Two weeks ago, we read in parashat Balak about the attempts of Balak, the king of Moab – a people that lived east of the land of Canaan (on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea) – to confront, through magical means, the threat posed by the Israelites.
Together with the elders of Midian, another nation in the region, he summoned Balaam son of Beor, the Aramean sorcerer, with the aim of cursing the Israelites. Balaam failed in his mission and instead pronounced blessings. His failure was so significant that Balak dismissed him with scorn and derision, sending him back to his land.
At the end of the Torah portion, we read about the sins of promiscuity and idolatry in which the Israelites were ensnared. The daughters of Moab and Midian – two nations beside which the Israelites were staying – approached the Israelite camp and seduced them into sinning with them, committing acts of promiscuity and idolatry. This sin resulted in a severe punishment: 24,000 Israelites died in a plague.
Is there a connection between these two stories – the story of Balak and Balaam and the story of the daughters of Moab and Midian? In both stories, we encounter the two nations, Moab and Midian, but is there a more direct connection between them?
In this week’s parasha, Matot, we discover the connection. God commands Moses, “Avenge the Children of Israel against the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people” (Numbers 31:2). This is essentially the last act Moses is commanded to perform as a leader. Why must there be vengeance against the Midianites? We understand this when we continue reading Moses’ words about the daughters of Midian: “They were the same ones who were involved with the Children of Israel on Balaam’s advice to betray the Lord over the incident of Peor, resulting in a plague among the congregation of the Lord” (ibid. 31:16).
The vengeance against Midian was due to the actions of the daughters of Midian, who led the Israelites into sin.
We now see the connection between the story of the daughters of Midian and the story of Balak and Balaam. It turns out that the one who suggested the idea of leading the Israelites into sin through promiscuity and idolatry was Balaam son of Beor, the sorcerer who failed in his mission to curse the Israelites.
This is how Balaam’s advice is described in the Talmud: “He said to them: Their God hates licentiousness.... Come and I will give you counsel: Make tents and place harlots in them – an older one outside and a young one inside – and have them sell [the Israelites] linen garments.... Then she would say to him, ‘You are now like one of the household; sit down and make yourself comfortable,’ and a jug of Ammonite wine was placed near her.... Once he drank, the desire would be kindled within him. He would say to her, ‘Yield to me.’ She would then take out an idol from her bosom and say to him, ‘Worship this...’” (Sanhedrin 106a).
Thus, the Israelites fell into the trap set by Balaam and sinned with the daughters of Moab and Midian, and in the idolatry that was offered to them along with the licentiousness. Balaam, seeing that he could not harm the Israelites through magic and curses, understood that leading them into sin through promiscuity and idolatry was the way to harm them.
The difference between Moab and Midian
A CAREFUL examination of the story reveals that the scheme to lead the Israelites into sin involved daughters from both nations – Moab and Midian. However, the command to exact vengeance was directed only at Midian. There was no command to take vengeance on Moab or to conquer its land. What is the reason for the difference in the fate of Midian and Moab?
Of course, Rashi, the eminent Torah commentator, noticed this and provided a sharp answer to this question. This is what Rashi wrote:
“‘Avenge the Children of Israel against the Midianites’ – but not against the Moabites, for the Moabites came into the matter out of fear because they were afraid of being plundered by them... But the Midianites got involved in a dispute that did not concern them” (Rashi on Numbers 31:2).
Rashi teaches us an important principle here. A person who commits a negative act is not judged only by the act itself but also by the motive. The daughters of Moab committed a serious act just like the daughters of Midian, but the Moabites had a motive. They were genuinely afraid of the Israelites. According to the Israelites’ journey route, the Moabites understood that the Israelites were about to conquer their land. Fear drove them to lead the Israelites into sin. Therefore, despite the act being extremely negative, there is room for understanding and leniency regarding the sin.
In contrast, the Midianites, who lived east of Moab, had no reason to fear the Israelites. Their involvement was out of malice and a desire for destruction. They sought to lead the Israelites into sin because they wanted to interfere in a quarrel that did not concern them. For this, they would pay a heavy price.
If a person acts out of a tendency to incite strife and cause conflict, this is the worst motive. However, if a person sins, even a serious sin, but his motive is fear and concern, we can understand and consider his feelings. ■
The writer is the rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites.