Parashat Matot

When the leaders of the tribes of Reuven and Gad approach Moshe and ask his blessing to settle in the lands east of the Jordan River, Moshe is aghast. He saw a great spiritual failing on the part of Reuven and Gad whose relationship and commitment to the land of Israel was apparently so conditional. What was it that Moshe detected in Reuven and Gad’s request that so troubled him, and what changed for Moshe so that in the end he agreed to their settling east of the Jordan.

Matot (Numbers 30:2-32:42)
Parashat Matot is read on Shabbat:
Tammuz 21, 5774/July 19, 2014

About the Author

Rabbi Chaim Richman is the director of the international department of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. For over three decades the Temple Institute has been dedicated to every aspect of the Biblical commandment to build the Holy Temple. Through its research and educational programming, the Institute seeks to highlight the universal significance of the Holy Temple as a house of peace and prayer for all nations.