Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
After God tells Moshe to go fight Sihon, Moshe sends to Sihon "words of peace" (Devarim 2:26). Why does he do this?
אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא צִוַּנִי הַמָּקוֹם לִקְרֹא לְסִיחוֹן לְשָׁלוֹם, לָמַדְתִּי מִמִּדְבַּר סִינַי, מִן הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁקָּדְמָה לָעוֹלָם. כְּשֶׁבָּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לִתְּנַהּ, חִזֵּר אוֹתָהּ עַל עֵשָׂו וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל וְגָלוּי לְפָנָיו שֶׁלֹּא יְקַבְּלוּהָ, וְאַף עַל פִּי פָּתַח לָהֶם בְּשָׁלוֹם, אַף אֲנִי קִדַּמְתִּי אֶת סִיחוֹן בְּדִבְרֵי שָׁלוֹם.
“Even though God did not command me to offer peace to Sihon, I learned from the wilderness of Sinai, from the Torah that came first in the world. When God came to give it, God brought it to Esav and Yishmael to offer it to them even though it was clear to God that they wouldn’t accept it. Even so, God began with peace. So too I will begin with Sihon with words of peace.”
Moshe learns from God. Even though there was no chance that Esav and Yishmael would agree to accept the Torah, God still offered it to them. Similarly, even though there might be no chance that Sihon would let Benei Yisrael pass through their land, Moshe still offered him words of peace.
- In this midrash, what is the thing that’s parallel to peace? What can this teach us about the Torah?
- If God and Moshe knew that it wouldn’t work, why did they offer peace anyway? What impact could that have?
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