“And all young females without carnal knowledge, keep alive for you.” (Bamidbar 26:11)
Hashem commanded Moshe to take revenge on Midian for what they did to the Jews by causing them to sin. Moshe sent Pinchas and a thousand troops from each shevet, and they routed Midian. However, they did not kill everyone. The army brought back the women and children, as well as much spoils of war.
Moshe was incensed that they would bring back the very people who caused them to sin, and he berated the officers. He then commanded that all the women be killed, as well as the males of any age. However, one group was allowed to remain. The girls who were below three years of age, Moshe told the army, “Keep them alive for yourselves.”
The Gemara has a disagreement about what that means. The Rabbanan said it meant as servants, while R’ Shimon bar Yochai says they could even marry them, Kohanim too, since Pinchas was amongst them and Moshe said, “for you,” which included him.
Whether you say it was intended to keep those Midianite girls alive as maids or as wives when they grew up, the syntax of Moshe’s command implies that this was more than permission. It sounds like a positive command, “Keep them alive,” rather than, “you may keep them alive.” Why would that be the case?
The Ohr HaChaim here explains the posuk’s words to mean that they were to convert the girls to Judaism, for that would be, “life,” and then they would be fit to marry and take as wives. Obviously, if they did not convert, even if they were very young, the Jews would not be able to marry them.
The Midrash relates that in order to identify which girls were worthy of this, Moshe and Elazar passed them before the Aron. Those who were pure were “taken in” by the ark, some sort of acceptance which showed them this girl could join Klal Yisrael, and were kept alive by Moshe.
Perhaps the underlying message of Moshe’s command to keep these girls alive as an imperative, teaches us a broader lesson of not wasting any opportunities for kedusha. If someone can be holier and more sanctified than they are now, then we need to breathe life into that potential. We ought not to let even our own possibilities wither and die. Rather, we must keep them alive for ourselves – because doing so is good for us.
Immediately following this portion, come the laws of kashering and toiveling vessels, methods of raising the sanctity of even inanimate items, something that is possible when they come into the possession of a Jew.
It reiterates the fact that we can, and should, live life on a higher plane, constantly seeking out growth, and opportunities to rise and come closer to Hashem.
The Baal Shem Tov was known to do things ordinary people didn’t understand. Once, he told one of his students to go to a particular island. The fellow caught the ferry to the island and waited all day for something special to happen. Nothing did, and he caught the ferry back in the afternoon.
When he returned to his master, he said that he had gone where instructed, but was unsure why, because nothing special had happened. “Did you do anything on the island?” asked the Rebbe. “No,” he replied. “Did you eat anything there?” “Well, yes, I brought food along but lunch was uneventful.”
The Baal Shem Tov said, “From the Six Days of Creation, no bracha or mention of Hashem has been said on that island. There were sparks of holiness trapped there. When you made your bracha, you freed them, and elevated them to Heaven.”
©2024 – J. Gewirtz
