“Bnei Reuven and Gad had a lot of cattle, and they saw the land… and it was a place for livestock.” (Bamidbar 32:1)
Just before Moshe’s death, he blessed each of the shevatim. When blessing Gad, he mentioned they’d requested for themselves the territory of Sichon and Og, because they knew that’s where Moshe’s burial plot would be hidden. However, in our parshah, the Torah explicitly records that the reason they wanted this portion of land was because it was well-suited for grazing their abundant livestock. Which reason was it? (Rav Ozer Alport, Parsha Potpourri)
Itry hard to redt shidduchim. When I think of a shidduch I’m usually completely gung-ho. This. Is. Perfect! In my excitement, I forget that either side may not share my enthusiasm for the match. When that happens, I usually back down. I can be persistent, often bordering on tenacious, but with shidduchim, what do I know?
Except for once.
Rav Yisroel Belsky explains that during their 40 years in the wilderness, Bnei Yisrael were very dependent on Moshe. As they prepared to enter Eretz Yisrael, they grew concerned how they’d manage in his absence. They decided they needed to understand the secret behind Moshe’s greatness to emulate him. After contemplation, they recognized that the period of his life when he worked as a shepherd was a critical prerequisite to his being selected as the redeemer and leader of Bnei Yisrael.
Rabbeinu Bechaye explains that working alone as a shepherd forges a deep connection to Hashem. Furthermore, through caring for the sheep, a shepherd develops feelings of compassion and empathy for others.
I was redting a shidduch that I thought was very “tzu gepast.” (For those who don’t speak Yiddish: in my language, this was IT!)
I was talking with the mother of the boy and extolling the girl’s maalos. She was sweet, refined, smart, funny — a girl I’d love as my own daughter-in-law. (Spoiler alert: My boys are not yet in shidduchim.)
“Remind me what she does?” asked the mother.
