THE NATIONS AND THEIR WARS

“Therefore, it is said in the book of the Wars of the Lord: Vahev [the name of a place that the Israelites conquered] by storm, and the tributaries of the Arnon.” (Bamidbar 21:14)

The narrative of the book of Bamidbar, from Behaalotcha to Korach, has concerned itself primarily with internal struggles. The first was the mysterious ‘evil complaint’ at the beginning of the journey that resulted in the death of a portion of the Israelite camp by fire (11:1-3). There was the craving for meat (11:4-35), which also included a complaint about the manna. This was followed by Miriam and Aharon’s criticism of Moshe for separating from his wife (12:1-16). The tragic episode of the spies followed, the result of which was forty years of wandering in the wilderness and the barring of the Exodus generation from entering the Land of Canaan (chapters 13 and 14). Then there was the rebellion of Korach against Moshe’s appointment of Aharon as Cohen Gadol (chapter 16 and 17). After that, there was relative calm in the Israelite Camp as they marched through the desert for close to four decades (the first year had been spent at Mt Sinai.) Our double parasha fast-forwards to the final year of the forty years. It is at this point that the narrative begins to concern itself with external struggles, most of which take the form of wars or threats of war from local nations. Each enemy approaches the Israelites in a different manner and the outcome of each confrontation is unique.

The first nation that Moshe and the people encounter is Edom. Edom are the descendants of Esau, Yaakov’s brother (Bereishit 36:8). The Children of Israel had no quarrel with Edom. On the contrary, they were relatives and they reminded Edom of this fact in their message to the king. All Moshe requests from the Edomites is safe passage through their land. He promises that the people will not damage or consume any of the natural resources. But the King of Edom is not moved. He replies to Moshe’s request with a threat (Bamidbar 20:18), “You shall not pass through me, lest I come out toward you with the sword.” This is a not-too-subtle reminder to Moshe that the blessing Yitzchak bestowed upon Esau was (Bereishit 27:40), “By the sword you shall live.” The Israelites make a second attempt to persuade the king but he remains steadfast in his refusal (ibid verses 20-21), “He said: You shall not pass. Edom came out toward him with a great multitude, and with a powerful hand. Edom refused to allow Israel to pass his border and Israel turned from him.” There was no war but the message was clear: We are not friends and we will view any movement on our border as a provocation. Later in Jewish history, Edom became associated with Rome. Many Jewish lives were lost to their sword.

The next encounter, following the death of Aharon, was with “the Canaanite, king of Arad” who lived in the south. This was none other than Amalek who dwelt in the southern part of Canaan (see Bamidbar 13:29). As they had done once before in Refidim (Shmot 17:8), Amalek launched a surprise, unprovoked attack. They took someone captive in the battle. The Children of Israel cried out to God for help and promised to destroy Amalek’s cities should they be successful rather than taking booty. Their defensive strike was successful but they did not vanquish Amalek completely. In both instances, Amalek took advantage of the nation’s weakness. In the first, the people were demoralised after their quarrel with Moshe about the lack of water.  In the second, the nation was mourning the loss of their beloved High Priest. Amalek would continue to be a thorn in the side of Israelites until the days of Saul and David. Even in exile, their irrational hatred of Jews raised its ugly head in the person of Haman, the villain of the Purim story.

As they approached the eastern border of Canaan, the Israelites came close to the territory of the Emorites whose great and powerful king, Sichon, resided in the fortress city of Cheshbon. Once again, as was the case with Edom, the nation sent messengers to the king asking for safe passage through his land. Sichon did not even bother to reply. He mustered his troops and went out to war. He was so confident of his strength that he left his city unguarded, with only women and children present. Sichon was the barrier between the east and the land of Canaan. In fact, the chieftains of Canaan paid him a tax to defend the border (see Rashi, Bamidbar 21:23). He reckoned that it would be a dereliction of his duty were he to allow the Children of Israel to pass through his land. But Sichon’s overconfidence was his undoing. Moshe and his army thoroughly defeated him and took possession of all his cities, including Cheshbon. The war was the stuff of legend. But the danger was not over yet. Sichon’s right-hand man, Og, king of Bashan, came out to make war in Edrei (Bamidbar 33:22). Og was a mighty warrior of massive proportions – his bed is described as (Devarim 3:11), “a bed of iron…nine cubits is its length, and four cubits its width, by the cubit of a man.” But the Israelites were on fire and they killed Og, his sons and his entire people and they took possession of his land.  Generations later King David would praise God for His many salvations, two of which are (Tehillim 136), “And slew mighty kings; His loving-kindness is for ever. Sichon, king of the Amorites, His loving-kindness is forever. And Og, king of Bashan, His loving-kindness is forever.”

A witness to these incredible military campaigns was Balak, king of Moab. He and his nation were terrified. What if Israel would turn in their direction? They had no chance. Balak realised that conventional war was pointless. But he had a secret weapon – a sorcerer named Bilaam, from the land of Aram. Decades before, Bilaam has assisted Sichon to defeat the Moabites who dwelt in Cheshbon. Bilaam was no warrior. His power was his mouth (see Rashi, Bamidbar 22:4). He had such potent curses that he could bring an army to its knees. When we read this section, we struggle to understand how words can have such impact.  However, consider the de-legitimisation of Israel in the Western World today. Most of it has been through cleverly designed smear campaigns. Who can forget the notorious UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban in 2001? It was there that the slur ‘Zionism is racism’ took firm hold. This has become accepted as incontrovertible truth together with the belief that Israel is an apartheid state. Following the terror attack of 7 October 2023, a new canard became popular: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. The government of South Africa accused it of such at the International Court in the Hague. The genocide charge has led to violent encampments at many western university campuses and dozens of acts of Islamic terror, including the Bondi massacre in December 2025. Of all our enemies, Bilaam was the most cunning. His words caused more harm than thousands of swords.

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom!  

Rabbi Liebenberg.

This week’s YouTube message: 

FAST OF THE 17^TH OF TAMMUZ – THURSDAY 2 JULY

The fast begins at 06:33 and concludes at 18:09. Shacharit (beginning with Selichot) is at 06:30 and Mincha at 17:20. For more information, consult the Three Weeks of Mourning Leaflet, which will be sent next week.https://youtu.be/qmiA4sqGrMs?si=26DE6QrlV3dXrgLx