S.A.L.T. - Sunday

Parashat Chukat concludes with Benei Yisrael's military victory against their threatening assailant, Og, king of Bashan. The Midrash presents a somewhat bizarre account of the events that occurred during this battle. Og, an enormous, powerful giant, lifted a mountain the size of the entire Israelite camp and sought to drop it upon them and destroy them. Suddenly, millions of tiny ants gnawed right through the uprooted mountain turning it into a doughnut shape. It then collapsed around Og's neck.

The depth of this story, which, were it not to have been included in the Gemara and Midrash, would have sounded almost like a fairy-tale ("chas ve-shalom"), is revealed to us by the Maharal of Prague, in his work, "Gur Aryeh." Og sought to destroy Am Yisrael with his physical strength, symbolized by the large, imposing mountain in his hands. His plan is foiled by ants - tiny, powerless creatures whose strength lies solely in their mouths. Benei Yisrael, too, have little hope should they rely on their physical strength; their might stems from their mouths, their spiritual world. (See the famous Targum Onkelos on Bereishit 2:7 which associates the power of speech with man's spiritual essence.) Armed with only physical power, Og simply could not match the spiritual might of Am Yisrael.

This explanation may also shed some light on a different passage in the Midrash, cited by Rashi in his comments to 21:34. God told Moshe not to fear Og, suggesting a degree of apprehension on Moshe's part. Rashi explains that many years earlier, Og had informed Avraham Avinu of his nephew's capture, an act of kindness that could have potentially lent the giant the upper hand in battle against Am Yisrael. God therefore reassures Moshe that he has nothing to fear.

Leaving aside the obvious question of why a single kind act (which, according to the Midrash, Og performed for personal interests) should grant a wicked king military victory over Am Yisrael, a different question arises, as well. In the end, of course, Benei Yisrael defeated Og; apparently, this merit did not suffice. So, where did Moshe go wrong? If this act of kindness rendered Og deserving of victory, then why did he lose; if it did not provide him with sufficient merit, then what was Moshe worried about to begin with?

The answer is that Og attacked Benei Yisrael with a "mountain." He didn't approach the battle with the merits to his name in mind. He depended entirely on his physical strength and afforded no meaning or significance to spirituality. Any merits he carried were therefore of no avail in this campaign. Og and his army fell prey to the "mouths" of Benei Yisrael, the force of their prayers and Torah learning.

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