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 "And a lot of livestock did the children of Reuven and Gad have and they saw the Ya'azer, and Gilead areas that were good for livestock" (32:1). Forty years of aimlessly wandering in the desert have passed and clearly the message from the meraglim episode has not sunk in. Jewish people are continuing to reject the land of Israel . Yet the argument of the tribes of Reuven and Gad differed from that of the their parent's generation who were led astray by those meraglim. The generation of the meraglim feared what would happen to them if they tried to conquer the land. An implacable enemy who would wipe them out. Forty years later some (thankfully a minority of the Jewish people) of their descendants, feared not so much entering the land of Israel but leaving the fleshpots of the Diaspora. What will happen to their material possessions, they mused. The land outside of Israel is so fertile, the economy so robust that it would be foolhardy to leave it all behind. Just think how much charity we can give by staying here they no doubt argued. Not surprisingly in the four short sentences of their request they mentioned mikne , livestock no less than five times. Yet the name of G-d is not even mentioned once. When one's main focus is making money it really is quite hard to find room for G-d.
Moshe was faced with a challenge no less severe than what faced the new nation forty years earlier. Would they once again become despondent, and refuse to enter the promised land perhaps losing the land for all eternity? Moshe entered into negotiations with the recalcitrant tribes sensing that since they had nothing personal against the land perhaps the crisis could be nipped in the bud. He warned them of the terrible consequences of the meraglim episode, featured the role of G-d prominently and chided them for mentioning their cattle before their children. Only if one realizes that material gains must be sacrificed in order to provide spiritual growth for the children will one desire to dwell in the land of Israel . The negotiations went well and a deal was struck. The tribes of Reuven and Gad can stay where they are in the Diaspora on condition they join the Israeli army. Sending checks, even visiting just will not do. They would have to answer in the affirmative the rhetorical question of Moshe "Why should your brothers go out and fight while you stay here" (32:6)? Thankfully the wayward tribes got the message and "said to Moshe, we will do as you have ordered. Our children, wives, (and only afterwards) property and livestock will remain here in the cities of Gilead . Meanwhile all our special forces shall cross over for battle before G-d, as you have said" (32:25-27).
For those of us who live outside the land of Israel this story should send shivers down our spines. What would Moshe say to us? Having just returned from visiting Israel (it's the least we can do, and believe me it's very little) it is clear that we Jews living here have been derelict in our duty toward the land and its people. Our lack of tourist dollars have had a serious impact on the economy leading to thousands of layoffs. More importantly our actions have Israelis feeling alone and lonely. It is bad enough the leaders of the free world are busy being "evenhanded" but when your own people abandon you then the unity of the Jewish people is called into question. Do we really believe that Kol Yisrael areivm zeh lazeh, that all Jews are responsible for one another? While I realize that most otherwise Torah observant Jews are not yet ready to make aliyah (myself included) we should at least do something tangible to show the people of Israel we really do care. Only then can we hope to inherit the land. Shabbat Shalom!
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