Loving Another For No Reason Will Bring Moshiach

Dedicated By Dr. Ezra and Lauren Kest
In the zechus of a Refua Shelaima for Chaim Pinchas Meyer Ben Leah 

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In this week's parsha, Matos, Hashem commands Moshe, to go to war against Midian. "And Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, 'Take revenge for the Children of Israel against the Midianites, afterwards, you will (die and) be gathered to your people.' Moshe spoke to the people, saying, 'Arm (Heichaltzu) from among you men for the army, that they can do battle against Midian, and carry out the revenge of Hashem (Havaya) against Midian. You shall send a thousand from every tribe, from all the tribes of Israel.'"

There are some difficulties in these verses. 

Why is the war against Midian connected to Moshe's passing? It seems from the verse, "afterwards, you will be gathered to your people," that for some reason, this war had to be done specifically through Moshe, and that it was necessary for him to do this for the completion of his soul's mission in this world. Why is the war against Midian connected to Moshe? 

What was the purpose of this war? It was not to acquire their land, Midian was not part of the land of Israel, it was not one of the seven nations of Canaan. We have to understand, what was the purpose of this war? 

When Hashem commanded Moshe, He said that it is "revenge for the Children of Israel against Midian." However, when Moshe said it to the Jewish people, he said that it is "the revenge of Hashem (Havaya) against Midian." Is it the Children of Israel's revenge or Hashem's? Why would it be Hashem's revenge? What the Midianites did, wasn't against Hashem, it was against the Jewish people, He even said, that the reason for the war was, "because they were hostile to you (the Children of Israel)." Rashi says, that it is the same, if you go against the Jewish people, you are going against Hashem. This is true, but from Moshe's words, "the revenge of Hashem (Havaya) against Midian," it seems that it is personal to Hashem, and specifically to His name Havaya. We have to understand, why the war against Midian is personal to Hashem and specifically to His name Havaya? 

Moshe's words to the Jewish people are grammatically incorrect. "Arm (Heichaltzu) from among you," the word "Heichaltzu" indicates that it is referring to everybody, that everyone should arm themselves. But the verse continues, "from among you," and the following verse says, "a thousand from every tribe," meaning, that it was a specific few, not everyone. It would make more sense to say, "yeichaltzu," which would be referring to some and not all, rather than, "Heichaltzu." Why does it say Heichaltzu? 

Another question. On the words, "from all the tribes of Israel," Rashi says, "To include the tribe of Levi." The tribe of Levi was usually exempt from going to war, because they were in the service of Hashem. Why did they go out to this war? 

The word Midian, comes from the word madon, which means strife or argument. Midian is the essence of separation and divisiveness, their hate is for no reason, they just can't stand the other, their mere existence is an affront to Midian. As we see from the story itself, Israel had no intention to conquer Midian, and Midian knew it. But they tried again and again to start with the Jewish people. First, through Ballam and then they sent their own daughters to defile themselves, and bring the Jewish men to sink to a low. 

While the seven nations of Canaan represent the seven negative emotions that we must conquer, Midian is not a part of them. Because the seven negative emotions are conquerable, like someone who has a reason for disliking another, if the reason is removed, so is the hatred. However, with Midian there is no reason, it is blatant hatred. They are not one of the seven, but rather the essence and the core of all evil, hatred and divisiveness, and all of the other seven negative emotions emanate from it. Therefore, it is not to be conquered, but destroyed. 

The name Havaya represents the diametric opposite of Midian. It is all about inclusion and unity. It is what creates the world and allows it to exist, seemingly as an entity of its own. Although it is much higher than existence and would make sense to be separate, the opposite is true, it is what unifies all of existence. 

The same is true about everything holy, it unifies, and if it doesn't, it is not holy. The opposite is true for the unholy, it serves as a divider, creating strife and argument wherever it goes. It is an agent of hatred and divisiveness. 

So Midian is not just bad, it is the antithesis to the name Havaya, it is the antithesis to His Torah, His purpose of creation. And because we were put here to fulfill His purpose, it is the antithesis to the Jewish people as well. 

How do we oppose this great evil? It is specifically through Moshe. About Moshe it says, "And the man Moshe was the humblest from any person on the face of the earth." It is humility and self nullification, that makes room for another and unifies. Therefore, it is Moshe that has to wage this war, and it is the completion of his soul's mission, because this is the essence of Moshe, to unify through humility and self nullification. 

This is true for all of us. We each have to be unifiers through humility and self nullification, to allow for the other to exist and thrive. We can do it, because we each have a little bit of Moshe inside of us, which gives us the ability to be humble and strengthens us to follow through and unify ourselves and Hashem's world. 

Now we can understand why the tribe of Levi went to war as well. Because this war was not for capturing land, or to gain the spoils of the battle. The reason for the war was for Hashem. Being that the tribe of Levi was only to serve Hashem, they went to war. Even more, perhaps we could say, that they were the most important tribe in the war. Sent by Moshe, a Levi, and lead by Pinchas from the tribe of Levi. 

It is possible for someone to hate at this level, blatant hatred for no reason. The source of this hatred is the person's big ego, it is not that the other person did anything to him or to anybody else, it's just that his ego is so big that there is no room for anyone else, so he is filled with hatred. He might have a reason for disliking the other, but it is not real, the reason came after the hatred. He manufactured the reason to justify his blatant hatred, and to make him feel righteous. 

This is especially bad when the person is a Torah scholar, because if his ego is in the way, he is not able to get to the truth of the Torah. In order to come to the truth of Torah, one must be humble, so he listen to another's opinion, and even consider that he might be wrong. Even worse, with his big ego, self-righteousness, and holier-than-thou attitude, he could lead others astray, and he could influence others to hate as well. This is the opposite of what Hashem wants, and the opposite of holiness. 

Another problem with having a big ego. A Jew has to be able to hear what his friend is telling him, and he has to be able to confide in another, because how else would he know that he is on the right path. If his ego is inflated, he will be too full of himself, to listen or confide in another, because "What does he know?" "Why would I listen to him?" 

now we can understand why Moshe said, "Heichaltzu," meaning, everyone. Because on a deeper level, this is a war that we all must wage. We all must destroy our egos, the Midian inside of us. 

Matos is always read during the Three Weeks, when both of our Temples were destroyed. Our sages tell us, that the first Temple was destroyed because of idolatry, adultery and murder. And the second Temple was destroyed because of blatant hatred. The first exile, following the destruction of the first Temple, lasted seventy years, the present exile, which followed the destruction of the second Temple, has gone on for almost two thousand years. We must conclude, that what put us into this exile is worse than what put us in the first exile. In other words, to Hashem, hatred for no reason is worse than the big three, idolatry, adultery and murder. 

What is the remedy for this exile? What is the key to bringing Moshiach? It is humility and self nullification, that will make you a unifier and it will bring you to love another for no reason, the opposite of what destroyed the Temple. This is what Hashem wants most, and this is the key to bringing Moshiach. May he come soon.