We have another double Torah portion this week to close the book of Numbers, Matot-Masei, Bamidbar (Numbers) 30:2-36:13. Matot means 'tribes' and in this reading Moses speaks directly to the head of each of the 12 tribes. Masei means journey and the second reading recaps the passage from Sinai to the Promised Land.

Vows and Oaths

Moses explains to tribal leaders the laws regarding vows and oaths made to God. These vows help maintain personal and relational holiness while living in the Land of Israel. The leaders advise the people who want to make vows of purity after suffering remorse and shame after being drawn into the moral destruction of their culture by the Midianites. 

A high priority is given to vows abstaining from activity that the Torah permits in order to avoid the temptation of overindulgence. Promises made in God's name to behave beyond a common expectation are taken very seriously by tribal leaders, who have just witnessed 24,000 deaths from plague after merrymaking run amok spreads among the military as well as to parts of the civilian population.

Vows to God remain binding unless annulled in specific circumstances and the penalty for reneging on them is serious. Vows involving obligations to other people cannot be annulled. 

God's War of Vengeance

God tells Moses to order Pinchas to lead the army into battle against the Midianites to avenge their successful strategy using God's wrath against Baal worshipers as a way to eliminate 24,000 Jews. One thousand men from each tribe conduct a brutal offensive in which all the Midianite men and kings are killed, including the infamous, Balaam. 

The soldiers return to camp with a huge bounty of animals, personal property, women and children. The animals and personal property are divided among the soldiers and the people, a percentage of each given to the priests and Levites. 

Moses orders all women of maturity slain to avenge their role as seducers in Balaam's evil plan. Young male children are also slain to suspend future vendettas and attacks on Israel. Underage girls assimilate into the Jewish culture.

Child Murder Attacks God's Image

The punishment for Baal worship in this case, and in the Bible generally, serves as a stark reminder of the seriousness with which God views idolatry and child sacrifice. We learn in Genesis 9:6-7 that when we destroy a baby, we destroy God's image. 

“He who spills the blood of man within man shall have his blood spilt, for in the image of God made He man. And you, be fruitful, and multiply; fill the earth, and multiply therein.”

When we destroy His image, God has the license to respond mercifully or ferociously. In the case of the Midianites, He responds ferociously. Midianites loathe Torah based society. They reject peace, morality, holiness and harmony among people and nations. They do not acknowledge God, nor do they appreciate His favor. God's mercy cannot function in this toxic environment.

42 Camps in 40 Years

Our second Torah reading, Masei, opens by chronicling the 42 stops during the 40 year trek through the desert. Each stop in the itinerary teaches a lesson that expands belief in Divine omnipotence, as well as faith in God's direction and the need to recognize and resist evil.

The Baal Shem Tov, a revolutionary spiritual leader in Judaism, correlates each stop with human life events that develop and advance a God consciousness. Among his mystical ideas is that the baby in the womb learns the entire Torah, a phenomenon   though lost at birth, can be recovered later from the subconscious to guide a person back to moral living.

Masei also introduces the concept of the sanctuary city where suspected murderers, who are at risk from being killed by family members of the slain, stay while awaiting trial. Laws about land inheritance and marriage within tribes living in Israel close the portion and the book of Numbers.

Mercy Towards Israel

Our Haftarah this week, Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 2:4–28; 4:1–2, expands the theme of the Torah portion as the prophet reprimands every level of Jewish society for abandoning holiness and morality. He holds the leadership especially culpable for disloyalty to God and the suffering this causes the Jewish people from their enemies and their fair weather friends. 

Later in Jeremiah 31:36, the prophet proclaims the everlasting mercy of God for his people. “This is what the LORD says: ‘Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,’ declares the LORD.”

Matot-Masei Lessons

We can learn much about how to respond to current events from our studies this week. God gave the life giving, moral law to the Jews at Mt Sinai. We were to share it with the rest of the world. People of faith all around the world have found and adopted some measure of it. This way of life, a life based on divine, moral principles, is available to anyone who sincerely seeks it. 

Some people in the world reject it, preferring a regressive mentality steeped in ego driven fear and hate, conditioning their followers to wage war in order to gain personal power and enrich themselves. Secular tribalist influencers attract confused moralists and self righteous ideologues and their deluded puppets. Killing the Divine image and promoting endless wars of hate are the rituals these tyrants use to terrorize and destroy.

Deranged leaders operate at many levels. They beguile inside of religious communities of all faiths. They portray God as out of reach to regular people, appointing themselves arbiters of moral discernment. In society, false gods offer pseudo spiritual alternatives dressed up as equity and social justice that deny the inherent value of human beings. Political leaders reject biblical wisdom and moral guidelines to concentrate power and influence no matter the human cost.

Rogue leaders deny, discourage, discount every person's spiritual birthright, a personal relationship with God who guides, strengthens, loves unconditionally and offers mercy and forgiveness. Like the Midianite kings, they pursue chaos and death without remorse. They invite the wrath of God upon themselves and their communities. Spiritually dead, they remain disengaged from God's mercy. Repentance is not necessary or desirable.

The main lesson to learn is that a return to holiness stops human suffering. No matter where our journey has taken us, regardless of maniacal authorities in religion, society and politics, God meets us where we are when we know we need Him and ask Him for help and healing. Everyday, each of us has an opportunity to rediscover our birthright: the consciousness of God, His power to transform our lives, His moral truths, and His gift of life.

May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and good life upon us and upon all Israel. Amen.

Cecily Routman

Cecily Routman is the founder and president of the Jewish Pro-Life Foundation. She opposes abortion homicide in general and among Jews in particular and laments secular policy making in Israel that results in loss of Jewish life and delays the messianic redemption. Cecily envisions a Torah based holy Land of Israel and a world that respects the life of every human being from conception.

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