The Story in Short

As the People of Israel geared up to finallyenter the Promised Land, two tribes expressed their desire to opt out. Ladenwith more animals than their brethren, the descendants of Gad and Reuben wishedto settle outside of Israels borders. The land is a land of livestock andyour servants have livestock, they told Moses.

Unhappy, Moses explained that their reluctanceto enter Israel could be interpreted as fear of the Canaanites who inhabitedthe land. This would scare the people like the spies had done. To allay their fears, thedescendants of Gad and Reuben promised to fight on the front lines until theconquest was complete. Only then would they return and settle the land theydesired.

Moses ultimately agreed and gave the land eastof the Jordan to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, as well as half of the tribe ofManassah, on condition that they wage battle ahead of the other troops.

Their story is told in Numbers 32.

In the penultimate year of their desertsojourn, the People of Israel people found themselves in what is now Jordan. They had defeated Sihon andOg, survivedthe saga with Balaam and Balak, and exacted vengeanceon the Midianites. And finally, after four decades of wandering thedesert, they were preparing to enter Israel.

The descendants of Reuben and Gad had morelivestock than the rest of the nation. Some say they were more efficientwarriors and had collected more spoils of war.Others posit that Reuben and Gad had an affinity for the manna and were,therefore, less inclined to slaughter and eat their livestock.

The land of the Amorites, from the Arnon River until MountHermon, was mountainous and fertile. After the Jews conquered that area, thetribes of Reuben and Gad preferred its vast pastures to the urban and dryIsrael.

The tribes of Reuben and Gad approached Moses,the nobles, and Eleazar the high priest with two requests: [a.] Give thisland to us as our plot, and [b.] do not take us across the Jordan River.

Gad and Reuben didnt feel it necessary tocross the Jordan and fight alongside their brothers in Israel. After all, theJews victories werent natural; Gd was the one who brought them triumphagainst the Amorites. What would their contribution accomplish?

Moses was displeased by their request. Heagreed that Gd was integral to victory, but maintained that the act of goingto war remained necessary, and it would be unfair if the tribes of Gad andReuben remained behind while their brothers crossed the Jordan, donned theirarmor, and fell into rank to battle the Canaanites.Shall you remain here while your brothers come to war?! he retorted.

Moses then leveled a second criticism at Gadand Reuben. You will scare the People of Israel from entering the promisedland, he said.

Moses understood that Gad and Reuben meantwell but was worried about the other Jews, who might attribute their choice tofear.

Moses chastised them for neglecting to learnfrom history. This is what your ancestors did when I sent them to survey theland, he said,comparing them to thespies, who, with their negative testimony about Israel, frightenedthe people.

The Rebbeexplains that the tribes of Gad and Reuben were more faithful than the spieswho had said (according to the Talmud), The people of Canaan are stronger thanGd. Nonetheless,the very request to remain on the Jordans east bank revealed a preference fora land other than Israel, mirroringthe spies negative attitude toward the Promised Land.

The descendants of Gad and Reuben yielded toMoses rebuke. Moreover, because the tribe of Gad was renowned for theirphysical prowess, they agreed to fight on the front lines;the descendants of Reuben promised to join them there as well.

The tribes of Gad and Reuben announced theirintention to build corrals for their sheep and towns for their children in thearea they desired. Then, once their livestock and families were settled, theywould remain at battle alongside their brethren until the conquering wascomplete and all the Jews had settled on their land.

The Midrashobserves that Reuben and Gad mentioned their animals before their children,which seems to indicate that they had more concern for their money than theirfamilies. In a moving commentary, the Midrash reminds its readers that allsuccess comes from Gd and that no wealth is permanent:

That is whybelongings are called nechasim, asthey are covered (nichsim) from oneand revealed to another. And why is zuzimthe name of [common coins]? Because they move (zazim) from one and are given to another. [It is called] money (mammon), because what you count (mah [sheatah] moneh) is not anything.[They are called] coins (maot),because they are from time (meet) totime.

His concerns now addressed, Moses agreed toallow the tribes of Reuben and Gad to dwell outside of Israel. If you do this,if you bear arms for Gd before your brothers then this land will become yourinheritance.

According to some traditions, Moses choice ofwords can be understood as guidance for proper warfare. He knew that Gad andReuben had an ulterior motive. They were fighting alongside the people onlybecause they knew it was a necessary prerequisite to their inheritance of theland. But, that isnt how an Israelite ought to fight. Moses instructed them tobear arms for Gd, i.e., to intend, with war, to sanctify Gds name. Only thencan the war be honest and just with peace as the primary objective.

