Holy Pleasures
Translated and adapted by Moshe-Yaakov Wisnefsky, for
"The Chumash of the Lubavitcher Rebbe"
 G-d
spoke to Moses, saying, "Take vengeance for the Children of Israel
against the Midianites…." (Num. 31:1-2)
In the battles against Sichon and Og, Moses played an active
role. Here, however, he merely prepared the people for war while Pinchas
actually led them in battle.
This is because G-d commanded the Jewish people to take
vengeance against Midian because they enticed them into the idolatry of
Pe'or (Num. 25:17-18). No Midianite territory was captured or annexed
to the land of Israel. As we mentioned previously, the idolatry of Pe'or
is essentially hedonism: the indulgence in sensual pleasure as an end
in itself rather than for the higher purpose of experiencing divinity
or infusing divinity into reality.
This attitude toward life is the antithesis of the lifework
of Moses. Hedonism implies that physical pleasures are either too "low"
and vulgar to serve divine purposes or are somehow off-limits for the
holy life. Moses, the channel through whom G-d gave the Torah, championed
the truth that G-dliness can and must pervade all of reality; it must
even dictate our approach to physical pleasures. In fact, if anything,
Moses' lifework proclaimed that it is specifically in the lowest end of
Creation that the potential for holiness is the greatest.
He used this argument to wrest the Torah from the angels
and expose the error of the Spies. Unfortunately, the misconstruction
of this appreciation for the lowest rungs of spirituality led to the error
of Pe'or. In order to wipe out the source of this error, Moses' inspiration
and example was necessary.
This theoretical groundwork, which destroys the philosophy
of Pe'or's mental stranglehold, is sufficient to prevent a person from
falling into the trap in the future. But to "avenge" the evil,
i.e. to repair the damage already done and root out any trace of its effect
that might surface sometime in the future, more is required than the detached
arguments of a philosophical theoretician. The battle itself was therefore
led by Pinchas, because Pinchas embodied the ethic and zeal of self-sacrifice.
The inspired zeal that makes a person incensed enough to go beyond the
letter of the law - and even risk his life - reveals a higher, purer level
of motive and consciousness than normal.
Similarly, in our personal confrontation with the deception
of Pe'or, we need to emulate both Moses and Pinchas. From Moses we learn
to cultivate the proper, Jewish attitude toward materialism and its sensuality,
and from Pinchas we learn to attack its effects on us with righteous indignation.
This is why Moses calls the war against Midian "G-d's
vengeance", even though G-d had referred to it (in the previous verse)
as "vengeance for the Children of Israel". The evil of strife
and contention is in direct opposition to G-d's name Havayah, inasmuch
as the name Havayah denotes the forces of G-d's creative energy. These
forces are different and even opposite, but they function harmoniously.
The egocentrism that spawns dissention and strife thus undermines the
harmonious functioning of the forces G-d uses to continuously create the
world.
This is an additional reason why this war had to be fought
by Moses. The only way for there to be cooperation and peace between people
in this world is when they submit to the higher authority of the Torah.
Firstly, without this submission, who is to say whose authority is more
legitimate? Secondly, the Torah itself fosters peace, as it is said, "Its
ways are the ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace."
Since Moses was both the channel through whom G-d gave the Torah and the
personification of selflessness, he had to lead the war against Midian.
[Based on Reshimot 51]
[Adapted from Likutei Sichot, vol. 13, pp. 28-29,
based on Shenei Luchot HaBerit on this passage.]
Copyright 2001 chabad of california / www.lachumash.org
Rabbi Moshe Yaakov Wisnefsky is a scholar, writer, editor
and anthologist. Originally from Los Angeles, he moved to Israel in 1977,
and currently lives in Jerusalem. While living in Tsfat, he was one of
the three founders of ASCENT in 1983.
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