30 Jul BATTLE LESSONS

In parshas Matos, members of the tribes
of Gad and Reuven, approach Moshe,
Elazar the Kohen, and the princes of the
nation with a request. Both tribes had
large herds of livestock. They were
passing through lush pasture land, perfect
for grazing. Could they settle there and
not cross the Jordan to Eretz Yisroel?
“Yutan ess haeretz hazos l’avodecha
la’achuza, Let this land be given to your
servants as a heritage; al ta’ah’veereinu
ess ha’yardein, do not bring us across the
Jordan.” (Bamidbar 32:5)
Moshe is pained by their request. Using
just a few words, he responds with a
powerful message. A message of unity
and solidarity. A message of one strong
nation being there for each other.
“Ha’ah’cheichem yavo’u la’milchama,
v’atem teishvu poh, Shall your brothers
go out to battle, while you remain here?”
(Bamidbar 32:6)
Ha’ah’cheichem, your brothers. Moshe
reminds the members of Reuven and Gad

that they are part of a nation where all are
brothers. Brothers who care and are
concerned about each other. Brothers
who don’t abandon one another.
The tribes of Reuven and Gad responded
with a plan of their own. “Vayigshu”,
they came close to Moshe, and spoke of
building pens for their sheep and cities
for their children. They would leave their
families and possessions behind, while
they joined their brothers in conquering
and settling the land.
“And we will go armed before Bnei
Yisroel.” (Bamidbar 32:17) Rashi
expounds that they were “giborim”,
strong men, ready and able to stand on
the frontline.
Moshe is not satisfied with their answer.
He repeats their words, but with an
essential and significant difference.
“If you arm yourselves before HaShem…”
(Bamidbar 32:20). Moshe adds HaShem’s
name to their words, conveying a crucial
message. It’s not “kochi v’otzem yadi”,
with my strength, with my might. Rather,
one must know that HaShem is in control.
It isn’t in our hands, but in yad HaShem,

the hand of HaShem.
A story that happened over
3,000 years ago, yet is so today.
Since October 7, our nation has
been at war. A war that began
with heinous atrocities
committed against our people.
Entire families sadistically
wiped out. Tortured. Beaten and
burned beyond recognition.
Innocent children killed in front
of their parents. Parents
murdered before their children.
Little babies burned alive. Our
nation had no choice but to
respond.
Moshe’s words to Bnei Reuven and Gad
are words that take on special meaning
today. We are in the midst of galus
Yishmael, the final exile before the
coming of Moshiach. Rav Chaim Vital
teaches that this galus will be “kasha
mi’kulom”, harder, more excruciating
and painful than all prior exiles.
The Torah refers to Yishmael as “pereh
adam”, a wild man. The Abarbanel
explains this to mean that they are
achzorim me’od, exceedingly cruel.
This is what we are living through
today.
“If you arm yourself before
HaShem….” For Am Yisroel to be
successful, we must first turn to
HaShem.
“Hakol kol Yaakov, the voice is the
voice of Yaakov, ve’hayadiyim yedei
Eisav, but the hands are the hands of
Eisav.” (Bereishis 27:22) The way to
overcome the “hands”, the inhumanness
of our enemy, is with the kol Yaakov,
the voice of Yaakov. The voice of
prayer. Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, the
Chief Rabbi of the British
Commonwealth, beautifully explains
this passage from the Torah based on
the teachings of the Vilna Gaon. The
word ‘kol’ is mentioned twice. In the
first instance, the ‘kol’, the voice, is
spelled kuf-lamed missing the vav. In
the second instance, just one word later,
it’s spelled kuf-vav-lamed, it has the
vav in the middle of the word. When
‘kol’ is missing a vav, it indicates that
something is absent. The voice is not as
loud and strong as it should be. Kol has
become ‘kal’ – light. It is in such
circumstances, G-d forbid, that
“hayadaim yedei Eisav” – the hands of
Esau can be powerful. But when we
have a full kol, a powerful voice,

forceful prayer, HaShem is on our side,
leading us to victory over our enemies.
It is time us to cry out to HaShem. To feel
the pain of our brothers at war, the
hostages, the injured and the families
who lost loved ones. As the weeks turned
to months, complacency can set in.
Natural to forget. The momentum wears
off. Our voices become kal, light.
Especially for us in the Diaspora, living
outside of Israel, we become busy with
our daily routine. But it is precisely then
that we must remember Moshe’s words:
“HaShem is before you”. We must find
our kol Yaakov. Our voice that has the
power to connect to HaShem, and daven
like we never did before.
It’s time to do something for our people
– for ourselves.
Moshe had yet another powerful message.
By telling Bnei Reuven and Gad that we
are all “achim”, brothers, he is
underscoring that to achieve our common
goals, we must never forget that we are
one nation. One united people. The
importance of solidarity. Being there for
each other.
Moshe’s message was clear. How can you
sit in comfort while your brothers are at
war. It is said that during World War I, the
Chofetz Chaim refused to sleep in a bed
for even a single night, saying how could
he rest while the world was at war. A
message for us internalize. What can we
do to tone down our comforts, while are
brothers and sisters are suffering.
We are now in the midst of the Three
Weeks. A time to reflect upon the pain
and tragedies our nation has endured
throughout history. Twenty-one days
culminating in Tisha B’Av, a day of woe,
marking the destruction of both Batei
Mikdash. While we shed a tear for the
past, we must ask ourselves, what can we
do now to bring about the rebuilding of
the third and final Beis HaMikdash.