Iturei Mattot/Massey - Astor 1

TORAH-FAX MATOT/MASSEI ITUREI

MATOTITU
ITUREI HA-TORAH QUESTIONS
BY RABBI CARL ASTOR
1. The Reubenites and the Gadites owned cattle in very great numbers!"#um!
$%&1'
Iturei Ha-Torah& (Mikneh rav( ) "lit! (ownershi* o+ the Rav(' ) they had
ownershi* in (the Rav,( i!e!, Moses our Teacher! And they could not se*arate +rom
him! There+ore, they stayed on the other side o+ the -ordan! "The seer of Lublin'
a! .hat, according to this inter*retation, caused them to remain on the /ast ban0
o+ the -ordan1
b! Is this a danger today1
2. Moses re*lied to the Gadites and the Reubenites, (Are your brothers to go to
war while you stay here1( "#um! $%&2'
Iturei Ha-Torah: The sim*le meaning o+ this te3t is, (4o you thin0 that while
5your brothers go to war5 ) when enemies attac0 Israel ) 5while you stay here5 ) that
you can sit in *eace and 6uiet in your dias*ora1( 7et this not enter your mind8
The battle +or de+ense o+ Israel is the battle +or the e3istence o+ the entire *eo*le o+
Israel!
a! 9ow is this a**licable to today5s world1
b! 4oes this necessarily mean living in Israel1
ANSWERS
Iturei Mattot/Massey - Astor %
1a! They could not brea0 their attachment to the *ast: in this case, Moses! This
attachment held them bac0 +rom *rogress!
1b! .hether it is attachment to a great leader, a building, or a custom, there must
be a willingness to move +orward!
%a! .e cannot sit bac0 and say that Israel5s *roblems are not ours! Our +ate and
destiny are closely lin0ed to that o+ Israel!
%b! .e can hel* as much, and sometimes even more, +rom here, i+ we ta0e our
roles seriously ) raising money, involving ourselves in *olitics, etc!