A simple question: Why didn't Moshe tell the members of the tribes of Reuvain, Gad, and Menashe that they cannot settle in Eiver haYarden because by doing so they would be forgoing the mitzvah of kibush/yishuv Eretz Yisrael?
Seforno answers (32:33): כדי שלא להכנס במחלוקת הסכים משה לדבריהם
I don't understand. If the Bnei Reuvain and Gad did not want to observe Shabbos, would Moshe have accepted that and given in to avoid machlokes? If they didn't want to put on tefillin, would Moshe have accepted that to avoid machlokes? Aderaba, we see in the end of of Sefer Yehoshua (ch 22) that when the Bnei Reuvain and Gad built a mizbeiach in Eiver haYarden which the other tribes mistakenly thought was an act of rebellion against Hashem , they did not just let it go. They immediately called Reuvain and Gad to task and demanded an explanation. Why then here did Moshe give in here to avoid machlokes?
I think what you see from here is that the mitzvah of yishuv ha'aretz in particular is dependent on not having machlokes. We are in the three weeks, and we all know that churban bayis sheni happened because there was machlokes and sinas chinam. We were be banished from the land because machlokes and yishuv ha'aretz are tartei d'sasrei. The two cannot go together. Eretz Yisrael is the fulfillment of our dream to live as a nation. If we can't get along with each other and there is no unity, then how are we a nation? If we are not a nation, why do we deserve a homeland?
Moshe gave in to make peace because yishuv ha'aretz by force or coercion would defeat the whole purpose of the mitzvah. It can only be done b'shalom.
2) Ohr HaChaim has a comment that is mamash ruach hakodesh on the pasuk (33:54) and speaks to our times:
וְאִם־לֹ֨א תוֹרִ֜ישׁוּ אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הָאָ֘רֶץ֮ מִפְּנֵיכֶם֒ וְהָיָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תּוֹתִ֣ירוּ מֵהֶ֔ם לְשִׂכִּים֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם וְלִצְנִינִ֖ם בְּצִדֵּיכֶ֑ם וְצָרְר֣וּ אֶתְכֶ֔ם עַל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֖ם יֹשְׁבִ֥ים בָּֽהּ׃
He makes two points. First, אין והיה אלא לשון שמחה. You think that not clamping down and finishing off the enemy will bring you simcha, וְהָיָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תּוֹתִ֣ירוּ מֵהֶ֔ם. Maybe you think it will be to your benefit in some way, e.g. you have cheap labor, you buy favor with the EU and US, etc. Forget about it -- it's not going to work.
Secondly, if you give the enemy a foothold, not only will you have problems in the areas that you leave aside for them, whether it is Gaza or Area C or anyplace else, but you will have problems in the areas that you have conquered, the areas that you think are under your control now. The problems will be in הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֖ם יֹשְׁבִ֥ים בָּֽהּ, whether it be Tel Aviv, Yerushalayim, or elsewhere c"v.
3) The Yalkut Shimoni writes an amazing chiddush on this same parsha:
אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי (דברים כ׳:י״ז) ״כִּי הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִימֵם״, וְאַתֶּם לֹא עֲשִׂיתֶם כֵּן אֶלָּא (יהושע ו׳:כ״ה) ״וְאֶת רָחָב הַזּוֹנָה״ וְגוֹ׳ הֶחֱיָה״ וְגוֹ׳, הֲרֵי יִרְמִיָּה בָּא מִבָּנֶיהָ וְעוֹשֶׂה לָכֶם דְּבָרִים שֶׁלְשִׂכִּים בְּעֵינֵיכֶם וְלִצְנִינִם בְּצִדֵּיכֶם, לְפִיכָךְ צָרִיךְ הַכָּתוּב לוֹמַר ״דִּבְרֵי יִרְמִיָּהוּ בֶּן חִלְקִיָּהוּ״.
According to the Yalkut, its not the terrorist in Jenin that the pasuk is warning us about, but rather it's Yirmiyahu haNavi who came from the lineage of Rachav. This is the thorn in our side that will plague us because we don't eradicate the sheva umos.
(Once upon a time I quoted from R' Tzadok that this is why the pasuk says והיה, a lashon of simcha. The tochacha of the navi, which is a painful thorn in our side, is what eventually drive us to do teshivah and bring us out of galus.)
Rav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi, who needs a refuah shleima and learning his Torah should be zechus to bring that about, quotes the Yalkut Shimoni in Sefer Yehoshua (2:11):
אמר הקב״ה לרחב את אמרת כי ה׳ אלקיכם הוא אלקים (יהושע ב׳:י״א) ניחא בארץ שמא בשמים ממעל את אמרת מה שלא ראית בעיניך חייך שבנך עומד ורואה מה שלא ראו הנביאים כמד״א נפתחו השמים ואראה מראות אלקים (יחזקאל א׳:א׳)
How can we square the two views? On the one hand, we see from Rachav is given lavish praise for her believing in Hashem, and as a result is rewarded by having among her offspring Yechzkel haNavi, who saw the maaseh merkava, beyond what all other nevi'im saw. Yet on the other hand, the Yalkut in our parsha is critical of Bn"Y for leaving her alive (the Yalkut must hold that she did not have giyur)?
He writes that it's no stira. וְהָיָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תּוֹתִ֣ירוּ מֵהֶ֔ם לְשִׂכִּים֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם וְלִצְנִינִ֖ם בְּצִדֵּיכֶ֑ם is like a law of nature. There may be good reason for Rachav to be made an exception to the rule, but rules don't work that way. Barring a miracle, if Rachav were to jump off the wall of Yericho, the law of gravity would assert itself and she would fall to the ground no matter that she had hidden the spies or that she had professed belief in Hashem. So too, no matter how worthy she may have been, the outcome of sparing her life would inevitably be painful. That pain may come in the form of a prophet like Yirmiyahu and not c'v a terrorist from Jenin, but pain of some sort is inescapable and unavoidable.
4) That section of the parsha ends off וְהָיָ֗ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּמִּ֛יתִי לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת לָהֶ֖ם אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה לָכֶֽם. Here too, we have the word וְהָיָ֗ה, and אין והיה אלא לשון שמחה, which again seems very difficult in this context. How can there be any simcha in אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה לָכֶֽם? The Ohr haChaim is silent here, but the Agra d'Kallah comes and helps us out, albeit a bit on the desrushy side. He explains that the original plan at the time of yetzias Mitzrayim was for Hashem to take care of the fighting for us and for us to sit back and watch the show. For better or worse, we chose the path of doing things for ourselves. Hashem did not command us to send meraglim to spy out how to conquer the land because it was not necessary, but we chose to do so. The challenge is for us to recognize that even when we seem to be doing things ourselves, behind it all is still yad Hashem -- not us. The only difference is whether we have a nes nigleh or nes nistar. The pasuk promises וְהָיָ֗ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּמִּ֛יתִי לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת לָהֶ֖ם, what I Hashem planned to do myself to those nation, אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה לָכֶֽם, I will do through you. I will bring about the same result, but couch it in the efforts you put forward. He writes:
ויהיה כאשר דמיתי לעשות להם אני בעצמי ואתם תעמדו מנגד, יומשך הענין שאעשה לכם בעשייתכם בטבע בחרב ובחנית במלחמה טבעיות, ואף על פי כן אני העושה וזה יהיה הנסיון, והבן מאוד
This is the time of year to work on the והבן מאוד.
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