Parshat Mattot-Maasei, Numbers 30:2 -36:13

Another double portion, Mattot-Maasey is this week’s Torah reading. This is the end of the book of Numbers. And it is the last military campaign of Moses before his death on the heights overlooking the Promised Land. The campaign is against the Midianites and not only do they slay the five kings of Midian but they also put Balaam son of Beor to death. This is the Balaam who blessed the people Israel rather than curse them doing God’s work even as he was called by the Midianite King, Balak.

Our text teaches us that 1000 from each tribe became the army and Eleazar the High Priest’s son, Pinchas served as the priest to the army. And they were very successful in their military campaign. They collected the spoils of war and took the women and children of the Midianites as captive. Why such a vicious battle against the Midianites. After all Moses’ own father-in-law Jethro and his wife Tzipora were from Midian?

If we look back to the end of parshat Balak, the Israelites as they make their way north come into contact with the different peoples, Moab and Midian. Their contact with these people brings temptations to worship their local gods and goddesses. In fact the Moabites specifically sent their women to tempt the Israelite men sexually and through their contact with either the Moabites or Midianites the Israelites were infected with some sort of plague.

God recognized that they tempted the Israelites with pagan sexual rituals and wanted to ensure that the Israelites no longer faced temptation but also that Moabites and Midianites use of such tactics to turn Israel away from their God were abhorrent to Israel.

Interestingly enough, Moses is very angry with the warriors upon their successful return. He gets angry because they didn’t exactly follow the instructions which were to slaughter everyone except female children or virginal young women. But the Israelite soldiers brought back to camp every woman and child both male and female. Their compassion was greater than Moses.

Today the rules of war are so complex. We don’t like to think of them except when and if we are part of the military and need them. But war is still a part of our lives. America fights two wars at the same time –we are still in Iraq and still in Afghanistan. Israel continues to be surrounded by hostile nations and territories. We as citizens must demand to know what are they ways in which our militaries may conduct themselves-for they represent us. That is why there are rules of engagement, rules for how we treat prisoners and rules for helping a country back on its feet following a war.

And as citizens we should demand that our armies follow the highest ethical road possible. Even though war is always morally complex. That is what has made Guantanamo Bay detention for “enemy combatants” so suspect. It falls outside the acceptable ways to treat prisoners of war and why the revelations that the United States used torture on many of these prisoners is such an anathema to us. Because they violate our own rules of engagement and violates our value system.

Yes, I wish there was no need for war—ever. But as long as there are despots in the world –my guess is there will always be war. It is our task as citizens to ensure that we conduct our battles as ethically and morally as possible.

Posted by Eric at July 13, 2009 12:03 PM