Matot-Mase
We read in Parashat Matot a famous episode where 2 tribes, actually 2 tribes and half; Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe, come to Moshe Rabenu with a request to live in Trans-Jordan. They wanted to settle on the other side of the Jordan River and not enter the land of Israel. After Moshe Rabenu rebukes them, they make a deal whereby these two and half tribes will go into Eretz Yisrael and help their brothers fight and settle the land, and only after that, will they go to the other side and dwell. Reuven, Gad and half of Menashe explained that they wanted to reside on the other side of the Jordan because the grass and pastures there would make it easier for them to support their abundant cattle.
So it sounds like, at least from the Torah, that these tribes were making a business decision. Moshe Rabenu rebuked them, criticizing them for being more concerned about business than about settling in the land of Israel.
Rav Aharon Kotler (1891-1962, Rosh Yeshivah of Bais Medrash Govoha, in Lakewood, NJ) explained that when living in Eretz Yisrael, you are able to fulfill many extra Mitzvot that you can not fulfill outside of Eretz Yisrael. One of those Mitzvot is ‘Bikurim’, which is taking of the first fruits, which can only be done in Eretz Yisrael (and not on the other side in Trans Jordan). And therefore, Rav Aharon Kotler says that the claim against these tribes was about the Mitzvot they evaded. Their main concern was dealing with their live stock and their cattle. They should have said that Bore Olam will provide sustenance in the land of Israel just as he had done in Trans Jordan. They should have opted for the place they were able to grow spiritually, and be not of the belief that the grass is greener on the other side.
The Rambam discusses this issue of people that over prioritize their materialism and put less emphasis on the spiritual. He talks about the businessmen of old. He said that it is a Mitzvah to go to work, but to spend only 3 hours a day working, and then 9 hours a day learning. That’s Rambam’s understanding of how to balance priorities in life. Of course one has to make a living, but the Rambam is telling you that you have to be learning three times the amount of hours working. Of course that proportion might not be applicable for our time, however, it’s a reminder that the main thing in life is the learning that we do in the morning before we go to work, and the learning that we do at night when we come home. Additionally, it would be best to steal an hour or two in the middle of the day as well.
Binei Gad and Binei Reuven and half of Menashe, suffered a charge against them, because they preferred to live outside the land of Israel. They preferred to exempt themselves from the Mitzvot that are applicable in the land of Israel only. They go down in history for putting more emphasis on their wealth than on their Mitzvot.
What a lesson that is to us, to remind ourselves to focus on the right priorities. It reminds us that our Torah should be the driving force, and that everything else is secondary.
