Our parashah deals entirely with the attempt of the Moavites to wage war against the Jewish people. Let us study a small portion of it in the light of the teachings of Rabbeinu, the Maharal Tzintz.
As is well known, Balak and the Moavites saw how Am Yisrael defeated Sichon, king of the Emori. From this they realized the great strength of Am Yisrael, and they became exceedingly fearful of them. What did the Moavites do? “And Balak the son of Tzippor was king of Moav at that time.” They appointed Balak son of Tzippor as their king in order to confront “the Israelite challenge.” What was Balak's war strategy? The third pasuk of the parashah tells us this: “And Moav said to the elders of Midian: 'Now this assembly will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.'”
Rashi there already raises the question: Why did the Moavites turn to the Midianites for assistance? After all, the Moavites and Midianites hated each other, as it says in Sefer Bereishis: “...who smote Midian in the field of Moav”! Midian once fought against Moav! Does one seek the help of an enemy?
Rashi resolves this by explaining that the Moavites did this out of their fear of Bnei Yisrael. This explanation already appears in the Midrash: “But do we not find that Midianites fought against the Moavites, as it says (Bereishis 36:35), ‘He defeated Midian in the field of Moav’? The hatred between them was from time immemorial. Rather,” explains the Midrash, “this may be compared to two dogs that were fighting one another. A wolf came upon one of them. The other said, ‘If I do not help him today, the wolf will kill him today and come after me tomorrow.’ Therefore, Moav joined together with Midian.”
According to the simple meaning of this Midrash, we are dealing here with straightforward military strategy. The Moavites saw that Am Yisrael possessed tremendous strength, to the point that they defeated the mighty Sichon. They therefore joined forces with Midian so that together they might overcome them. However, if we contemplate the matters, we must wonder: 1. When Sichon himself fought against Moav and conquered part of its territory—the city of Cheshbon—why did Moav not seek the assistance of Midian then to unite with them against Sichon? 2. Since they saw the immense and supernatural power of the Jewish nation, how would uniting Midian and Moav together? Would Am Yisrael surely not defeat the “union of Moav and Midian”?
To understand the matters thoroughly, we turn to the perspective of our master, the Maharal, on these verses. The Maharal views the calculation of Midian and Moav to unite together to fight the Jewish people not as a military calculation on the earthly plane, but as a Torah-based calculation on the heavenly plane.
He explains that when Bnei Yisrael defeated Sichon and conquered all his territory, part of that territory included the city of Cheshbon, which had originally belonged to Moav. Although Bnei Yisrael had been commanded not to conquer the Land of Moav, once Sichon conquered Cheshbon from Moav it became part of Sichon's kingdom, and Bnei Yisrael were permitted to conquer it. As Chazal said: “Ammon and Moav were purified through Sichon.” From here stemmed the fear of the Moavites. They were afraid that Midian would wage war against them and conquer portions of their land. Once those territories became part of Midian, Bnei Yisrael would be permitted to conquer them, just as they conquered Cheshbon from Sichon.
This possibility was precisely what the Moavites sought to prevent. They therefore made peace with Midian. They understood that as long as Midian did not conquer any part of Moav, they remained completely protected from Bnei Yisrael, not through military strength, but through the mitzvah of the Torah that prohibited the Jewish people from conquering the land of Moav.
Viewed in the light of Rabbeinu's approach, the earlier questions disappear. When Sichon fought against Moav, Midian had no realistic possibility of helping them against such a powerful enemy, and therefore Moav did not seek peace with them. Only when Moav feared Bnei Yisrael and were worried that the prohibition against Bnei Yisrael waging war against them could become undone, did they unite with Midian.
Rabbeinu goes on to explain the end of the verse with the same approach: “And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moav at that time.” Rashi explains that until that time Balak had not been the king of Moav. Only then, after the downfall of Sichon, did they appoint him as king. Rabbeinu asks: What was unique about Balak that caused the Moavites to choose him as king? He answers that Balak was not a military strategist and possessed no exceptional military capabilities. But he was a sorcerer and understood the potential spiritual breaches of the Jewish people, and even more so than Bilam!
Thus says the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 20:18): “And it came to pass in the morning, that Balak took Bilam and brought him up into the high places of Baal.” The Midrash comments: Balak possessed greater skill in sorcery and divination than Bilam, and Bilam followed him like a blind man. To what may this be compared? To one who has a knife in his hand but does not recognize the joints [the convenient places for cutting], and his fellow recognizes the joints but does not have a knife in his hand. Such was the relationship between them. Balak knew the places where Am Yisrael falters.
This tells us that the appointment of Balak as king at that particular time was likewise based upon spiritual considerations. The Moavites understood that the Jewish people’s victories are not determined by earthly or military considerations, but rather by Heavenly considerations. Therefore, they chose Balak, who excelled in the power of the occult, hoping to overcome Bnei Yisrael through metaphysical forces.
What lessons should we take from these pesukim? First, Rabbeinu's remarkable explanations of why Moav and Midian joined together, and why the Moavites specifically chose Balak as their king. Second, there is an additional and important lesson concerning how we should view reality. When we see two nations forming an alliance, or when we see a king being appointed, we should not explain these events merely in terms of earthly calculations of political or military strategy. Rather, there is a heavenly battle taking place. The heavenly calculations revolve around the laws of the Torah and higher spiritual forces, which ultimately determine the outcome of events and establish the order of the world.
It was not only Am Yisrael that understood this. Even our enemies, the gentile nations Midian and Moav, understood that things depend upon the altering of the heavenly systems and not on earthly forces at all. Let us understand this, and we will know how to win our wars.
