Matos-Masei - 2nd Portion

Join me as we learn kumish for Monday paras mate and mas combined. The Torah reading is chapter 31 verse13. Yesterday we began with the Torah telling us about the war that the Jewish people should take against the Midionites for them antagonizing the Jewish people and causing them to serve the poor and with the seducing of their princesses. The war goes ahead and the Jewish people come back successful bringing back booty. Today we learn about what the Jewish people did with that booty and what Mosha and Alazar's reaction was to it. and Mosha and all the leaders of the Jewish people to cross them to greet the soldiers outside the camp. because they saw that the young fellas were going to grab from the plunder from the booty. So therefore Mosh Allar went out to tell them not to take it and to see what should be done and how it should be done. And Moshe got upset and angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of the thousands, the suras and the commanders of the hundreds that were coming back from the campaign of the war. Rashi explains, meaning who did he get angry at? Those that were responsible for the army. that anytime there's a problem with a generation. While it may be easy to blame the youngsters, but the actually the blame is on those in the power, the older ones because they have the ability to restrict and to uh rebuke and they should in time needed. Verse 16, verse 15. Did you let all the females live? Verse 16. In this case of bum bum's advice in the incident of causing people to go against God of the incident of fat gave and because of that was a plague amongst the Jewish people meaning what does it mean is the one meaning The Jewish people actually recognize these are the women that caused people to make a mistake, cause people to be to fall prey to the idolatry of poor and so on. With the advice of Bum said to the people in the ways of said to the Midionite people or to the Moabites, even if you're going to bring all the armies of the world, you're not going to be able to overcome the Jewish people. You think maybe okay we have more people more uh more army a larger army than the Egyptians this is what you think you have a greater army than the Egyptians you're going to be able to instill in you're not going to be able to overcome them so therefore tells him let me give you advice the Jewish god hates permiscuity and idolatry and therefore he got them to do permiscuity verse 17 now You must kill every male. You must kill every male child. Kill every woman who is old enough to have to know a man to have a relationship with a man. You must kill even though she's even though they may have not had actual affair with a man where they may have not been intimate with anyone still in all because they have that ability. you have to get rid of them. What does it mean? Uh and how do they know about these different captivities and the different women? How do they know which ones to kill? So they would bring the woman before the and any woman that was uh able to um or had was mature enough for this type of relationship to be intimate her face would become green and they would know that this was the person that had to be killed. Why do you say again kill to be able to interrupt the next case that he's going to talk about the next verse? That's what meaning if I'm going to read these two verses without the word then what's going to have here it says kill every male child and every woman that has the ability to know a man by the women I don't know what happens [snorts] with the people that did have a relationship to kill them with the males or not or should they be uh stay kept alive together with the children because the next one talks about the women and children who have not had relationship ships. Therefore, you kill these specifically these women. Kill these women together just like you kill the males because since they are susceptible to me and they are the ones who caused the problem. Verse 18 and all the young girls who have not been with a man, you can keep them alive for yourselves. Verse 19. Now those of you have become impure because since you were in the war. So therefore now you touched the body. So therefore you have to be you have to be seven days outside of the camp. Anyone that killed the body everyone that touched a dead body you're going to have to be cleansed with the special solution of the red heer as discussed in the in the para of on the third day and on the seventh day you and your captives. Rashi 17 I'm sorry Rashi outside the camp they should not enter into the chamber into the tent courtyard of the tabernacle any person that killed somebody says this is talking about a person who killed somebody who's susceptible to becoming impurity over here the Torah is telling us a special that a vessel that was used to kill somebody can now make the person who was holding the vessel impure because while he's killing the person he's touching the dead body he's holding the vessel so now he's connected to that dead body as if he's touching the dead body itself or is this also telling that even if he shot an arrow and killed a person he's now impure therefore the next word says You have to actually touch it. Just like the way a person becomes impure is by touching it. So too by killing it has to be through touching. It comes to teach you that if a person was through an arrow [snorts] then it was not through touching it. He does not become impure. He only for that day he has to go and immerse himself in the mikvah and he becomes pure. However, if he was actually touching the body, whether through the vessel or directly, then he has then the third day and the seventh day to