(ו) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה לִבְנֵי־גָ֖ד וְלִבְנֵ֣י רְאוּבֵ֑ן הַאַֽחֵיכֶ֗ם יָבֹ֙אוּ֙ לַמִּלְחָמָ֔ה וְאַתֶּ֖ם תֵּ֥שְׁבוּ פֹֽה׃
(6) And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: ‘Shall your brethren go to the war, while you sit here?
(15) For if you turn away from Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and so you will destroy all this people.’
Focusing on the fact that the two tribes are trying to stay in Jordan and so it seems as if they are skipping out on the rest of their brothers. Moses likens them to the spies who convinced the community not to go to Israel. He warned that this was one of the reasons he couldn't go into Israel and why they should be careful if they continue on this path.
If these two tribes do not cross into Israel, they will be essentially killing their brethren. How? Why? What can they do to stop this?
--Placed as a subtext under Numbers 32:6 above--
"Moses's concern was with the ethical implications of the seceding of the two tribes from a war which should be fought by all of Israel. The conquest of Eretz Yisrael was not encumbant only on those people who planned to live on the land. It was, in the eyes of Moses, the culmination of the drama of redemption which should be acted out in full by all of the tribes that came out of Egypt." -- Pinchas Peli
The focus is about Moses' concern in terms of the ethical responsibility. What does that mean? Do they care?
(א) ולמה תניאון הלא ידעתם כמה לקו המניאים בדור שקדם:
(1) ?ולמה תניאון, what is the point in your undermining the resolution and morale of your brethren? You are repeating what the spies in the last generation did!
Morale -- focusing on the fact that people would worry that others were not participating -- scared they were missing something --- so is Moses concerned about the Moral or Ethical issues in these tribes leaving their brethren?
|
Ethics |
Morals |
|
|---|---|---|
| What are they? | The rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group or culture. | Principles or habits with respect to right or wrong conduct. While morals also prescribe dos and don'ts, morality is ultimately a personal compass of right and wrong. |
| Where do they come from? | Social system - External | Individual - Internal |
| Why we do it? | Because society says it is the right thing to do. | Because we believe in something being right or wrong. |
| Flexibility | Ethics are dependent on others for definition. They tend to be consistent within a certain context, but can vary between contexts. | Usually consistent, although can change if an individual’s beliefs change. |
(יד) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי. וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי. וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתַי:
(14) He would say: If I am not for me, who will be for me? When I am for myself, what am I? If not now, when?
This is the main thing. We have to be aware of the others around us and be focused on the moral and ethical pieces. It is hard to do, but we can do it. Eventually, Moses and the tribes of Reuven and Gad were able to come to an agreement and find a way to make everyone happy. The two tribes stayed in Jordan, but were able to focus on the community as a whole and not just their own livelihood. They helped the Israelites and then returned to their land. They found a balance of responsibility for their family and friends and for themselves. This is not always easy and this balance continues to be a struggle for people everywhere today. The hope is that we can take this story and pause to see how our actions affect ourselves and those around us. If we are able to do this, we can hear others and ourselves; not losing sight of either.