Dvar Torah Matos-Masai 5784

The Torah tells us how the tribes of Reuven and Gad desired to relinquish their right to inherit land in Israel, and instead requested that they inherit land on the east bank of the Jordan River. As part of their request, they told Moshe (Bamidbar 32:16): “We shall build sheep pens here for our flocks and cities for our small children.” Rashi discerns from this statement a deficiency in their values. The two tribes seem to prioritize their possessions more than their children, because they first stated that they would build pens for their sheep before they spoke about cities for their children. For this, Moshe discreetly rebuked them when he reversed the order (32:24): “Build for yourselves cities for your small children and pens for your flock.” The question is, how could the values of these two tribes have fallen so low that they prioritized their possessions over their children. These tribes were righteous people, whose parents experienced the Exodus from Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. They personally witnessed Hashem’s miracles daily in the desert, providing them with food, shelter and shielding them from their enemies. How could these tribes have sunk so low that their possessions were more important to them than their children?

Rav Henoch Liebowitz, ZT”L explains that indeed their primary concern was for their children, not for their cattle. However, because they were so concerned for the livelihood of their children, they busied themselves with their cattle so they would not need to worry about their children’s physical needs. Consequently, they spent a significant portion of their time taking care of their livestock. They became emotionally caught up in all the needs of their cattle, and they concentrated every day on the well-being of their cattle. They lost the focus that the purpose of working on their livestock was for the sake of their children, and eventually worried more about their cattle than they did about their children.

Rav Henoch says that if this can happen to the tribes of Gad and Reuven, who were children of the generation that experienced Hashem’s direct revelation, then it certainly can happen to us. We accept the concept that we need to work to provide for the physical needs of our families. However, because we spend so much time involved in our careers, the pursuit of advancing in those careers often takes over and becomes our primary focus, to the detriment of spending time with our children and learning Torah. This is especially true in the modern world, where the emphasis is on career growth and the acquisition of money. The Rabbis warn us about this. As it says in the Mishnah, the more we acquire, the more worries that we have over preserving that property (Avos 2:7).

Like the tribes of Gad and Reuven, whose primary focus eventually became their livestock rather than their families, we also need to recognize that we are extremely susceptible to the same influences. Our career or job is only a means to providing for our families, and ultimately for serving Hashem. We should merit to keep our focus on the real goal, and merit to see our children and grandchildren grow in Torah and middos (character) and exemplify the values of the Torah.