An Implacable Foe
‘Therefore Those Who Speak In Parable Say …’
(Bava Basra 78b)
In Parshas Chukas (Bamidbar 21:25-30) we find a recounting of the Israelite conquest of the land of Cheshbon that was ruled by Sichon, king of the Emorites. It is noted there that this land was actually acquired by Sichon from the Moabites. The Torah reveals that this original conquest was foretold by the moshlim – those who speak in parables. Rashi (op. cit. verse 27) citing a Midrash (Tanchuma 24) identifies the moshlim as Balaam and his father Be’or.
Rulers
Our daf expounds on this verse in a homiletic discussion that contrasts the midrashic interpretation. Moshlim means rulers but not kings – referring rather to those who rule over their yetzer hara (evil inclination). When confronted with an opportunity to sin, they reason, “Let us make a cheshbon – an accounting. Let us consider the little pleasure gained through that sin as opposed to the great spiritual loss and resultant punishment.”
A War Room Strategy
Yaaros Devash (Vol. 1, Derash 5, s.v. “zehu”) deliberates on the analogy between the struggle with the evil inclination and Sichon’s conquest of Moav. Scripture relates that at first Sichon conquered the city of Cheshbon, whereupon he went on to conquer the entire land. Cheshbon, Yaaros Devash suggests, was in reality a rather insignificant city near the Emorite border. Thus when Sichon, the Emorite king, attacked the city, the Moabite king surrendered it without a struggle. The Moabites made a fatal mistake in their attempt to appease an enemy. Their thinking was that they would then placate Sichon from any further attacks.
Neville Chamberlain
However, the exact opposite is what happened – for in the end the defeat of Cheshbon was merely a jumping point for the ultimate Emorite defeat of Moav. Indeed, many are the world leaders through the ages who erred similarly. Most famous among them is World War II British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain who did not learn this scriptural lesson.
Nothing Trivial
Yaaros Devash explains that the evil inclination is similar to the Moabite appeasement. At first, one innocently reasons that by committing a minor infraction, the evil inclination will be appeased, making it easier to resist more serious offenses. However, the opposite is true: When one commits even a seemingly trivial sin, the evil inclination is energized, making it more difficult to resist sinning in the future, as the Mishna teaches (Avos 4:2), “Avera goreres avera” – one sin causes yet another.
