Greater Israel? Matot Massei 5786

 I have a question for you.  First some background.  The original land Hashem promised to the Jewish people was from the river to the sea, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan river.  This was the land that would be divided amongst the 12 tribes.  Then the two mighty kings on the east side of the Jordan made a fatal mistake.  When Moshe asked Sichon, the king of the Emorites, to let them pass through to enter the promised Jewish land, Sichon refused and went to war.  With Hashem’s miraculous help, the Jews won and took his land, as well as that of the mighty Og, who also initiated war against the Jews.  

The tribes of Gad and Reuven saw luscious grazing land east of the Jordan river for their vast amounts of sheep and cattle, and came up with a novel idea.  How about we settle here instead of our designated lands on the west of the Jordan. Moshe was upset.  “Are you trying to do what the spies did, refusing to enter the land and turning the nation against its mission to inhabit and cultivate the Holy Land,” he asked.

The Torah describes extensive dialogue between these two tribes and Moshe.  After hearing their response, that they would lead the people in battle and help them settle the land, clearly not shirking that responsibility, Moshe agreed to give them the eastern lands.    Then Moshe tells Yehoshua, Elazar and the heads of the tribes, to be sure that the two tribes live up to their promise, and the consequences if they do not (Bamidbar 32:19,20): ‘Moshe said to them, “If the descendants of Gad and Reuben cross the Jordan River with you—all who are armed for combat before G-d—and the land is conquered before you, you may give them Gilead as an estate. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they will receive a possession among you [on the west side of the Jordan] in Canaan.”’

Then something very strange happened (Ibid 33).  “So Moshe gave the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben and half of the tribe of Menashe son of Joseph the kingdom of King Sichon of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan—the land together with the cities within its borders and the cities of the surrounding territory.”  Wait a second!  Where did Menashe come from?  They didn’t ask for the land!  If Moshe was reluctant to have anyone remain in the east and not enter the mainland, why would he proactively give Menashe a section there?  And why divide the tribe in half?

The Rebbe gives a beautiful answer.  Moshe is the eternal leader of the Jewish people, and he set the tone for everything relating to our nation.  He took us out of Egypt and started the free Jewish nation.  He brought and taught us the Torah, the eternal life path for all time.  The “new Torah” that Moshiach will teach was already included in the original Sinai revelation.  Even the future redemption itself, which will be brought about by Moshiach, is attributed to Moshe.  “Moshe is the first redeemer and the final redeemer,” our Sages taught in the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 2:4).  Because the Moshe’s redemption from Egypt was the precursor and inspiration for the final redemption.

One thing Moshe did not do was bring the Jewish people into our Holy Land that Hashem had designated for us from the beginning of Creation.  Yet Moshe still prepared the way.  Before he died, Hashem told him to go up to Mount Nevo and see the land.  All the land that Moshe saw at that time became Holy.  That was Moshe preparing the way.

Well, in the same vein, Moshe prepared the way for another aspect of the future redemption.  Hashem promised the land of ten nations to our people.  Only seven were given to the generation that left Egypt and entered Canaan. The other three, Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni, otherwise known as Edom, Amon and Moav, were not yet inherited by the Jewish people, and will be ours when Moshiach comes.  In other words, the future redemption includes the expansion of the Holy Land.

(For those antisemites who claim that we are trying to capture more lands to create “Greater Israel,” this expansion will happen only when Moshiach comes.  Then there will be peace, and the entire world will recognize the bond between the Jews and Israel, and will willingly invite us to inhabit the entire land that is rightfully ours.)

So Moshe, who set the tone for all other aspects of Jewish life, also began the process of expanding the land by settling part of Menashe on the east side of the Jordan, beyond the original boundaries of the land.  Gad and Reuven didn’t fit the bill for this, since they had requested the land and it would not have been an expansion initiated by Moshe.  So Moshe added another tribe, who would straddle both sides and expand the land.

Why Menashe?  They had a history of demonstrated love for the land, beginning with the name Menashe itself, given by Yosef to his son in Egypt, which represents yearning for the land.  It means, as Yosef himself said, that Hashem had caused him to lose “Nashani” his connection with his father’s house when he was sold as a slave to Egypt.  The name was intended as a constant reminder of where he came from and that Egypt was a foreign place.

A famous incident involving members of the tribe of Menashe demonstrates how that tribe lived with love of the land.  Moshe gave instructions on how to divide the land of Israel based exclusively on the male heads of households.  The five daughters of Tzelafchad, who had died earlier, stepped forward to demand a share.  They had no precedent for this and it was a bold step, because women were included in their husbands’ share.  Our sages taught that these women were motivated purely by their love for Israel, and therefore took the courageous step to challenge Moshe for a portion of it.  

We look forward to the time when instead of challenging the eternal bond of the Jewish people to the original land, the nations will peacefully invite us to inherit every part of it, may it be soon.