Matot-Masei

Overview of the Torah portion

In the portion Matot, Moses describes the laws of oaths. The Israelites battle the Midianites. The tribes of Reuven and Gad request to dwell outside of the Land of Israel. In Masei, the tribes of Reuven and Gad promise to help out the other tribes while not living in the land of Israel. God tells Moses exactly where each tribe will live. God clarifies the laws of murder. The daughters of Zelophehad receive their inheritance.

See Numbers 30:2, 3

Moshe taught all the commandments first to the heads of the tribes and afterwards to the entire community (see Rashi). Why is this emphasized in connection with the laws of vows?

“But if her husband shall revoke them on the day of his hearing, anything that comes out of her mouth regarding her oaths or the prohibitions upon herself shall not stand; had husband had revoked them and G‑d will forgive her” (30:13)

The Gemara (Kiddushin 81b) says that this refers to a woman who does not know that her husband revoked her vow, and violates it thinking it is still in effect. Technically she has not sinned, but she requires atonement because she had intended to violate what she thought was a valid prohibition. When Rabbi Akiva would study this pasuk he would cry and exclaim, “This can be likened to someone thinking he is eating pork, although the meat is actually kosher — if in such an instance the person needs atonement, how much more does one need atonement if he actually carries out his intention?”

Why was Rabbi Akiva the one who would cry?

During the days of the Roman government, ten sages were put to death. The Roman King had seen in the Torah that the punishment for kidnapping and selling a person is death (Shemot 21:16). He asked the sages, “If a man is found to have kidnapped and sold one of his brothers of the Children of Israel, what is the law?” They replied, “That kidnapper shall die.” The Roman King then declared that the sages’ lives were forfeit, and they were put to death on behalf of their forefathers, Yosef’s brothers.

At the time when Yosef was sold only nine brothers were present (Reuven had returned home and Binyamin did not participate). Why were ten sages killed?

According to the Midrash (see Rashi, Bereishit 37:33) the brothers had agreed not to reveal to Yaakov the whereabouts of Yosef and had made Hashem a party to the agreement. The Roman King thus calculated that ten (counting Hashem as one) had cooperated in the kidnapping, and therefore he killed ten sages.

Commentaries ask: Rabbi Akiva was the son of a convert and thus his ancestors had no part in the kidnapping. Why was he among the ten sages killed?

The answer given is that Rabbi Akiva was punished on behalf of Hashem, who participated in the kidnapping by not revealing to Yaakov the whereabouts of Yosef.

Rabbi Akiva in his great holiness envisioned his fate. However, he hoped that Hashem would pardon the brothers and thus he, too, would not be punished since, despite wronging Yosef, they were actually fulfilling Hashem’s wish. As Yosef himself told his brothers, “Although you intended harm, Hashem intended it for good in order to keep alive a great people” (Bereishit 50:20). Moreover, the Gemara (Shabbat 89b) says, “Were it not for the sale of Yosef which ultimately caused Yaakov and his children to come to Egypt, the tribes would have been brought down to Egypt in iron chains.” Consequently, they were comparable to one who intends to eat “pork,” and who deserves no punishment when it turns out to be kosher meat.

However, when Rabbi Akiva reached the pasuk which states that, “Her husband had revoked them [her vows] and Hashem will forgive her,” from which it can be deduced that one who ate kosher for pork is considered a sinner needing atonement, he realized that ultimately the sale of Yosef would be punished and therefore he cried since he would be among those bearing responsibility.

Questions on Jeremiah:

The haftarah is not focused on the impending destruction of the temple, but rather a lamentation on the actions and beliefs of the generation.

What are cisterns of today?

What can we learn about self reflection from Jeremiah? How can we use that in our aid of our own social, moral, and religious issues of our own time?