What Comes First? (Parasht Matot)

 B”SD

A Thought for the Shabbat Table

(The original was written in Hebrew. AI translation into English)

What Comes First?

As the Jewish people prepared to enter Eretz Yisrael, the tribes of Gad and Reuven approached Moshe with an unusual request.

They owned enormous flocks and herds, and the lands east of the Jordan River were ideally suited for grazing. They therefore asked to receive their inheritance there rather than cross into the Land of Israel.

"If we have found favor in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan." (Bamidbar 32:5)

Moshe's initial response was one of sharp rebuke.

"Shall your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why would you discourage the hearts of the Children of Israel from entering the land that Hashem has given them?"

The tribes immediately clarified that Moshe had misunderstood their intentions.

They had no desire to abandon the nation.

On the contrary, they pledged to lead the Jewish army into battle. They would fight alongside their brothers until every tribe had secured its inheritance. Only their families and livestock would remain east of the Jordan.

They declared:

"We will build enclosures here for our livestock and cities for our children. But we ourselves will go armed before the Children of Israel..."

Moshe accepted their proposal—but with one seemingly small correction.

Instead of saying, "Build enclosures for your livestock and cities for your children," he reversed the order:

"Build cities for your children and enclosures for your livestock."

Rashi explains the significance of this change.

The tribes had mentioned their livestock before their children, suggesting that their possessions occupied first place in their priorities.

Moshe corrected them:

"Make the essential essential, and the secondary secondary."

First the children.

Then the livestock.

The response of Gad and Reuven is remarkable.

They did not argue.

Instead they accepted Moshe's words without hesitation:

"Your servants will do as my master commands."

When they repeated the plan, they carefully adopted Moshe's order:

"Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our animals shall remain in the cities of Gilad, while your servants will cross over armed before Hashem to battle."

Their priorities had been realigned.

And they lived up to their commitment.

For fourteen years they fought alongside the other tribes until the conquest and division of the Land were complete. Only then did they return to their homes east of the Jordan.

Rashi notes that during the conquest of Yericho, the warriors of Gad and Reuven marched at the very front of the army. They fulfilled their promise with extraordinary courage and self-sacrifice.

If so, what exactly had been their mistake?

Surely no loving parent values sheep more than children.

The answer may lie on a deeper level.

I once heard a beautiful explanation from Rav Nachman Bulman zt"l, founder of the Nachliel community and school in Migdal HaEmek.

He explained that the Torah is not criticizing parental love. Rather, it is warning us about the order of our life's priorities.

Throughout Jewish history, many families living outside Eretz Yisrael have faced a difficult choice.

Should they settle in distant places that offer greater financial opportunity, even if Jewish education and Torah life are weak?

Or should they sacrifice some material comfort in order to raise their children within a vibrant Torah community?

That is the challenge symbolized by Gad and Reuven.

Moshe's message echoes across the generations:

First build the cities for your children.

Only afterward build the fences for your livestock.

First establish the spiritual future of your family.

Then pursue greater material success.

Livelihood is important.

Providing for one's family is a mitzvah and a responsibility.

But it must never come at the expense of the children's Torah education, Jewish identity, and spiritual growth.

This principle appears elsewhere in the words of Chazal.

The Mishnah relates that Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma was once offered an enormous fortune—"a million gold coins, precious stones, and pearls"—if he would move to a city lacking Torah scholars.

His response was immediate:

"Even if you were to give me all the silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls in the world, I would live only in a place of Torah."

He then quoted the words of King David:

"The Torah of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver." (Tehillim 119:72)

Every generation must make choices about career, income, and opportunity.

Parashat Matot reminds us that before asking, "Where can I earn more?" we should first ask, "Where will my family grow in Torah?"

Because in the end, our greatest investment is not what we accumulate.

It is the children we raise.

Shabbat Shalom.