The tribes of Reuven and Gad made a deal with Moshe Rabbenu.
This happened after Beneh Yisrael benignly asked the Emorite king for passage rights through his territory, and the king responded by launching an unprovoked and ill-advised attack. Beneh Yisrael not only successfully fended off the offensive, but also vanquished the enemy, seizing their territory. This region seemed like nothing more than a passageway along the nation’s route to their homeland – the Land of Israel – but Reuven and Gad had other plans. Seeing how this vast, verdant territory was perfectly suited for their large herds of cattle, they approached Moshe and asked to be given this land as their permanent home, rather than join the other tribes in settling Eretz Yisrael across the Jordan River.
Reuven and Gad promised that they would not abandon their brethren during the war to capture Eretz Yisrael. As we read this month in Parashat Matot – and as Moshe then recounts in Parashat Devarim – the men pledged to join the other tribes in war. Moreover, they would be the “Halusim” – the ones standing in the front lines during battle.
While this promise was made by both Reuven and Gad, Rashi indicates to us that it was mainly the men of Gad that served as the “Halusim” standing in the front lines. Both in Parashat Matot and in Parashat Devarim, Rashi comments that the tribe of Gad excelled in warfare, as we know from Moshe’s blessing to this tribe just before his death. He says about the men of Gad (Devarim 33:20): “Vetaraf zeroa af kodkod” – that they “preyed” on their enemies’ “forearm” (“zeroa”) and “skull” (“kodkod”). Rashi writes in Parashat Devarim: “They would go before Israel to war, because they were mighty and their enemies fell in front of them, as it says: Vetaraf zeroa af kodkod.” The reason why they led the nation in war was their unique military prowess which Moshe described in his blessing.
Let us, then, take a moment to look at this quality, and see what practical lesson this might have for us as we wage our own battles in today’s world.
The Arm & the Head
Rashi, commenting to Moshe’s blessing to the tribe of Gad, explains the meaning of this description – of Gad’s warriors “preying” on the arms and heads of their foes. He writes: “Their fallen were readily identifiable: They would sever the head and the arm with a single blow.”
Gad’s men had an unusual manner of eliminating the enemy troops, using their swords to sever the enemy’s head and arm together.
We must wonder about the significance of this practice. It seems reasonable to assume that this was not done for some display of “machoism,” to show off their might and skill. Why was it important for the men to Gad to kill their enemies specifically in this fashion?
The answer emerges from a comment of the Midrash (cited by Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher, in his commentary to Parashat Matot), associating Moshe’s description of the warriors of Gad with the mitzvah of tefillin. The Midrash teaches that Gad succeeded in removing the enemies’ arms in the merit of the tefillin shel yad – the tefillin worn on the arm – and in decapitating the enemies in the merit of the tefillin shel rosh – the tefillin worn on the head.
The unique connection between the tribe of Gad and the mitzvah of tefillin is expressed even in the name “Gad.” The Lubavitcher Rebbe (Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1902-1994) noted that this name is comprised of two letters – Gimal and Dalet – which in gematria equal 3 and 4, respectively. The tefllin shel rosh features the letter shin and both sides – once with three branches, and the other time with four branches. The name “Gad,” then, is associated with the tefillin.
If, indeed, Gad’s military prowess is linked to their observance of the mitzvah of tefillin, then we can understand the significance of this tribe’s unique manner of eliminating enemy soldiers, as Rashi describes. The Gaon of Vilna (1720-1797) draws our attention to the Gemara’s teaching in Masechet Menahot (36a) that speaking after placing the tefillin shel yad, before placing the tefillin shel rosh, constitutes a serious infraction. And if even an otherwise scrupulous individual is guilty of this infraction, he is deemed unworthy of participating in the nation’s wars. This, the Vilna Gaon explains, is the meaning of Rashi’s description of the warriors of Gad. They were especially vigilant in the observance of this halachah – avoiding any interruption between the tefillin shel yad and tefillin shel rosh – and so they were rewarded with the strength to eliminate their enemies by severing their head and arms together, without any interruption.
