yosef HaTzadik, who was sold by the Midyanim.
Why is Pinchas taking revenge now? What’s the connection to the battle? How about the other nations involved in the sale of Yosef?
We’ll divert again for a moment. Midyan, or Midan, means machlokes. In Mishlei (6:14, 10:12) the Metzudos Tzion translates “midan” (or midyan) as argumentative. This was a character trait of Midyan. They liked to get involved in machlokes, getting involved in others disputes. Now let’s return to Yosef. When the shevatim sold him, they saw Yishma’elim approaching, and planned to sell him to them. The Torah then says that the Midyanim took Yosef out of the pit, and then he was sold to the Yishma’elim. What happened? The Midyanim arrived there and got involved. The Yishma’elim were interested in a good deal, a cheap slave. The Midyanim, on the other hand, saw what clearly looked like a family feud (Yosef didn’t look that different than his brothers). They dove in headfirst to get involved in a fight that they had no business with. This was their yetzer harah.
About 250 years later, Midyan comes to cause Klal Yisrael to sin. Bilam gave the idea to Balak. He said, “Hashem hates immorality.” We can understand Balak; he felt threatened by Klal Yisrael. What business did Midyan have in getting involved? Because it was in their blood to get involved in fights which weren’t their business! It had no connection to them. This is why Hashem commanded Moshe to take revenge specifically against Midyan, and not against Moav, who had done the same thing.
In addition, the sin of arayos or pritzus (lewdness and immorality) was very strong by Midyan. To be willing to send the women, and especially a princess, just to cause Klal Yisrael to sin was a major nationwide flaw. Everyone with understanding were involved with arayos. Even the kids saw and were ruined. It was in their blood. Girls under three were still able to be unaffected.
Machlokes and arayos. These two traits were reason to almost wipe out Midyan?
Chazal teach us that the Hashem’s desire is for us, Klal Yisrael, to bring the Shechinah down to this world. To be considered like a choson and kallah - Hashem the choson and us the kallah. Matan Torah was our chupah, and entering Eretz Yisrael was the choson bringing the kallah into his house.
Machlokes, and all problems between people, ruin this. Machlokes chases away the Shechinah. On a deeper level, machlokes begins with complaints against Hashem (usually starting with “it’s not fair”), which then spiral onto others. It’s a sign of a lack of faith in Hashem, and is a display of disloyalty to Hashem. Machlokes drives the Shechinah away.
Arayos is the peak of disloyalty. By makas bechoros in Mitzrayim, there were houses with many firstborn who died - all from the same family. How come? Because the wife was disloyal to her husband, and him to her! Arayos drives the Shechinah away.
When Moshe counted Klal Yisrael in parshas Pinchas, a “yud” and “hey,” the letters of Hashem’s name, were added to every family. Why? To tell us that the shevatim were all pure and had not been soiled by their masters in Mitzrayim. They were pure and loyal, so the Shechinah rested upon them.
The Maharal says that ladies are naturally loyal, more than the men. Why? Because Chava was created from Adam. She’s naturally more loyal to her source of creation. Her essence is loyalty! When the lady is involved in arayos, it is the biggest display of disloyalty.
By the Midyanim, both of these were major traits which ran deeply within them, preventing the Shechinah from coming down. They tried to bring this upon Klal Yisrael, to drive away the Shechinah, and to prevent Klal Yisrael from entering Eretz Yisrael. That’s why they were deserving of such a strong punishment.
All the women from Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim and entered Eretz Yisrael (minus Miriam). They showed their loyalty to Hashem, with their unwavering trust in Him. Chazal said that in the merit of the righteous women we got out of Mitzrayim, and in the zchus of the righteous women we will get out of this galus!
The Torah ends with the lesson of the B’nos Tzelafchad. They are the examples of loyalty and faith in Hashem, with their strong desire to enter Eretz Yisrael and with their bitachon that everything from Hashem is wonderful!
The men had a lack of bitachon, as we saw by the sin of the meraglim. Just to illustrate: The kallah is leaving the chupah with her new husband, heading toward the dream home he promised and prepared for her. As they approach it, she gets a frantic call from her friend. “I heard he’s taking you to a haunted house! He got it cheap! Danger, whoever goes in doesn’t come out!” If she listens, is that faith, trust, and loyalty to her husband? Or the opposite?
There are people who are nervous and scared of Moshiach’s arrival, and they don’t really want him to come. Right now, there are people who are still hoping that everything will return to normal. Pre-Simchas-Torah 5784, pre-Covid-19, pre-9/11, etc. They are not sure what the future will bring with Moshiach’s arrival. Some have personal calculations, both spiritual and material, as to why they don’t want Moshiach to come yet. This is a lack of trust in Hashem - a lack of loyalty.
We need to work on having trust in Hashem that everything He does, and will do, is and will be wonderful! To work on our bitachon and to proudly display our loyalty to Hashem! That is what we need to work on to speedily to bring Moshiach!
By Dovi Chaitovsky
