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Torah Portion

Matot (Tribes) Numbers 30:2 – 32:42

Moses then reminds them of the sin of the spies who had returned from the Land of Israel and spoke ill of the land, causing the people to doubt the success of their imminent entry. God’s response, of course, was to punish the people and delay the entry for an additional 38 years. Moses fears that if Reuben and Gad remain in the land east of the Jordan, the rest of the people will refuse to enter. After years of experience with the Children of Israel, Moses is quite aware that the littlest provocation can instill fear and lack of faith in the people.

The Right Perspective Will Prevail

They could have complained bitterly about having to settle in an army camp. They could have given up.  But instead, they had faith.  They knew they could do it.  They knew this was the beginning of a monumental  movement to settle Samaria. And they were right.  Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Jews living in Samaria and close to half a million throughout Judea and Samaria.  They were right because they heeded Moses’ call to G-d to disperse the enemies. They were right because they heeded Caleb’s call: “Let us go up for we can do it!”

Reflections on the Torah Portion of the Week

January 2008    The weekly Torah portion that is read in the synagogue every Shabbat morning is actually a section of the Five Books of Moses that becomes part of a Jew’s entire week. Even Elitzur, still in nursery school, has a Rabbi come in every week to give his group of 4 year olds … Read more