Sins of the Mind & Sins of the Heart
The next step is to try to understand the deeper meaning of this quality. While we of course recognize the importance of observing every halachah, down to the finest details, we must nevertheless ask what makes this particular halachah so critically important, especially in reference to the tribe of Gad and the battles they fought. Why, of all the many halachot that we are required to observe, was it the uninterrupted placement of the tefillin shel rosh and tefillin shel yad that made Gad worthy of special military skill?
The answer to this question lies in the sequence of the events told in Parashat Matot.
The story of Reuven and Gad’s request to permanently settle the region east of the Jordan River is preceded by the account of the war Beneh Yisrael waged against the nation of Midyan. This war was fought to avenge that nation’s role in the insidious plot devised by Bilam, the wicked gentile prophet. After failing to place a curse on Beneh Yisrael, Bilam proposed an innovative way to defeat Beneh Yisrael – by luring them to sin. The nations of Moav and Minyan sent their women to entice the men of Beneh Yisrael to immorality and idol-worship. The plan – tragically – worked, though not entirely. The men indeed became involved with the women of Moav and Midyan, and participated in the worship of their pagan deities. Gd unleased a devastating plague, killing 24,000 violators – and the plague would have annihilated Beneh Yisrael if not for the heroic act of Pinhas, who killed two public offenders, being an abrupt end to the plague. Gd then commanded the people to wage a war of revenge against Midyan.
What might be the connection between this story – Beneh Yisrael’s sin with the nations of Moav and Midyan – and Reuven and Gad’s request to permanently settle in the region east of the Jordan River? Why are these stories juxtaposed in the Torah?
The answer might be that Gad embodied the tikkun – rectification – of the two sins that the people had committed. The tefillin shel yad, situated near the heart, the seat of desire and temptation, represents the struggle to restrain one’s sinful impulses and drives. The tefillin shel rosh, sitting on top of the head, signifies our intellectual obligations, the requirement to have the correct ideas and beliefs.
Gad’s ability to sever the head with the arm symbolized their combined devotion to both areas – to exercising self-restraint, and to fervently upholding authentic Jewish beliefs. They were committed equally to both, without compromising either, and without ever favoring one over the other. They adhered to the messages of both the tefillin shel yad – resisting temptation and controlling sinful impulses – and the tefillin shel rosh – believing in Hashem and in the eternal relevance of His Torah.
The war against Midyan represents the war to preserve these two elements. In response to Midyan’s successful efforts to lure them to immorality and idolatry, Beneh Yisrael went out to battle against wanton indulgence in forbidden pleasures, and against false ideologies. Appropriately, this story is followed by the account of how the tribe of Gad, who excelled in these two areas, was appointed to lead the charge as Beneh Yisrael continued this struggle in the next stage of their history, in the Land of Israel.
This battle continues to this very day – and perhaps even more so. If we look at the formidable challenges facing the Jewish religion in our time, we will see that it is precisely these two aspects: self-restraint, and ideology. Modern society shuns restraint, championing instead unlimited indulgence. And, modern man ridicules religious belief, dismissing the notion of a Gd who imposes restrictions and demands accountability as primitive superstition. In our day – no less than at the time of Beneh Yisrael’s war against Midyan – both the “tefillin shel yad” and the “tefillin shel rosh” are under assault. We face a Herculean struggle to maintain our commitment to self-discipline, to exercising moderation and restraint in the pursuit of physical pleasure, and to maintain our belief in a Creator who revealed Himself to our ancestors and gave us the Torah. The fight against Midyan is one which we are bidden to fight even today, thousands of years later.
We must follow the example of Gad, who demonstrated their commitment to both the tefillin shel yad and tefillin shel rosh, who valiantly set out to preserve the value of self-restraint, and of the integrity of Jewish faith. May Hashem grant us the strength, determination and skill that we need to successfully wage this battle, to remain steadfastly and uncompromisingly committed to both Torah beliefs and Torah observance.