They approached him and said, “Pens for the flocks shall we build here for our livestock and cities for our small children.” (Bamidbar 32:16)

The tribes of Ruvain and Gad decided to settle on the outside of Eretz Yisrael for a very good reason. As Rav Eliyahu Dessler points out, when they decided to build pens for their flocks of sheep, it was not for merely a monetary purpose. They did it for religious reasons also. They realized that Eretz Yisrael would not have land for their sheep to graze and the sheep would come to eat on land that was not owned by them. This is stealing! So, they settled in TransJordan so they would have large amounts of land for their sheep so they would not violate any commandments.

They had priorities but they had their priorities wrong. They had a good concern, but Chazal point out that they made their request backwards. They should have mentioned their children first. One’s children should come before their sheep and this is why their choice is looked at as a mistake.

Rav Avigdor HaLevi Nebentzhal (brought down in Peninim on the Torah) makes a very important comparison. He states that many times we have two choices – one is the main and the other is secondary, but we get them backwards.

This is a perfect parsha to learn this lesson. Bnei Yisrael fight a war against Midian to punish them for the terrible crimes they made the Jews commit through illicit relations. At the end of the war, the Jews bring back the Midian women as booty and Moshe becomes upset. The reason for the war was to punish Midian for the sins their women committed with the Jewish men. The Jews remembered that they needed to fight a war, but they forgot why they were fighting the war.

This is something we always need to keep in mind. It is so common for people to become very involved in something and forget the main reason they are involved in it. Don’t make the mistake of giving priority to the secondary reason instead of the primary reason.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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