become pure with the blood of the red of the red heer, the ashes of the red heer. They have to pure themselves with the special potion like any other person who comes in contact with a dead body because even according to those that say that a non-Jewish body does not make somebody impure in if you're under the same roof. because we learned that out of reverse of where God tells the Jewish people that you are compared to my and only you because only you are called Adam but not the non-Jews and therefore when we talk about when a person becomes when he uses the terminology and it talks about the laws of impurity uses the terminology of however they still agree that The only time that the Torah uses the terminology of Adam is when it talks about a tent. Meaning if you're in the same place, in the same home, in the same tent as an individual. So if it's a Jewish individual, anything that walks into the tent becomes impure. However, a non-Jew who does not have the category of Adam will not make somebody impure just by being in the same enclosure. However, when it comes to a Jewish per Oh, however, when it comes to touching, even if it's a gentile body, a Jew who touches a gentile body will still become impure and will still have to be purified through the ashes of the red hepher. You and your captives. The verse is now telling us that the non-Jews are susceptible to become impure and therefore need to be sprinkled by the ash of the of the red heer. Ella, what's it coming to tell us? Just like you are people of a covenant, so too your captives when they go through the covenant, meaning when they're circumcised and they convert, they will also have the laws of purity and impurity and will have to go through this system of purity. Verse 20. And any garment or any vessel made of leather or anything that was made out of um goat product or any wooden product will have to go through the same purification process. What is this referring to? Vessels that are made from goats. Meaning they're made from the horns of the goat or they're made from the hooves of the goats of made from the bones of the goats. If they're made of any of these kinds of things, they're m animal-made materials. They would have to go through the process of purification. Verse 21 tells the people of war who are coming back from war. These are the statutes of the Torah that God commanded Moshe. Why is the one who's telling the lawser? Rashi says because Moshe came and he was angry as we read before that he got angry at the commanders of the hundred and the thousands. He came to a mistake meaning he didn't have the cruel that had to be said at the moment and he was concealed from him at for the moment the laws pertaining koshering items from a nonju. Meaning that any vessel that a nonju used, how it should be cultured and how one has to be immersed to be able to remove from it the impurities as we'll soon see in the later verses. So do we find the same thing on the eth day of the installation process for the summer with there Moshe got upset and angry at summer when he came to a case of being upset and angry. He came to a case of mistaken or not knowing the at the moment. So too when it came to the case where the Jewish people were complaining about water after Miriam's passing and Moshe called him listen here you rebels. And because of that he hit the rock because he got upset the anger brought him to make that mistake and hit the rock instead of speaking to the rack like God told him. Even though Alazar was the one saying the words, he still said, "How do I know this?" Because Moshe taught it to me. Even though at the time Moshe with the was concealed from Moshe, but still in all it was as if he sent them to Moshe and Moshe sent it to him because since he didn't know the so therefore he said the he said the law but he depended it on Moshe because Moshe taught it to him. [snorts] Verse 22. And over here the Torah is going to tell us about the laws, the basic laws of koshering as we know it today as well. Verse 22, but the goldf and the silver and the copper and the iron and the tin and the lead. Even though Moshe only told you so far thus far about the laws of impurity and what's he talking usually when we say means to exclude even though what is he coming to say even though he only told you laws of impurity I have to tell you another set of laws that you have to know as well when bringing back the booty from the non-Jewish people the law pertaining to remove the uncoser the impurity of it the word comes to like an exclusion an exception You're not allowed to use these vessels. Even after you wait that after it's already purified after seven days and immersed in the mikvah because since it touched the dead body, you're still not allowed to use them. You have to make sure that you remove the uncoser the trafe that's in it because it absorbs non-cooser. You now have to clean it out. The rabbis explained this as well when it comes to the laws of koshering that in order to kosher something you can't kosher something while it's still dirty. In order to kosher even you still have to first remove the rust the dirt from it and only afterwards anything that has any substance it has to be removed and only then can you kosher it. This is the word but meaning exception. You have to make sure to remove anything that's there. Whether it's a rust or a patch or any other substantial dirt that's there has to be removed. And the only thing that you can be koshering is the tin, the gold, the metal, the silver and whatever it may be. What's the rule of koshering? And is fact as in terminology as in Jewish law as it says the way it absorbed its prohibition that's the way you're going to remove