Mattos Part 2 Weekly Torah Portion according to the Kli Yakar Numbers 31 verse 2 5776

good evening everybody we are now in parous Matos it's in chapter 31 so we're not starting the beginning chapter 31 verse 2 I'll read I'll read the also verse one spoke to Moses saying is take Vengeance for the children of Israel I want you to pay attention because we're going to discuss this idea in this verse verse that what what Hashem said to Moses was take Vengeance for Israel's sake right against who just notice that it's plural and afterwards you're basically say goodbye adios farewell the you were going to be brought into your people you're going to die so if you were Moses and you knew that this was going to be your last act maybe draw it out maybe okay God didn't tell him a time he didn't say a he didn't say do it now he said this is what you have to do verse three says Moses spoke to the people saying and what did he say to them ready for this are men from among yourselves for the Army in other words right away he got going that they may be against midan alion it's singular right now midan okay let to do what to take Vengeance to to inflict hashem's Vengeance on Mid so what do we notice that it's now go Moses changed God's words seemingly because Moses God said to Moses take what we call Nikas isik Nikas Israel take Vengeance for Israel's sake but here when Moses tells the people he says take it for hashem's sake take it says Nikas Hashem in verse three Nikas Hashem is Vengeance for God's sake so what's going on and also it's singular midium so we're in the text of the clear and he starts off by saying take Vengeance for the children of Israel for Israel's sake from the minion ites MOS Omar I'm act I'm act I'm using the words Moses seemed to have changed right it's almost like too much for us to believe that Moses would change the words that God said to him but that seems to be the opinion of someone who knows Hebrew and knows the the Torah a lot better than us we just read it ourselves and God and Moses says to the people Nikas haseman take the Vengeance of God against midan so that's the first point that we're going to to have to resolve and furthermore it's also difficult to perish Rashi if you look at what Rashi says in verse three he says even though Moses heard that his own death was going to be dependent on this matter now you understand what I mean by his own death we said adios Amigo you're basically finished when when this is over nevertheless what does Rashi say also that Moses did it happily and he didn't delay well first of all how do we know he did it happily because he didn't delay okay if someone is doing something right away they're usually passionate okay it's just an assumption but we'll have to see where Rashi got this from is the clearas right away Mona Rashi lar came from where did Rashi fine to say such a thing perhaps and maybe you and I would be in this situation we would be saddened or depressed or down about the fact that we were going to die now on account of this like basically we know that Moses fulfills the word of God there's nothing that is going to prevent him but even if he was sad would he have not done it he still would have done it but he went ahead and he did it he did it right away Mak below I mean come on who's like Moses that wouldn't fulfill the only person I can think of is Aon but these are guys that When God says do something they're there doing it rash if you see in verse five the word I'll read the verse as well and then we'll see what Rashi says so they were delivered it's the word delivered I'm pointing out the word they were delivered the word to be moer or here in this say you're talking about being handed over that so were there so there were delivered from the thousands of the children of Israel thousand from each tribe 12,000 arm for the Army basically they didn't want to go they were forced as Rashi says this this comes to inform us is this comes to inform you of the praiseworthiness of the Shepherds of the leaders of Israel how precious are they to Israel because all the time that we had before we heard about Moses impending death what do we what do we know what is it say about the way the Jewish people kind of treated Moses I mean Moses was complaining about the way they were treating in a bit more they're going to come and stone me how many times did that almost happen but once they heard the Moses impending death toik and not only that it was dependent on this Final War of taking out the Vengeance on they didn't want to go until what happened until they were forced until they were delivered hand it over we're talking about the actual Army were like you know fighting their way not to go right they were either pushing their way in the opposite direction like emotionally or intellectually or physically they didn't want to go they had to be pushed forward they had to be ped over to go fight because not because they were afraid as most people are in war but because they knew that this was going to be the end of Moses so back in the text he says where it says that they were handed over or delivered as we just read until they were handed over against their will by force now even though the word appears they were forced and we understand it that way it's clear but the text doesn't give any indication of what forced them what brought them to this point to be hesitant in this time of them going to war maybe they were thinking well when is this going to happen m is going to be gone you know and would be kind of you know discouraging why are we going into war when we know that our leader is going to be out of here this is the point exactly this is the hesitation kind of discouraging and perhaps this is going to answer why Moses changed the words and the explanation of the matter is the midan the midianites they did two evil acts they they were involved in creating two very evil things one is to heaven and one is to Israel one thing they acted evil against God against Heaven how did they act against heaven when they caused the Jewish people to sin through idol worship anus Idol worship and promiscuity sexual promiscuity and how did they act evil against is right they caused through their evil counsel right the Jewish people fell and 24,000 died so this was against man right so God says to Moses nikn Isel what did God originally say take Vengeance against the midianites right for Israel's sake meaning what they did to Israel now this is God talking because whatever they did to me I can Overlook and I can can forgive right how can you hurt god seriously I mean can you really even give him something can you does he lack anything um can you hurt Himes mosha as I just said so he's saying take Vengeance on for Israel's sake because God can certainly forgive IM but you know where there's a problem forgiving when you have when you create a crime against humanity so 24,000 Jews are wiped out that's war crimes this is crime against humanity what can do shall Israel so the prime Vengeance what would God do right since nothing hurt him and he's well you know I mean we came begin to describe but let's just use one word Invincible right you can't hurt somebody who's