Optimism at the Plains of Moab The fourth book of the Torah, the book of Numbers, is, in many ways, a sad book. The book begins on a very positive note; the Jewish people were preparing to travel from Mount Sinai and, in a matter of days, enter the land of Israel. And then, to our painful disappointment, we read about the debacle of the spies, when the Jewish people despised and rejected the land of Israel. G-d, in turn, decreed that the entire generation would remain in the desert. The very last verse of the book, however, allows us to revisit the entire book and see it in a positive light. The concluding verse of the book reads as follows: These are the commandments and the ordinances that the Lord commanded the children of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan at Jericho. The Hebrew words BiArvot Moav {in the plains of Moab}, have an additional meaning as well. The Hebrew word BiArvot {in the plains of} comes from the word guarantor. And the word Moab means from the father (Moab's name was a reference to the episode where Lot's daughters, thinking that the entire world was destroyed at the destruction of the evil city of Sedom, had children from their father). Taken together, the phrase alludes to the idea that children are the guarantors of their parents. The concluding episode of the fourth book relates to the daughters of Tzelafchad, who cherished and desired the land of Israel. They demanded, and we're granted, their deceased father’s portion in Israel. (The book concludes with the request of their tribe that Tzelafchad’s portion remain within the domain of the tribe. They, therefore, married members of their tribe). The book's conclusion, then, points to the inner theme of the book: that no matter how severe the failings, the children can correct the mistakes of the previous generations. By learning from the past, by cultivating a desire for the land of Israel, the generation of the daughters of Tzelafchad elevated and rectified the mistakes and missed opportunities of their forbearers. The conclusion of the fourth book then expresses the Torah's optimistic outlook: ultimately, the painful mistakes and experiences within our personal life, as well as throughout our history, will be corrected. We have the potential, and therefore the responsibility, to rectify the past. We can cross into the Promised Land, ushering in the era of Moshiach, when the world will reach perfection. Adapted from the Sifsei Kohen al Hatorah
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