11 Jul PARASHAT MATOT: CONCERN VERSUS HYSTERIA

In Parashat Matot, we
read about two tribes –
Reuven and Gad – who
came to Moshe Rabbenu
with a request. They
wanted to permanently
settle in the area east of the Jordan River
that Beneh Yisrael had just captured, instead
of proceeding into the Land of Israel along
with the rest of the nation. They explained
to Moshe that they had large flocks of cattle,
and the fertile region they had conquered
was very suitable for them.
Moshe replied very angrily. He gave Reuven
and Gad a lengthy speech, accusing them of
repeating the sin of the spies, who, years
earlier, had gone into the land and then
came back with a frightening report,
convincing the people that they were not
capable of capturing the land. Moshe said
that Reuven and Gad were doing the same
thing – discouraging the people from
proceeding into the Land of Israel. After the
sin of the spies, Hashem decreed that Beneh
Yisrael would spend forty years in the
desert until that generation died, and their
children would go into the land. Moshe
warned Reuven and Gad that Hashem might

do the same thing again because of what
they were doing.
Reuven and Gad then explained to Moshe
that their men would join Beneh Yisrael in
battle across the river, and then, after the
land was conquered, they would return to
their families on the other side.
Why did Moshe react so angrily? Why did
he give Reuven and Gad a long speech,
warning them not to repeat the sin of the
spies?
The answer might be that Moshe knew
something that we all now very well from
our experience, especially with social
media, and that is – how easy it is to send
people into hysteria.
Moshe realized that if Beneh Yisrael heard
that Reuven and Gad had said, “We don’t
want to go into the Land of Israel,” this
could cause hysteria. This line would be
spread around, and people’s imaginations
would start going wild – “Why don’t they
want to go? They must know something
about the land that we don’t! They must
have inside information!” And a whole
bunch of different theories would start to fly
around about the dangers that lurk in the

land. Before you know it, hysteria would
break out.
This is what happened when the spies came
back from surveying the land, and Moshe
feared that this would happen once again,
when the people heard that Reuven and Gad
decided not to go across the river.
It was only once these tribes promised to
join the war in Eretz Yisrael that Moshe felt
assured that the people would not react with
hysteria.
There is a very important distinction
between concern and hysteria. When we get
hysterical, we lose our sense of reason. We
do not think clearly. We panic and rush to
make drastic, irrational decisions. Concern
means that we understand the seriousness of
the situation, and we are going to think
clearly and rationally to get the facts so we
can decide what to do.
One of the keys to
remaining concerned without falling
into hysteria is to slow down… When we
find ourselves in some difficult or
frightening situation, even – or especially –
when our instinct is to act quickly, we need
to pause and slow ourselves down. This is

so important in order to ensure that we act
rationally and find the best course of action.
And, we learn from this story of Reuven and
Gad how important it is not to cause hysteria
by the way we talk. If we are not careful
when we send out a message to a chat group
or post a message on social media, it can be
misconstrued and cause people to
unnecessarily panic. Our words can come
across the wrong way and lead people to
become hysterical. We must be very careful
to stay calm ourselves and to also help
others stay calm by being very careful with
the way we speak and post, so that we all
make the right decisions whenever we face
any sort of difficult or complex situation.