Musar על במדבר 32:43

לא יחל דברו, ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה . The last four words in this verse appear superfluous, since if we are prohibited from breaking a vow, we must obviously do according to what we have vowed. The moral lesson the Torah wishes to convey is therefore not connected to the laws of vows and oaths, rather the Torah emphasizes that we must keep our word even if what we have said was not said in the form of a promise or vow. Moses told the tribes of Gad and Reuben: "Carry out what you have said" (32,24). Rashi comments that Moses referred to their undertaking to be the spearhead of the Jewish army in their conquest and division of the Land of Canaan west of the Jordan river (32,18). The latter part was something that Moses had not demanded of them. Another statement of intent had been volunteered by those tribes which had not been part of the condition Moses imposed upon them in order to retain their possessions east of the Jordan.

ויתא ראשי עם צדקת ה' עשה ומשפטיו עם ישראל . I have heard a commentary according to which the tribe of Gad is praised for having conducted itself with more than the required amount of piety not only by marching with the other tribes in the war of conquest under the leadership of Joshua, but also by being in the vanguard. According to the agreement made with Moses In Numbers chapter 32 all that was required of this tribe was to put every able-bodied man under the joint command. This is why Moses says: ומשפטיו עם ישראל, "according to the law agreed with him he had to go with Israel." Gad, however, did more than was required, hence Moses mentions his צדקה, his righteousness.

As to the reason why Gad is singled out here and no mention is made of the other one and a half tribes who were a party to the same agreement, I think it may well be that since the Torah had reported the tribe of Gad as the first to demand its share of the land on the East bank, this tribe had been more suspect than its partners as perhaps unwilling to share the problems of the other tribes. When even this tribe assumed a greater burden than had been required, the Torah rewarded it by mentioning it first always.

And so, with Moses our teacher, may peace be upon him, because he said (Bamidbar 32:14): "a growth of sinful men," there descended from him Shevuel ben Gershom, who ministered to idolatry, as Chazal have said (Bava Kamma 109b, Yerushalmi 9:2). And more than this we find with Eliyahu, who, because he said (I Kings 19:10): "I have been very zealous for the L-rd … for they have forsaken Your covenant, etc.", he was removed because of this from prophecy and the Holy One Blessed be He commanded him to anoint Elisha in his place, as Chazal state (in Yalkut Melachim).

גדרות צאן נבנה למקנינו פה, וערים לטפינו . "We shall build fences for our sheep and cattle here, as well as towns for our children." (3,16). Rashi points out that these tribes were more concerned with their property than with the safety of their families, seeing they first mentioned that they would build stables for their cattle, and only afterwards did they speak about building cities for their families. Moses told them that they had their priorities mixed up when he told them in 32,24 to build in the following order: "Cities for your children and enclosures for your sheep." They accepted Moses' rebuke and said afterwards in 32,26: "Our children, our wives our cattle and all our livestock will remain there in the cities of Gilead." Thus we learn that what a person says should reflect both common sense and moral values.

Even though anger is a very bad quality, nevertheless, a man should conduct himself at times with the quality of anger. For example, when he rebukes the wicked, and when he desires to cause a spirit of awe and respect to dwell on the members of his household, and when he wants to obtain respect and even fear from his pupils. Even he who is angry with the wicked, must weigh the extent of his anger, for Moses, our teacher, upon whom is peace, said when he spoke wrathfully against Reuben and Gad : "A breed of sinful men" (Num. 32:14). And, therefore, we find that his descendant (the Levite mentioned in Judges 18:30) became a priest to idols, and this even though Moses was angry because he strove for the glory of God. Everything requires a proper measure in all a man's ways. A man should speak carefully how to do the commandments, whether he rebukes out of anger or rebukes joyously.

הבער,מבעה,בור,שור, are the four principal causes of damage injury or death. We find in Numbers 32,38, that there was a Canaanite city called Sivmah (same letters as the first letters of the four categories of damage). The four causes of damage are related to the four kinds of קליפות "peels" mentioned in Psalms 78,28,"והוא רחום.” They are: חמה, אף, משחית, עון, names by which G–ds destructive agents are known to us. The word מבעה, meaning damage caused by the teeth, i.e. eating what does not belong to one, is something man is judged on when already in his grave, as our sages explain on Maleachi 2,3, וזריתי פרש … פרש חגיכם, that man will be judged in the grave for what he ate illegally while on earth (Shabbat 151). The category of damage known as שור, refers to the "horns" of Samael (Satan), i.e. the evil urge. The first letters of the words שור, קרן, רגל, spell שקר, lie. The fourth category, fire, i.e. אש also known as hav-er - refers to the fire of purgatory, גהינם.

The third element of repentance, that it be performed while a person is in his prime, when he is still subject to the temptation of the evil urge, is represented here by the tribe of Gad. The Mishnah in Avot 4,1, which describes a hero as a person who can conquer his passions, clearly shows that unless one has such passions, one does not qualify for the reward of having suppressed them. On Psalms 112,1, אשרי איש ירא את ה', "happy the man who fears the Lord," Rabbi Joshua ben Levi says that it refers to someone who does penitence while he is yet a man, in full possession of all his virility (Avodah Zarah 19a) [After all, why should a G–d-fearing woman not be described as happy? Ed.] The men of Gad were known as heroes. We know this from Genesis 49,19, when Jacob described him as turning the tables on any raiders. Compare Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 8,5. The heroism described there refers to his repentance, his sin having being due to his haste. Moses accused the members of that tribe by saying: "Shall your brothers go to war and you will sit it out here?" (Numbers 32,7) Note that although Gad was junior to Reuben, he was the first to make the request to stay in Trans-Jordan. Having been chastened by Moses, this tribe did more than it had been asked to do so as to compensate for its unbecoming conduct. This teaches that when repenting one should do so as wholeheartedly as the members of Gad and Reuven.

The third element of repentance, that it be performed while a person is in his prime, when he is still subject to the temptation of the evil urge, is represented here by the tribe of Gad. The Mishnah in Avot 4,1, which describes a hero as a person who can conquer his passions, clearly shows that unless one has such passions, one does not qualify for the reward of having suppressed them. On Psalms 112,1, אשרי איש ירא את ה', "happy the man who fears the Lord," Rabbi Joshua ben Levi says that it refers to someone who does penitence while he is yet a man, in full possession of all his virility (Avodah Zarah 19a) [After all, why should a G–d-fearing woman not be described as happy? Ed.] The men of Gad were known as heroes. We know this from Genesis 49,19, when Jacob described him as turning the tables on any raiders. Compare Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 8,5. The heroism described there refers to his repentance, his sin having being due to his haste. Moses accused the members of that tribe by saying: "Shall your brothers go to war and you will sit it out here?" (Numbers 32,7) Note that although Gad was junior to Reuben, he was the first to make the request to stay in Trans-Jordan. Having been chastened by Moses, this tribe did more than it had been asked to do so as to compensate for its unbecoming conduct. This teaches that when repenting one should do so as wholeheartedly as the members of Gad and Reuven.