it as he says in verse 23 anything that absorb that came non-coosher with fire you're going to cleanse it with fire and it'll be clean however even after cleaning it has to be purified from its defilement because it was owned by a Jew it has to be immersed in Anything that has not been used by fire, but it was only used for light cooking, you're going to have to clean it and kosher it through water. That means the way was cooked with it was by cooking with fire, direct heat. The way something becomes non-coosher, that's the way you're going to kosher it. So therefore, something became non-coosher. Its use of it was with hot water, you're going to kosher with hot water. If something excuse whether it was roasting or baking or cooking whatever it may be like he uses over here the terminology they would did a rod and they would put it on a uh a roasting rod or if it was a actual vessel that they put a pot that they put it in if it was direct heat basically if it was direct fire it has to be kosher by direct fire. However, as he gives another contingent in order to be able to use it. However, according to simple interpretation, one can explain that this is talking about from the impurity because it came in contact with a dead body. He told him he said you need to you have to you have to closure these vessels and number one you have to remove the prohibition from it. Besides that, You have to rem remove it from impurity. But over here we also have another important law even to remove the prohibition. He demanded he required immersion for metal vessels even if they were not impure by coming in contact with the body. And even if they were brand new vessels of the non-Jew that were never used still in all over here who uses the waters of it has to be the same qualification that a woman with her menstrual period goes to a mikvah of 40. So too you have to take these vessels and immerse them in a mikvah of 40 meaning is telling them as follows two qualifications. Number one, you have to remember you have to kosher the item. Even an item that's not that didn't become kosher did become non-coosher. Meaning, let's say it's a new item or it never touched a dead body. You still have to immerse it in the mah to remove it from the idolatry impurity that was owned by the non-Jew. Anything that did not go through fire meaning or things that was it was not used. That means the item is not used through fire. For example, cups, jugs, and bottles which are used with cold water and therefore they never absorb a prohibition in the actual vessel unless it's hot. You have to immerse them in water. That means just immerse them into the water. You're taking off the impurity of the non-Jew of the Gentile because since it never absorbed the through heat any of the prohibition therefore and it's good. This is specifically referring to tin vessels that need to be are required to immersion. However, when it comes to wood or pottery, um they don't require uh immersion and that is because it only doesn't it doesn't mention them in the Torah. The Torah only mentions concerning uh metal ones specifically. [snorts] And this law, this of course applies today to the laws of immersion where the laws of koshering that even after somebody kosher their items. If it hasn't been immersed in the mikvah when they first bought it, they still have to kosher. They have to immerse it in a mikvah after koshering it or and before they can use it. So let's say if a person had a non- kosher vessel. If it was never immersed in the mikvah, you have to first kosher it then immerse it before usage as we find in this Torah reading. Verse 24. and then on the seventh day you will wash your clothing and you will become pure and only then can you enter back into the camp in the tent of meeting. What are we referring to? Which camp? This is talking about the place where the tent where the tabernacle was. However, when we talk about over here a person who comes in contact with a dead body only is sent out from the actual camp of where the tabernacle was. But he was allowed to be in the camp of where the Israelites and the Levites were. At this point now where the Jewish people brought back the booty, they were told the laws of what they have to do with anything that became non-coosher as well as to be able to immerse them in a mikvah to make sure that they would be considered kosher to use. Now they come to splitting up all the booty and making sure that everybody gets their fair share from it. Verse 25, God says to Moshe saying, Take account of all the booty and the plunder that was brought back from the captive people, the animals you together with the cohain and the heads of the tribes of the houses of their community. Make account verse 27. You will then split, you will divide the booty, the plunder between the people who are the warriors that went out of war and amongst everybody else. You're going to divide it half for these and half for those. Meaning that the people who uh the soldiers themselves can keep whatever movable property they captured. However, all for themselves. [snorts] Rashi. Uh next verse, verse 28. And you must love your attacks for God from the half that you gave to the soldiers. You will take a half. from those that went out to war. You're going to take out one out of every 500 people of the cattle from the people from the cattle from the dunkeys and from the sheep. So they have to give one out of every 500 of people cattle, donkey and flock. Verse 29, take tax from their half to give it to as a donation to God. Verse 30 and from the half belonging to the Jewish people, you're going to take 150th of the people from the people, from the cattle, from the dunkeys, from