Remarkable! The Midyanim were to receive their due punishment in response to their involvement in the Jews’ sins of immorality and idolatry. This punishment resulted in the deaths of 24,000 Jewish souls. Hashem told Moshe that this “unfinished business” should be addressed now, since his death was tied to it. In other words, Moshe was going to leave this world as soon as he carried out this last retribution. Our quintessential leader, Moshe Rabbeinu, could easily have taken his time in executing Hashem’s command. He did not. Indeed, he did it immediately, so great and intense was his love for Hashem and his desire to execute the will of G-d. The nation was not happy about this; the people wanted him to tarry as long as possible. They could not bear the thought of losing their beloved leader. Moshe, however, was not wasting time. Thirty-six thousand men were selected in this draft, each group of twelve thousand having their own individual function. Twelve thousand actually fought the good fight; twelve thousand took care of the weapons; and twelve thousand addressed the spiritual support necessary to win the battle – they prayed.
Horav Yaakov Galinsky, zl, derives three powerful lessons from the command to exact retribution against the Midyanim and the manner in which Moshe responded to it. As mentioned earlier, Moshe had no reason to immediately rush to carry out this command. The longer he waited – the longer he lived. Moshe, however, moved quickly. Why? Rav Yaakov relates the following incident:
An elderly woman knocked on the door of the home of Horav Chaim Volozhiner, zl, with a strange request. “Fifty years ago,” she began her tale, “when the saintly Shaagas Aryeh was traveling incognito from town to town as part of his self-imposed exile, he lived in my town for two months. The Shaagas Aryeh was careful not to eat chadash, new flour. (Scripturally, a new crop of any of the five types of grain is forbidden for consumption until the annual Omer was brought on the sixteenth day of Nissan.) I was a widow at the time with very little for myself; yet, I offered to bake three small challos for him every week. In this manner, his Shabbos would be taken care of with yoshon, old, flour. When the Shaagas Aryeh prepared to leave the town, he blessed me. He said that I would live long enough to build three shuls: two in the diaspora and one in Eretz Yisrael.
“Hashem blessed me, and I became very wealthy. I built two beautiful shuls, one in Vilna and one in another city. Now the time has come to carry out the last part of the Shaagas Aryeh’s blessing: to build a shul in Yerushalayim. The problem is that I know no one in the Holy Land. Does the Rosh Yeshivah have any contacts in Yerushalayim who can help me with this endeavor? I will give this person the money necessary to build the shul, and he will carry out the blessing to fruition.”
Rav Chaim was astounded by the woman’s remarks: “Go home, and do not worry. If the Shaagas Aryeh gave you his blessing that you will not leave this world until you have built these three shuls, you can be certain that it will occur. Why ‘rush’ things? When the opportunity to build will avail itself, you will build. Until then – live! After all, you have the Shaagas Aryeh’s assurance.”
Rav Galinsky asked, “This woman had the Shaagas Aryeh’s guarantee. Rav Chaim assured the woman that this was considered money in the bank. Moshe Rabbeinu had Hashem’s assurance that he would not die until after Midyan received its due punishment. So why did he rush into battle? He could have lived a calm and peaceful life for many years – no different than the advice given to this woman by Rav Chaim Volozhiner.
“Nonetheless, Moshe acted. Why? Our leader decided that his life had no value in comparison with the mitzvah of destroying the nation that had been responsible for the Jewish People’s fall into moral and spiritual degradation. How could he live knowing that the perpetrators of this unpardonable crime against the Jews had not been obliterated from the world? That same day, Moshe announced the draft. He was not wasting time. Certainly, Moshe understood the significance of life, and he valued every moment. Furthermore, as long as he lived, the nation would benefit greatly from his teachings and wisdom. This alone was reason for him to stall. Imagine! Extending the life of Moshe Rabbeinu!
“The lesson is: Life is great, but the damage caused by a sin is so serious that it must be immediately expunged. The taint remains as long as it is not extirpated from our midst. As long as Midyan survived, the debasement they caused glared at us with overpowering force.
“Moshe taught us another lesson,” says Rav Galinsky. “Many members of the secular forces in Eretz Yisrael decry the fact that the chareidi yeshivah students refuse to serve in the Army. They claim that we assume no responsibility for the Holy Land. This is not true. When Moshe ran his first draft, he selected 36,000 soldiers, each group of 12,000 had a distinct function. While 12,000 actually went into battle, 12,000 attended to the weapons, and the remaining 12,000 prayed. Moshe understood that prayer is an essential component of war. It provides the quotient for success, for without prayer, the bullets and the rockets are of no avail. They will not hit their targets.”
Last, Moshe taught the overriding significance of hakoras ha’tov, appreciation and gratitude. Moshe received the command from Hashem, yet, immediately following the draft of 36,000 men, Moshe relinquished the actual leadership and guidance of the war effort to the able hands of Pinchas. While Pinchas was capable of leadership, and he was involved from the beginning in waging war against Midyan’s spiritual insurgency against the Jewish People, he still was not Moshe. However, our leader made a judgment call based upon the years he had spent in Midyan. How could he turn his back on the gratitude he owed his host country? Hakaras ha’tov takes precedence even over a war of retribution against the evil Midyan.
