Mase’ei
Numbers 33:1-36:13
Jeremiah 2:4-28, 3:4
This week’s Torah portion, the last of the book of Numbers, is concerned with the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness of Sinai.
G-d commands the people upon entering the Land of Israel to “dispossess all the inhabitants of the land; you shall destroy all of their disfigured objects, you shall destroy all of their molten images….
“But if you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land, those whom you allow to remain shall be stings in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall harass you in the land in which you live; so that I will do to you what I planned to do to them” (Numbers 33:50-56).
These verses suggest that the Israelites are to expel the inhabitants of Canaan, or they shall suffer the same fate. Therefore, this portion demands potentially simultaneous adherence to competing ethical values.
Are the Israelites to obey G-d even if certain behavior is antithetical to the moral behavior we view as essential in interacting with others? Or are we to obey G-d in order not to be punished as is taught in the Torah?
Do we observe the mitzvot (commandments) enunciated in the Torah due to our love of G-d, or due to the fear that we may be punished if we do not observe them? What is the proper religious motivation for human behavior?
Life’s decisions are difficult, whether for a nation like Israel who must contend with avowed enemies living within, or along, her borders; or whether, we as individuals protect ourselves and or our loved ones, even at the expense of others.
How does a people protect itself, and yet practice a reverence for all life?
An interesting section of the Mishnah teaches: “Be not like servants who work for their master only on condition that they receive payment, but be like servants who work for their master without looking for any reward; and be filled with reverence for G-d” (Sayings of the Sages 1:3).
Certainly, we may conclude that this teaching requires of us to do our sacred work with a sincere heart, and without looking for rewards either in this world or in the next. The reward in doing a mitzvah is in the fulfillment that comes from performing a righteous act.
That act of decency and compassion should be showered upon not just our family, but all families; not just our people, but all people.
The tradition teaches, “The righteous of all nations shall receive a place in the world to come” (Tosefta Sanhedrin 13:2; Maimonides, "Mishnah Torah," Laws of Repentance 3:5).
Judaism at its core is a religion that glorifies the universality of the human spirit. All people are entitled to avail themselves of a day of rest; each human being deserves the precious presence of a home that is a sanctuary, of food, clothing and medicine.
Those who live among us deserve our respect and our support; and indeed when we offer that dignity to others, then we will be “filled with reverence for G-d.”
Rabbi Ronald M. Shapiro is senior rabbi at Congregation Shalom.
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