When Reuven, Gad and Menashe petition Moshe Rabbeinu to stay east of the Jordan River, Moshe reacts harshly: "Will your brothers go out to war while you remain here?"


Now, did Moshe really believe these tribes would shirk their military duty? No, say chazal.

It was the appearance of disunity that Moshe feared.

It was, rather, the appearance of disunity that Moshe feared, the chilling effect it could have on the nation when it looked like a significant minority was defecting from the national struggle. Others would see it and their spirit would fall.


A similar message is repeated in parshat Masei. The courts find a person innocent of murder, yet still he is branded a man-slaughterer and banished to a city of refuge. Even the Kohen Gadol is painted with the same brush, for only his death frees the killer from exile.


Do we really believe that the accidental killer - and especially the kohen - is guilty? No, but we need to send out a clear message to the nation at large that life is precious. Be careful with it and do not take it for granted; there are serious ramifications each time a life is lost. If we don't react strenuously to death, it will send the message that life is expendable and of little value.


Note the phrases used on the street for taking a life: "I offed him," - like you'd flip off a light; "he was blown away," (like a feather) or "whacked," (like a nail on a board.). As if life was meaningless.


Each person has a major impact and influence on everyone else. By what we do, by what we say, by what we don't say, by our actions and inactions, and by our body language.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein once was asked why first-generation Americans often became irreligious.

How we react or how we fail to react. We live in a copycat society; people often take their cue from what they observe their neighbor, teacher or cousin doing. The slightest nuance can influence our opinion.


Rabbi Moshe Feinstein once was asked why first-generation Americans often became irreligious, despite their parents remaining observant. He said it was because when the parents struggled to keep Shabbat - often losing their jobs over it - or when they spent a large part of their meager salaries on (more expensive) kosher food or religious items, they uttered that horrible phrase: "Shver tzu zayn a yid" - "It's hard to be a Jew."


The parents may have stayed religious, but their kids got the subtle hint: it's just not worth it. And so, many, unfortunately, went in another direction.


Let's be careful what we say or what we do. You do know who's listening - the rest of the world.