Moshe, suspecting that they were afraid to go to war to conquer Eretz Yisrael, responded harshly:
“Shall your brethren go to war while you stay here??
(Ibid Ibid, 6)
When Moshe responded to their request so severely, the tribes of Gad and Reuven understood that they must prove their good intentions. They approached Moshe with a proposal: We will fight the war alongside the other tribes of the nation, and will even serve on the front lines. Only after the war is over will we return to the desired lands on the eastern side of the Jordan.
Moshe agreed to this. After he was no longer suspicious that they were unjustifiably trying to dodge their responsibility, he had no reason to oppose their request. In his words, he explained why it was so important to him that they fight along with the rest of the nation. These words of Moshe?s are worthy of becoming the motto for every person in general, and for public figures in particular. Your acquiescing to fight, said Moshe, will yield the following result:
?and you shall be freed [of your obligation] from the Lord and from Israel?
(Ibid Ibid, 22)
We must distinguish between two problems that Moshe is discussing. The first is toward God. Unjustifiably shirking one?s responsibility is a religious sin. The second problem was toward the nation. Even if your desire not to fight is justified, those who do go to battle will carry a grudge against you, and you must be ?free? (of your obligation) not just toward God, but also toward your friends, ?Israel?.
Our sages have learned several halachot (Jewish laws) from this instruction. For example, a person who enters one of the chambers of the Temple where there was money earmarked for the ongoing needs of the Temple, was forbidden from entering wearing clothes with pockets or cuffs lest he be the object of suspicion that he took from the Temple?s funds. Also those who collect money for the poor are forbidden from doing so alone. They must collect and distribute the charity in the presence of someone else to avoid suspicion of embezzlement.
In another case, we find our sages praising the kohanim of the House of Avtinas who were responsible for compounding the ketoret, the incense for the Temple. The women of the family did not wear any perfume so that no one would suspect that they were enjoying the pleasant fragrance of the ketoret.
Moshe Rabeinu and the sages who followed him wished to inculcate norms of public integrity. Even when a person is sure of the righteousness of his deeds, he must examine how they might seem to others and how they might be interpreted.
Why is this important? Because society is based first and foremost on mutual trust. When a person allows there to be suspicions about him, he is allowing society to be muddied by doubt and to lose the basic trust we need so badly. Therefore, even if a person knows for sure that there is no fault in his words or deeds, he must anticipate the results of his behavior and its social implications.
This is true for everyone, but much more so for a community, a tribe, and for anyone in a leadership position. Behavior which is not transparent or which has even a whiff of fault ? even if it is not actually faulty ? damages the fabric of society. Each and every one of us must do our utmost to prevent this kind of harm.
