In the beginning of the parsha we read about the reward that G-d gave to Pinchas, for killing Zimri and Kozbi.
Immediately following this, Hashem commands Moshe to “tzaror” the Midianites and smite them (Bamidbar 25:17). Rashi translates “tzaror” as “to make them your enemy.” Despite the fact that Moshe spent many years of his life in Midyan with Yitro, G-d commands him to disregard any compassion he might have for them and to smite them – not to eradicate them, but to deal them a severe blow.
The question the mefarshim ask is – “What about Moav?” Just last week we read about Balak and Bilaam who orchestrated Am Yisrael’s sin at Shittim. Why did G-d not command Moshe to also smite Moav? The reason given by the mefarshim is that Rut was to be descended from Moav so Moshe was not allowed to attack them.
Am Yisrael over the generations acquired numerous enemies, each of whom sought to destroy or severely harm us, but G-d’s attitude to each is not equivalent. Am Yisrael’s enemies are graded in severity.
Our most severe treatment of an enemy is Amalek. Am Yisrael is commanded to totally wipe them out and all memory of them (Devarim 25:19). Amalek was the first nation to attack Am Yisrael after we left Egypt and thus chilled the waters, paving the way for further attacks. But that was not the main reason for their severe punishment. It is because Amalek did not merely wage war on Am Yisrael but directly against G-d Himself.
Amalek was not the first enemy though, before them we had Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Not only did the Egyptians enslave Am Yisrael but they also committed genocide, killing untold thousands of first-born Israelites by throwing them into the Nile and when the Israelite slaves could not fulfill their brick production quotas, they killed children by cementing them into the foundations of the buildings. The Egyptians were cruel, terrible enemies and killed many more Jews than Amalek did when they attacked in Refidim. But surprisingly, our treatment of them is mild in comparison. Not only are we not commanded to attack or kill them, we are even commanded not to despise them and we are allowed to accept converts from them from the 3rd generation after we left Egypt (Devarim 23:8-9). Those Egyptians who sinned against us were punished by the 10 plagues and drowning in the Red Sea, but future generations do not inherit their culpability.
Prior to the Egyptians we had another sworn enemy – Eisav. After Yaakov stole his blessing, Eisav swore to murder Yaakov and it was not for lack of trying, but because of Divine protection of Yaakov, that he repeatedly failed. Similarly, with Eisav and his descendants, the Torah tells us not to despise Edom because he is our brother and that we are allowed to accept converts from them from the 3rd generation (ibid.). We are not commanded to wage war against Edom nor despise them, despite that Edom has been responsible for perhaps the greatest number of deaths in our nation throughout history. They will receive their just punishment when Mashiach comes (Ovadiah 11:18).
The most surprising of all our enemies however and our treatment of them are Amon and Moav. We know that Moav was directly responsible for the deaths of Am Yisrael in Shittim, but that is not the only reason we are commanded to deal with them severely. It is also because they did not greet us with bread and water when we left Egypt and because they hired Bilaam to curse us (Devarim 23:4-10). The order of their iniquities seems to hint that the fact they did not give us bread and water was worse than hiring Bilaam.
An Egyptian whose ancestors committed genocide against our people may be accepted as a convert after three generations, but a Moabite and Amonite – who never gave us bread and water, they may never be accepted?
To understand this, we need to examine the origins of Moav and Amon.
These two nations were descended from Lot. Avraham “adopted” his nephew Lot, taking him with him when he left Ur Casdim to move to Canaan. Lot merited Avraham’s protection and even when his sinful behavior caused a rift with Avraham and Lot moved to Sdom, Avraham was still willing to sacrifice his life and wage war to rescue Lot in the war of the four vs. five kings. Chazal say that until Lot’s daughters gave birth to Moav and Amon, Avraham was their protector – because he wanted to ensure the inception of the lineage of Rut and King David (from Moav) and the lineage of Na’ama, wife of King Solomon (from Amon). After Moav and Amon were incestuously born to Lot, Avraham severed all contact with him.
By all rights, Moav and Amon bore a debt of gratitude to Avraham and his descendants, for if not for his saving Lot, they would never have been born. But they were ingrates and when presented with an opportunity to repay this debt centuries later, both refused.
The question is, with all these enemies surrounding us, the only one we are commanded to wipe out is Amalek. Why did G-d not command us to get rid of the Midianites, the Moabites and the Amonites (after Rut and Na’ama were born) thus allowing them to be a thorn in our side throughout the Kingdom of Israel for almost a thousand years? Why didn’t G-d command us to wipe out the Edomites, knowing that in the future they would kill countless Jews in inquisitions, pogroms and holocausts?
When Am Yisrael were strong, during the reign of David HaMelech, they certainly had the military power to wipe out these nations, but they were not permitted to do so.
The terrifying answer is that G-d wanted these nations to continue to exist, because they served an important purpose – to be a thorn in Am Yisrael’s side.
It is specifically because these enemies of Am Yisrael were a thorn in our side throughout history that we are here to tell the tale today. By persecuting us they paradoxically forced us to cling to our heritage more forcibly than if they would have ignored, tolerated or even embraced us. It is ironically the nations who greet us with open arms who pose the greatest threat to the continued spiritual existence of the Jewish people.
Parashat HaShavua Trivia Question: When listing the tribes and their lineage, why does the Torah preface each name with the letter “heh” and suffix it with the letter “yud” (Bamidbar 27:2-51)?
Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: What was Bilaam’s postal address? Bilaam ben Be’or, Riverside Lane, Petorah, Aram.
