The meaning of the name of today’s first Sidra is TRIBES. Its first sentence tells us that Moses addressed this chapter to the heads of the tribes. It may seem surprising that this Sidra starts at verse two in chapter 30 of the book of Numbers. Surely, we might have expected the Sidra to start in verse one. The reason is that the chapter divisions in the Bible are of Christian origin and are, therefore, sometimes, at odds with our own traditional divisions. These divergent divisions are due to the fact that the Sidra has an unusual beginning in that Moses is reported to have spoken to the leaders of the Israelites, without the Almighty having spoken to him first. However, the last verse of the Sidra of Pinchas, which is chapter 30, verse 1, reads: “Moses instructed the Children of Israel in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses.” In Christian tradition, this sentence was regarded as an introduction to our Sidra. Our tradition, on the other hand, took the view that we have to look at the last verse of this chapter to see that Moses was reporting these laws in conformity with what God had commanded him. Verse 17 reads: “These are the laws which the Lord commanded Moses regarding the relationship between man and his wife and between father and his daughter during her childhood.”
The first section of the Sidra deals with the laws of vows. This is the only instance in the Torah, where Moses directed instructions regarding a new law to the heads of the tribes rather than to the people. The reason for this is that the leaders of the tribes had a direct responsibility to validate a vow or an oath and to cancel it, if necessary. Indeed, according to our Talmudic rabbis, this verse alludes to the Oral tradition that there is a possibility, in Jewish law, to annul vows by attending a Bet Din. The person who made a vow presents his case to the Dayyanim by explaining why he considers that he cannot fulfil his vow. This ceremony is known, up to this day, by the term Hattarat Nedarim. Religious Jews observe the ceremony of Hattarat Nedarim on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. This tradition has been preserved, admittedly in an unusual form, in the declaration of Kol Nidrei, which we make at the beginning of the Day of Atonement. Because of its solemn and universally sung melody, Kol Nidrei has become a prayer, but, in reality, it is not. It is a declaration.
Some commentators observe that this commandment was addressed to the heads of the tribes in order to stress that the Torah expects our leaders, in particular, to set the highest standards of conduct. They must keep their promises. It is an essential aspect of their duty towards the community which they serve.
In the introduction to this law the Torah emphasises that the person who undertakes the obligation of offering up a voluntary sacrifice or impose upon himself certain extra restrictions, like refraining from eating meat or drinking wine, must not desecrate his word. He must understand that his vows or oaths are sacred. Most of the chapter sets out the laws regarding the father’s or husband’s rights to annul vows made by their daughter or wife. However, if they wish to annul them, they have to do it straight away on the day when they hear about it. It was considered sinful for a father or a husband to annul them at a later date.
Just as the Sidra of Mattot begins with the laws of vows it concludes with the story of the solemn oath which the tribes of Reuven, Gad and half the tribe of Menashe took in the presence of the entire nation. These tribes made a deal with Moses, which enabled them to settle on the Eastern side of the Jordan, rather than cross the Jordan with their brethren and settle on the Western side.
The story begins with the report that the tribes of Re’uven and Gad had very large numbers of cattle. The Torah does not explain how it came about that they had more than the other tribes. The great medieval commentator, Nachmanides, suggests that Reuven received a larger share, being Jacob’s eldest son. Gad was Zilpah’s, Leah’s maidservant’s eldest son. The leaders of the tribe of Gad led the negotiations. This is because the tribe of Gad was very strong. Jacob saw this characteristic on his deathbed so he praise Gad as a capable military force. These two tribes, who were later joined by a number of families from the tribe of Menashe, approached Moses and requested that they should be given as inheritance the lands that had been conquered on the Eastern side of the Jordan. They claimed that these areas were particularly fertile, more suitable for their herds. When Moses heard their request he became extremely angry and suspicious. He accused them of trying to avoid the war that lay ahead on the other side of the Jordan. He demanded to know how they could justify settling peacefully when all the other tribes had to go to battle. Moses regarded their request as absolutely tragic. He foresaw that it would cause a similar catastrophe as had happened 40 years earlier on the return of the 12 spies from their mission.
But the leaders of the two tribes responded to Moses very calmly and promised to join the war effort. They offered to be the CHUSHIM. This is a rare Hebrew word which has two possible meanings. 1. They would run fast in front of the conquering army. 2. Their soldiers will have the best weapons. Moses made them take a solemn oath, which they kept. The families from the tribe of Menashe became teachers and scribes. Sadly, about a century later, in the days of the Judges, these two and half tribes became alienated from the rest of the nation. They also disappeared earlier than the other tribes. For us, today, the lesson is that, we, the Jewish people, must make every effort to avoid divisions and remain united.