Moshe Needed To Wage War On Midyan Before His Death “Nikom Nikmas Bnei Yisrael MeiEis HaMidayanim Achar Tei’asef El Amecha,” (Matos 31:2). Hashem tells Moshe that he must take revenge against Midyan before he dies. What is this imperative before Moshe dies? Could Pinchos or Yehoshua not have led the war?
The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh explains that after a person dies, if he reaches his perfection, he goes to a special place called “Amav”, his nation. Without perfection, he will not be admitted until he rectifies his wrongs.
The story of Zimri was a blemish on Moshe which needed rectification. When Zimri presented Kosbi and his ultimatum before Moshe, Moshe was speechless and did not react. It was only Pinchos who saved the day. Moshe needed to rectify this by waging war on Midyan, and only then would he pass on and be admitted to the place waiting for him in Shamayim.
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Hagalas Keilim A Pillar of The Torah? After Bnei Yisrael returned from the war with Midyan with the spoils, Moshe taught them the Halachos of Hagalas Keilim, kashering the utensils through boiling water and fire. The parsha begins with the words, “Zos Chukas HaTorah,” (Matos 31:21). What is so special about the Halachos of Hagala that the Torah uses the strong words, “Chukas HaTorah?”
Rav Moshe Feinstein answers that from the ability to make treif utensils kosher by boiling them we learn that a person who sullies his neshama with aveiros, can also kasher it and cleanse it as if he never sinned. This is a pillar of the Torah, as it teaches people never to give up, no matter how far they have gone away from the Torah.
Moreover, we see that keilim used in fire need to be kashered with fire, libun. And keilim used in boiling water become kasher with boiling water. This teaches us that we must do tshuva the same way we did the aveira. If a person sinned with the burning desire of taava, so too must be the tshuva. And if the taava was less passionate, then the tshuva can be on the same scale.
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In Sichon & Og We Ate Pig, But In Midyan We Kashered The Utensils? “Kol Asher Yavo BaEsh Taviru BaEsh; Everything that comes into fire, you shall pass through the fire and it shall be clean,” The pasuk tells us that before using the vessels, which they took from Midyan, they must be Kashered. Prior to the war with Midyan, the Jews had a major war with Sichon and Og. Why were the instructions of Kashering utensils not given immediately after the war with Sichon and Og?
Ramban answers, “The Gemorah (Chulin 17a) says in regard to the pasuk in Devarim (6:10-11) – ‘It shall be when Hashem will bring you to the land of your forefathers… great and good cities that you did not build, houses filled with every good thing that you did not fill’, that this includes permission to use ‘Katlei DeChaziri=dried pieces of pork’ – taken among the spoils or found in abandoned houses.
Consequently, in the battle with Sichon and Og, since the land of Emori is part of the inheritance of the Bnai Yisrael, everything they took from them, including non-kosher utensils or foods, were permissible to use as is. However, the war with Midyan was strictly a war of revenge for the act they did against Klal Yisrael. Their land was taken as a vengeance, and is not part of the land, which was an inheritance to the Bnai Yisrael. Therefore, in order to use the utensils of Midyan, it was necessary to put them through the process prescribed by Elazar the Kohen.”
According to the Ramban, everything, including non-kosher food, captured while conquering the land, which is of Jewish inheritance, is permissible. However, according to the Rambam (Melachim 8:1), “It is permissible for soldiers to eat non-kosher food taken among the spoils, only when they are hungry and do not have other food.”
Daas Zekainim MiBaalai HaTosfos answers, “Unlike the war with Sichon, of which the Torah writes, ‘He went out against the Bnai Yisrael in the wilderness (21:23), the Jews went to Midyan to battle with the Bnei Midyan.’ Since the war with Sichon took place in the Midbar, and it is uncommon to have cooking utensils on the battlefield, none were captured, and it was not necessary to give instructions on how to make them permissible. However, the war with Midyan took place in the cities, and the Bnai Yisrael took various kinds of spoils, including cooking utensils. That is why it was necessary for Elazar to provide instructions for making the non kosher utensils fit for use by the Bnai Yisrael.”

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You Can Add To The Torah, But Moshe Did Not In Parshas Matos, in the introduction to the parsha of Nedarim (promises), the Torah writes, “Zeh HaDavar Asher Tziva Hashem Es Moshe This is the matter that Hashem commanded Moshe (Matos 30:2).” Rashi points out that Moshe said Nevua with the word, “Zeh” meaning it was pure without his own personality involved, while the other nevi’im said nevua with the word “Koh”, indicating that it contained their interpretation. Why does the Torah teach us this by the Parshas of Nedarim and not anywhere else?
Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky answers in Emes L’Yaakov, that with a neder a person has the power to create mitzvos and issurim in the Torah. If he promises to eat a piece of food, eating that food becomes a Mitzvas Aseh. If he promises not to eat it, then it becomes assur like Chazir. If he makes a food Hekdesh then if another person eats it he could be Chayav Misa! This is all possible because a person is a Tzelem Elokim.
Since we see a person has the power to use his own personality to create Torah, one may think that the entire Torah which was written by Moshe is a reflection of his personality and is his interpretation of Hashem’s Torah. The pasuk comes and tells us that Moshe was different from all other nevi’im. His transmission of the Torah was 100% pure and crystal clear, “Zeh”. It was the Torah that Hashem gave without the slightest trace of Moshe whatsoever.

Created By Avrohom Sherman
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