the flock, from all the animals, You're going to give them to the Levites, the ones, the keepers who protect and are in charge of re representatives of the Jewish people in the tabernacle of God. Verse 31, Allar did as God commanded. Verse 32. And the plunder which was in addition to the movable items that the army had paged of the sheep consisted of 675,000 sheep and goats because the Jewish people were not told to take attacks from the movable items. only from the humans from the animals. Therefore uses this type of language and the count was the um the booty that they took that means the amount that came in that they had to calculate what they would have to divide and what would be the tax that from this pillillage that they got meaning the amount that they were able to give give of nonmovable items was more than the movable items that the people of the army took for themselves and that there was not even part of this division. That means the actual soldiers were able to keep the movable items that there was so much more of what they had to divide for and therefore the Torah goes on to enumerate the sheep, the cattle and everything else to tell us that this amount of the livestock was so that was besides of what the people of the army were able to keep for themselves letting you know how much was taken. And now from 42 to 47 is going to tell us about an account of how much there was. 33 and cattle was 72,000. and dunes was 61,000. 35 as for the people of women who were not old enough to be together with another man called they were 32,000. verse 30 and regarding the half that was the portion of those who went out to battle the amount of sheep was three was 337,500 of sheep and goat that they were able to keep 37 and therefore their tax to go from to God from their sheep was 67 and from the cattle was 36,000 therefore their tax was their tax to God was 72 39 for the dunkey was 30 30,500 their tax to God was 61 verse 40 and the amount of people that they also brought back was 16,000 and their tax of this was 32 people 41 Moshe gave this tax which was a gift toe God commanded Moshe continue now verse 42 and from the half allotted to the Jewish people which Moshe had to divide into the spoils from those people who went to war. So if we recall they split half and half and each one had to give a different tax 43 and the half that belonged to the Jewish people was 337,500 sheep and goat 36,000 cattle 30,500 and people 16,000 So you see the two halves were of spoils were exactly equal as we mentioned previously. Now 47 Moshe to take before that we continue with Rashi 42 over here we see from the people that went over here from half of the booty of the Jewish people which is half of what Mosha split gave to the community and he took out already the half that he gave to the people who went to war. Therefore, the half that belonged to the Jewish people was as such and such that he enumerates it from 42 to 47. And then he tells us how much Moshe took from that half the tax that he gave to the people. So one out of 50 form the Jewish people that was the tax that had to be given [snorts] and he gave that to the Levites as we see in verse 47. Moshe took 150th of the half of the Israelites, which is the 150th of the from the animals and he gave it to the Levites. Those who protect and are charged with protecting the tabernacle of God commanded Moshe. 48 and the officer who are appointed to the ar over the army of thousands and the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds those that are in charge they said to Moshe your servants have counted the soldiers who were in charge who went to war that were under us that were in our um that we were responsible for And there's not one man missing. There's nobody missing. The word also comes from the word in Aramaic missing. Was missing from its count. We also find this in the very famous chapter of David and Jonathan. Your place would be missing. And over here the word is missing. Your place would be missing. The person was usually sitting there. It says that David's place was missing was empty. There was nobody sitting there. So he tells them made account. Everybody came back. We didn't only lose one person. Verse 50. And therefore we want to bring an offering to God. Any man who found a gold article of woman's jewelry, whether it's an anklet, a bracelet, a ring, an earring, or a belt, [snorts] we only give this and donate this to atone for our sins of before God. And this is because, as we're going to see, as Rashi explains, Rashi first of all explains each one of these um articles from the women. Number one, These are anklets. These are bracelets for the handil. These are earrings. This was a special type of uh ornament of jewelry which was used. It was called a chastity belt. And this type of uh ornament was because to atone for the fact that they may have had some type of lustful lustful thoughts that they may have had towards the midnight women when they were in war. Verse 51 and took all the gold articles from them. Verse 52 and all the gold that they donated that they brought to God. was 16,750 shekel 16,750 shekel from the commanders of the thousands from the commanders of the hundreds 53 the soldiers had each taken the seized the movable spoils for themselves and they kept them as we mentioned previously 54 and Moshe And the coin took the gold from the commanders of the thousands and of the hundreds and they brought it to the tent of meeting as a remembrance for the Jewish people before God. Over here we see that they donated recognizing and asking for an atonement by giving this gold to the Jewish to the holy temple. This concludes the second tow reading of paras combined.