Accountability and Arrogance

Last Shabbat morning I read Torah (Matot-Masei). I hadn’t read in awhile, but this was a portion I had done last year, so I will admit to being lazy and choosing the same section to read so that my prep time would be minimal – which it was, at 30-45 minutes total. The intern asked me why I chose the verses I chose because it is a large portion (being double) and there is a lot of stuff to choose from. This is what I read:

Moses replied to the Gadites and the Reubenites, "Are your brothers to go to war while you stay here? Why will you turn the minds of the Israelites from crossing into the land that the Lord has given them? That is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to survey the land. After going up to the wadi Eshcol and surveying the land, they turned the minds of the Israelites from invading the land that the Lord had given them. Thereupon the Lord was incensed and He swore, 'None of the men from twenty years up who came out of Egypt shall see the land that I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they did not remain loyal to Me — none except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they remained loyal to the Lord.' The Lord was incensed at Israel, and for forty years He made them wander in the wilderness, until the whole generation that had provoked the Lord's displeasure was gone. And now you, a breed of sinful men, have replaced your fathers, to add still further to the Lord's wrath against Israel. If you turn away from Him and He abandons them once more in the wilderness, you will bring calamity upon all this people."

Now, I will admit this seems kind of random and not the best part to read, but here are my reasons. The Gadites and Reubenites had just asked Moses and Eliezar and the chieftans to remain on the side of the Jordan that would be better for their cattle. As you can see above, Moses has a bit of a fit over this, and in my opinion, rightly so. I think what is important here is that Moses is stressing responsibility to the entire community as a whole, not just your own insular groups. Our actions affect those around us, not just us individually or as a small group, but everyone, especially in this case. You must be accountable to yourself, but you must also be accountable to your people.

Beyond the idea of responsibility and accountability is that of plain old chutzpah. One of the commentators we read pointed out that the Gadites and the Reubenites should be praised because they are, in fact, expanding the holdings of the Israelites. My response to that is: if God wanted the holdings of the Israelites expanded to that side of the Jordan, don’t you think God would have indicated it to begin with? How incredibly arrogant of the Gadites and Reubenites if that was, indeed, a motive. They are, in a way, setting themselves on the same level as God.

So, that is what I brought away from the portion. Be accountable. Don't be arrogant. Amen.