Parshiyot Matot-Masei: No Calculations

We spend a lot of time making different calculations. We think about what's going to bring us the greatest benefit, what's going to produce the best outcome, and what will help us accomplish the most. That's a good approach when it comes to our physical lives, but when it comes to avodat Hashem, there is a different rule. Our job is not to calculate what we think will accomplish the most. It is to do exactly what Hashem asks us to do and trust that His calculations are infinitely greater than ours. Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian brings out this lesson very clearly in the first of this week's two parashiyot. In Parashat Matot, Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu to go to war against Midyan, and immediately afterward he would leave this world. Rashi, quoting the Midrash, points out the greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu. Even though he knew that fulfilling this command would bring about his own death, he did not hesitate for a moment. He fulfilled Hashem's command with joy and without delay. Rabbi Lopian notes that we find what appears to be a different approach by Yehoshua bin Nun. Hashem also commanded Yehoshua to wage war and conquer Eretz Yisrael, and after that mission was complete, his life would come to an end. Chazal tell us that Yehoshua delayed the war, and as a result, he lost ten years of his life. Rabbi Lopian explains that Yehoshua had the best of intentions. He knew Moshe Rabbeinu's prophecy that after Moshe died, the Jewish people would eventually stray from the proper path. Yehoshua understood that as long as he remained alive, it was considered as if Moshe was still alive, because Chazal teach that as long as a student lives, it is as if his rebbe is still living. Indeed, the Jewish people remained loyal to Hashem throughout Yehoshua's lifetime, and only after he died did they begin serving avodah zarah. Yehoshua therefore made a calculation. If he delayed the war, he would live longer, and Klal Yisrael would remain on the proper path for a longer period of time. It seemed like a wonderful calculation. Moshe Rabbeinu could have made the very same calculation. He could have thought, "If I delay the war against Midyan and remain alive longer, I'll continue leading the Jewish people, and they too will remain on the proper path." But Moshe Rabbeinu did not make calculations. Hashem told him to do something, and he did it immediately. In the end, Yehoshua's calculation accomplished just the opposite of what he intended. Instead of gaining years, he lost ten years of his life, and consequently, the Jewish people strayed from the proper path earlier than they would have had he fulfilled Hashem's command immediately. Moshe Rabbeinu, on the other hand, only gained. Because he fulfilled Hashem's command without delay, the prophecy that the Jewish people would stray from the path was postponed until after Yehoshua's passing. Hashem fulfilled the prophetic words אחרי מותי כי השחת תשחיתון to mean not only after Moshe's death, but after the death of his faithful student as well. By trusting Hashem, Moshe accomplished far more than he ever could have by making his own calculations. Very often we also make calculations when it comes to Torah and mitzvot. We say, "I know I should give tzedakah, but first I want to become more financially secure." "I know I should spend more time learning Torah, but right now I need to build my career." "I know I should do this mitzvah, but maybe if I wait a little longer, it will work out better." Our job is not to calculate how Hashem's commands will produce the best results. Our job is to do what Hashem wants now. Hashem, Who sees the past, present, and future all at once, has already made every calculation. Living with emunah means recognizing that Hashem's calculations are infinitely greater than ours. If we do our job by fulfilling His will with joy and without delay, trusting that we only gain by listening to Him, then we will fulfill our mission in this world properly. Shabbat Shalom