Read: 10 Facts to Know about War and Judaism

Moses also leveled a veiled criticism at themby changing the order of their request. Build towns for your children and pensfor your sheep, he exhorted. A personspriority must be family before money and career.

In fact, according to Midrash, the tribesof Gad and Rueben were later punished for their preference of money overchildren and the Diaspora over Israel. When Sennacherib, king of Assyria, exiled the tentribes, he captured those outside of Israel 10 years before thoseinside.

Reuben and Gad agreed to Moses provisionspromising that [a.] Our children, wives and [b.] livestock will remain inGilead and Your servants will arm themselves for war before Gd.

Moses was happy. He turned to Joshua and theelders and used, what would later be coined, The Condition of Gad and Reuben:

Rabbi Meir said:Every stipulation which is not like that of the descendants of Gad and Reubenis not legally binding. For it is written: And Moses said unto them: If thechildren of Gad and Reuben cross the Jordan, [...you shall give them the landof Gilead as their possession], and, But ifthey will not ... then they shall have possessions among you in the Land ofCanaan. (Thus, both sides of the condition have to bespelled out: if the condition is fulfilled, then such-and-such will happen, butif the stipulation is not fulfilled, then such-and-such will be the case.)

Read: The Danger of Suspicionto discover another importantprinciple of Jewish law gleaned from the story of Gad and Reuben.

Until this point in the story, there are onlytwo parties in the deal with Moses: The descendants of Gad and the descendantsof Reuben. Suddenly, a third party is introduced. And Moses gave thedescendants of Gad and Reuben and halfof the tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph, the land of the Amorites.

Tradition suggests a few explanations fortheir sudden inclusion:

Abraham ibn Ezra theorizes that they werealways party to the negotiations, but the Torah chooses not to mention themuntil the end because they were not a full tribe.

Nachmanides explains that Moses saw a lot ofextra land on the east bank of the Jordan and offered it to any willing tribe.Some of Manasseh came forward, possibly because they were also herdsmen.

The Rebbeexplains that Moses wanted to instigate the process of expanding Israelsborders. The Torah informs usthat with the advent of the Final Redemption, Gd will grant the Jewishpeople the lands of the Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites which were previouslyforbidden.

Things of extreme importance to the Jewishpeople need to have Moses involvement.For this reason, the land expansion associated with the Redemption had to beinstigated by Moses. To do this, he gave land outside of Israel to half of thetribe of Menasseh. Gad and Reuben wouldnt cut it for this purpose because theyhad asked for the land.

Why Menasseh? According to our tradition, thetribe of Manasseh had a special relationship with Israel. The daughters ofZelophehadwho demanded from Moses their fathers plot of land inIsraelwere from the tribe of Manasseh.Joseph, Menassehs father, also demonstrated his love for the land byrequesting that his bones be buried there.As such, Moses gave them the land which would commence Israels expansion.

Homiletically, Manassehs name reflectsJosephs desire to return to his fathers homeand that symbolizes the Jewish hope for Redemption. Therefore, Moses gaveMenasseh the land that would act as the catalyst for the End of Days.

Before Joshua led the Jews across the Jordan,he reminded the descendants of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh about their promise. And true totheir word, when the war started, the warriors from Gad, Reuben, and half ofManasseh fought at the front of the army. In addition, they remained behind foran extra seven years as the land was divided amongst their fellows.

The Midrashrelates that when the descendants of Gad and Reuben entered Israel, theyexpressed regret at choosing to live outside it. A small portion of thePromised Land would be more valuable than twice the amount on the east bank!they cried.

Shepherding is a craft of isolation. In ourhistory, spiritual seekers would spurn industrial and agricultural occupations,afraid that the involvement would stunt their spirituality.In a similar vein, the tribes of Gad and Reuben wanted to remain shepherds as ameans to pursue spirituality without the distractions present in Israel.

While the spies wanted all of the people to remain outside of Israel for this reason, Gad and Reuben wanted to bethe only ones to do so. Moses wasokay with their request because the community needs to have at least somemembers that are uniquely devoted to Gdly pursuits.

Ultimately, however, the true purpose of lifeis to be engaged with and transform the physical world. Therefore, despiteMoses permission, the tribes were eventually punished for their decision whenSannecheirib exiled the ten tribes.

Excerpt from:

How Two-and-a-Half Tribes Ended Up Over the Jordan - Chabad.org