MATOT_NUMBERS XXX:2-XXXII:42

Our chapters outline the petition submitted to Moses by the tribes of Re’uven and Gad, plus half of the members of the tribe of Menashe.  They wished to occupy the eastern bank of the Yarden, the Jordan River, and at the same time, were willing to accompany the other tribes in the conquest of Canaan. For this purpose, they built houses for their wives and children and pens for animals, while their men would cross the Yarden to help in the conquest of the Promised Land.

As part of the colonization of the eastern shore, God demanded the construction of 3 cities of refuge, to which people who killed another human being without the intention of doing so could escape. Because the Goel Hadam, the “redeemer of the shed blood” and protector of the family, had the right, or perhaps the obligation, to avenge the blood of his dead bereaved.  As if the bloodshed demanded revenge and was only satisfied with the death of the murderer or with his banishment in one of the cities of refuge. The land that drank the blood of the slain apparently also demands redemption. As Genesis recounts God’s stern words to Cain: ” The voice of your brother’s blood cries out from the earth”. According to the Torah, blood produces pollution, and corrupts the earth, a fact that can only be remedied by the blood of the murderer. 

According to Hayyim Borgansky, while the earth demands the blood of the intentional murderer, it is satisfied with the banishment of the murderer who committed the crime without the intention of doing so. In this way, the cities of refuge acquire a special quality, as if they were extraterritorial from the Promised Land. The Torah establishes a relationship of mutuality between human behavior and nature. In Shema Yisrael we read that the abundance or lack of rain, a fundamental element for every agricultural society, is a consequence of the deeds of the people. By observing the Mitzvot we cause the heavens to open so that the blessing represented by abundant rain may descend.

Abel’s murder was a reason for God to decide that, when Cain plowed the earth, it would not respond with its fruit. Indeed, the earth would not tolerate the presence of Cain, who would have to wander for the rest of his life. In other words, setting aside cities of refuge was not only responding to the need to escape the wrath of the Goel Hadam. The cities of refuge were a demand of the land, which did not tolerate being stepped on by a murderer. Considering that God created man and breathed His spirit into him, murder constitutes an attack on God. Therefore, the nature created by God also reacts to the death of the individual and does not tolerate in its environment the presence of the murderer.

The Torah does not establish a pantheistic relationship between land and man. The Torah never confuses God with what has been created. However, it gives a certain “personality” to nature and does not allow it to be raped or violated by humans. It demands the periodic “rest” of the earth every 7 years and proclaims the year 50, as a Jubilee Year, when the land returns to its original owner. Moreover, God proclaims: ki Li kol ha’arets, the land belongs to God, man can only cultivate it and feed on its fruit. 

Perhaps banishment to a city of refuge serves as an opportunity for repentance and penitence to the perpetrator of the crime, who is probably guilty of carelessness without considering the possible effect of his action. Therefore, perhaps, the Torah also states that, with the death of the Kohen Gadol of the time, the period of exile is over. 

According to Harav Soloveitchik, the death of a Tsadik produces an environment that stimulates Teshuva, reflection, and repentance, a fundamental reason for the banishment of the murderer.

MITZVA: TORAH ORDINANCE IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 1 POSITIVE MITSVA AND 1 PROHIBITION

1. Numbers 30:3 Law on voiding promises
2. Numbers 30:3 Do not break a promise

POSSIBILITY OF AMENDMENT

MAS’EI_NUMBERS XXXIII:1-XXXVI:13

These chapters conclude Bemidbar, the fourth book of the Torah.  The long journey through the wilderness underscored the dependence on God of the Hebrew people. The desert is a hostile environment and survival would have been impossible without Divine providence. But Divine help will also be needed in the process of conquering the Promised Land that will begin after the death of Moses, who led the people to the border.

The possibility of annulling a promise, the establishment of cities of refuge, and the ruling in the case of the daughters of Tselofchad are the main themes of the sacred text. In some ways, each of these issues and situations reflects the need to have confidence in Divine Providence. The Torah takes into consideration the weaknesses of the person and points out how he sometimes acts with a lack of responsibility. 

Basic teaching is the existence of the Teshuva, the possibility of making amends, to modify the character of the person. According to Jewish tradition, Adam is the father of Teshuva, he repented after eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. ‘

This weekly reading considers the case of the person who kills another without intent to do so. In this case, the crime was caused by the metal part of the axe. While one person was cutting firewood, the metal part of his axe broke off, killing another person who was in the area. Even though there was no intention to kill, the person is not free from responsibility. When using a tool that can potentially cause death, special care must be taken in its handling and ensuring the physical integrity of the instrument.

The Torah orders the construction of Are’i Miklat, cities of refuge for the person who killed without intending to do so. In this way, the person is out of reach of Goel Hadam, the relative of the dead man who could take revenge. The refugee of the Ir Miklat must remain there until the death of the Kohen Gadol, a fact that according to Harav Soloveitchik produces a feeling of repentance in society. The death of a great spiritual leader leads to introspection and Teshuva.

In the case of a Neder, a promise, the Torah allows the father to annul the vow of his young daughter and empowers the husband to render his wife’s promise invalid. Many times, in a state of euphoria or anger, of excessive joy or resentment, a person makes a resolution by way of a promise that later turns out to be inappropriate, since he made it due to the exaltation of the moment. The Torah facilitates the possibility of nullifying any such promise made in a moment of euphoria, which then becomes unacceptable to the person.

The third case concerns the Benot Tselofchad and also highlights the way to remedy a situation so that the paternal inheritance does not leave the environment of the tribe of Menashe. God rules that daughters are also heirs, but it is essential that they marry members of their tribe so that the patrimony remains there. A common denominator of the cases referred is the possibility of solving a situation. 

The Torah strives to find a solution to problems. Sometimes the person is part of the problem, because of improper behavior, and in other cases, the difficulty is the product of an event in which the person has no participation, as in the case of the death of the father of the Benot Tselofchad. 

When the infraction is the result of a deliberate transgression, the consequence is punishment; but when a person acts out of carelessness or the fervor of the moment without affecting the well-being of one’s neighbor, the Torah offers a path to redemption that, in the event of the death of another person, results in “symbolic imprisonment” in one of the Arei Miklat.

MITZVAH: TORAH ORDINANCE IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 2 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 4 PROHIBITIONS

1. Numbers 35:2 Provide cities for the Levites who also served as Cities of Refuge
2. Numbers 35:12 Failure to execute a person deemed guilty before trial
3. Numbers 35:25 Forcing the person he killed unintentionally to go to a City of Refuge
4. Numbers 35:30 The witness in a capital case cannot judge the event
5. Numbers 35:31 Not accepting a redemption payment to save a murderer from the death penalty
6. Numbers 35:32 Not accepting a redemption payment to free a person from having to go to a City of Refuge