He set aside the three cities of refuge on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. These cities, operated by members of the tribe of Levi, were designated as refuge for an accidental murderer, to ensure his safety from a vengeful family member.
These three were designated in the recently captured lands of the Amorite kings, and three corresponding cities would eventually be set up in the Land of Israel proper after its capture under Joshua’s leadership.
It is somewhat perplexing why Moshe took the initiative to begin an exercise he could not complete. He knew that he was not going to enter the Land of Israel, and the legal status and effectiveness of the cities of refuge only took affect after all six were established.
The three that he allocated were effectively useless until the Holy Land was captured. There was no chance that he would see this Divine command to its fruition. Why start it?
To understand the text, 11th century commentator Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, quotes the Talmudic answer from Tractate Makkos that quotes Moses’ axiom: Any mitzvah that I can in any way achieve I will achieve.
The Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen Kagan of Radin, was a foremost authority on Jewish law and ethics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was renowned for his saintly qualities.
He expounds that Moses’ action is akin to the aphorism expressed by Rabbi Yochanan son of Dehavai in the ethics classic Avos d’Rebbi Nosson (chapter 27): “Do not distance yourself from mitzvahs that have no end, nor from Torah study that has no completion.”
Traditional Jewish thought speaks of our “yetzer hara,” a self-gratifying desire to act contrary to G-d’s will, the side of our emotional tugs-of-war that pulls us to do what we know we should not.
Rabbi Kagan explains that the yetzer hara uses the argument behind Rabbi Yochanan’s maxim to entice us not to study and fulfill the laws prohibiting slanderous speech.
Around Tisha B’Av (observed on July 30 this year), we redouble our efforts against such negative speech because slander and the hatred it generates are primary among the reasons for the destruction of the Holy Temple 2000 years ago and our continued exile today.
The yetzer hara asks us, “What is the purpose in studying and toiling in this area? Are you really going to be able to fulfill this mitzvah to its end and control every word that leaves your lips? Better not to involve yourself in such an exercise that is boundless in time and scope.”
The Chofetz Chaim explains Rabbi Yochanan’s repudiation of this argument with a parable: One is walking along the shore and notices a quantity of precious gems that washed up and strewn about the sand, slowly being drawn back into the sea by the tide.
Would any rational person say, “I cannot collect all of the jewels, so I will not bother to collect any of them”? Is it not worth the investment of the fleeting hour or two to gather as many as possible?
Rabbi Kagan concludes that this is the lesson alluded to in Proverbs (2:4): If you seek it as silver and search for it as buried treasure, then you will understand fear of G-d.
In our lifelong journey toward achieving a “G-d consciousness” the key is maintaining the approach we would have in collecting the gems on the shore: We may not be able to collect every one before it washes out to sea, but whatever we can get our hands on is priceless.
Last month, Rabbi Pinchas Avruch completed more than eight years as executive director of the Milwaukee Kollel-Center for Jewish Studies. He is now associate director of JUMP of South Florida (www.jewishafterschool.org).
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