Parshat Mattos
Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer

Parshas Mattos begins with a detailed treatment of the halachos of nedarim - vows. The parshah then turns to the war against Midian, followed by the decision of the shevatim of Reuven and Gad to settle on the east of the Yarden and their subsequent agreement with Moshe to first fight and assist in the conquest of the land on the west, where the other shevatim were to live.

One can ask why the halachos of nedarim appear in Parshas Mattos, as they seem to be unrelated to the balance of the parshah, which deals with war and conquest of land. What is the relationship between nedarim and the rest of this week's parshah?

The relationship between nedarim and the balance of the parshah appears to be that of honoring with one's commitments, even when the commitments are old and perhaps seemingly irrelevant. Moshe Rabbeinu chatsised the tribes of Reuven and Gad for deciding to remain on the east of the Yarden, as it was originally understood that all of the tribes would jointly enter the Land and engage in a communal conquest; the proposal by Reuven and Gad to settle to the east - which was heretofore inconceivable, but now seemed very logical and doable - represented an abandonment of their previous commitment and was seen by Moshe as endangering the nation as a whole.

So, too, the war against Midian was primarily waged in order to fulfill a prior obligation imposed by Hashem in Parshas Pinchas (25:18). This obligation was not in the form of a regular mitzvah; rather, it could be fulfilled at any time during Moshe Rabbeinu's life, and it was thus akin to a debt. Still, since it was God's desire and command, Moshe sought to fulfill it right away, despite knowing that his life would end shortly thereafter (Rashi 31:3 from Sifri and Tanchuma). Although waging the war on Midian was against Moshe's self-interests and could be delayed almost indefinitely, Moshe nonetheless acted with alacrity in performing God's command and honoring the imposed commitment to wage the war.

Thus, the preliminary section of the parshah dealing with nedarim serves as an introduction to the general obligation to honor previous commitments, depsite the fact that one may no longer view such committments as relevant or in one's best interests at a later time.

The siman of Parshas Mattos is also indicative of this motif, for the siman is "Eival", which refers to Har Eival (Mount Eival), upon which Bnei Yisroel were commanded that - at the time of entry to Eretz Yisroel - they erect large stone tablets inscribed with the Torah or the mitzvos (Devarim 27:4). The purpose of these large tablets was to always remind the people that they undertook a covenant with Hashem upon leaving Mitzrayim, and - even though they now had their own land and were succesfully settled with all of their needs - they dare never forget the covenant's eternal relevance and obligations.

Why is the theme of honoring previous commitments featured and emphasized in Parshas Mattos? Is it not a general concept throughout the Torah?

Chazal note on several occasions (e.g. Bamidbar 27:12, Devarim 3:23) that Moshe Rabbeinu suspected that God would rescind His ban on Moshe's entry to the Land due to various circumstances that indicated to Moshe a possible change in Hashem's plans for him. Why did Moshe think that God would change His mind, so to say?

As was explained in the divrei Torah on Parshas Bamidbar and Parshas Chukas (click "Archive" link below) , the Jews underwent a major transition in Sefer Bamidbar. They were weaned from being the Dor Deah - a generation living on open miracles - to a nation of conquerors and farmers, in preparation for settling the Land. Many of the open miracles ceased, and the nation needed to exert human effort for military success and toil for the acquisition of land and property. This transition was quite difficult, and it served as the basis for many of the nation's low-points in Sefer Bamidbar. Underscoring the changes which transpired was a general change in the manner that God dealt with Bnei Yisroel and His expectations of them. Thus, under what seemed to be a totally new state of affairs, it appeared feasible that some of the "ground rules" or limits would be affected, and this is why Moshe Rabbeinu suspected that the ban on his entry to the Land would be rescinded (and why some of the people had a difficult time relating to their new state of existence).

This is where Parshas Mattos comes in, boldly stating that every commitment and obligation must be honored under all - and even totally different - circumstances. Just like a neder is "chal" (takes effect) and cannot be violated unless it is specifically cancelled by a beis din, so, too, obligations previously made must be followed through, despite the most different of circumstances later on. This is Hashem's unchanging Will, and it is the basis of Halacha and our relationship with God.

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