invincible so what would he do he would take the prime Vengeance out on what they did to Israel they were hurt that Vengeance lasts right God can forgive there's no Vengeance really that's so Everlasting but here you have a Vengeance that needs to be taken out for Israel's sake because that was the great evil that took place and this is what Moses actually heard Hashem say right take Vengeance out for the Jewish people's sake that was what God was holding Vengeance on and then what did he hear he said Al that after you complete this job after this vengeance is done you're going and it was already known Moses knew how much they loved him how much the Jewish people loved their leaders Amo so he said to himself this is what Moses said before he turned around to the Jewish people and told them what they need to do he said to himself if I tell the Jewish people the exact words that God told me you know what they're going to do like you suggested they're going to delay if I would have told them exactly what was said to me from after they Israel knows that my death is dependent on finishing this Vengeance IM came is then Israel is going to come in a requesting fashion to you know to just like the Lord can forgive so easily on his [Music] portion so too we can forgive these minites for what they did to us and then what would the result be the the delay in the in the in the Vengeance well let's say at least that they won't seek out this Vengeance so quickly because they're considering be within our ability within our our right and our our hands to delay the time of this of this vengeance until a desirable time until we decide that it's best for us this is what they could say oh mosha since he knew this was going to happen or could happen remember Moses personality he would never delay he was so happy to do whatever God says so because he was so happy to do the word of hasem without any delay sh om he himself undertook which is like really heavy duty to get your head around and change the words that God said to take the Vengeance on the Ben Israel and he says let hasem take Vengeance on Hashem right for the sake of Hashem take the Vengeance out of midan which is not false because we already said they did two things they took uh they did Evil to Israel and they did an evil to Hashem so Moses had this right I know it's a really hard thing to get your head around and then Israel would think remember if he changed the words ah if Hashem is saying that we should take Vengeance for his sake right and if that's what God actually said to Moses because that's what Moses is relaying then we're going to how can we forgive what they did to God God wants Vengeance for his sake we'll do it right who who are we to to delay or to give up that um that Vengeance toar and through this change in the discussion change in the words they understood and they're actually forced because their understanding that they should also do it immediately it's forem sake and then we understand why it says this proves why it says means they were forced they were pushed they were handed [Music] over see after the fact that Moses goes ahead and tells them it's for hashem's sake it's for the the Vengeance of God against mid that's forced them to do the action of taking Vengeance without any delay we and from here we have a very clear proof so we see here that that Moses did it with Joy or let's say a real satisfaction and didn't delay as you and I probably would have we already knew from the beginning he had the ability to delay it by telling them the word words that God actually told him and not changing it but the fact that he didn't change it I the fact that he did change it certainly that if he would have told them the words that God originally told him that would have caused delay the fact that he didn't he changed it shows us that he was interested in working and doing the words of Hashem as fast as possible as mentioned before if you do things quickly it's usually a sign you're passionate and you're happy about doing it and from the fact that in original statement that that God told Moses take Vengeance against the midan which is a plural language I pointed that out but afterwards when he changed it he changed it over and he said to take Vengeance or inflict Vengeance of Hashem in midan which is singular so what's going on here when you think of what we're talking about the the value of Israel versus the midianites so the you can think of Israel versus the Mion they did a lot of things wrong there were a lot of people the value is let's say you know there's a lot of Israel there's a lot of minites great so it's kind of like they were a lot compared to Israel as if many people did to Israel whatever they did which is what happened we were saying earlier that you can't really hurt Hashem right Hashem is person is not flesh he's not he doesn't have emotions that we have I know we relate in ways that as if he had emotions but that's only talking in the language of man but Hashem is like we can't even describe him right he's so out there big you know um but so therefore in relation to what they did to God which we said they did something to God it's almost like it was like nothing it was just one single person because all of them whatever they did and the whole people of minite was as if they were ephes ephes is a word for zero like nothing and to like nothing right it's another word for like you know you can't it's is emptiness emptiness they like zero nothingness and they're considered against God okay so that's also helps us understand how God can forgive and and other say it's like a whole another take why did we say in the beginning that was plural I'm sorry the second time around I'll start again so there some say we're talking about the second time Moses changed it to singular we're talking about not just the midianites as people we're talking about the administering angel in heaven and they every every nation has a single administering Angel except for Israel we don't use angels we go directly to God our Father in Heaven as it says in if you look over there it says when he named NOA this is when the Egyptians which are many people came against the Jewish people when they were coming to White you know to attack them at the the C of reads it's no say which is singular even though mits is a nation but it came against them in a singular fashion which is referring to as it's dared out inos in the medish we're talking about the SAR Shaman it was the angel of Egypt that came against that's that's why when it says to inflict the um the the Vengeance of God against the midianites but it's not miones singular because we're talking about the war that hasem created and and was involved with in the heavens and not the War of Man and this is a running theme we should understand that before we actually go into any War that war actually takes place in heaven amongst the different Angelic forces and when we go out to war we're just playing like marionettes and puppets what was already decided how many who's going to win who's going to lose how many people going to be hurt or die had already been decided and we're just playing it out um so this is consistent