THE ART OF THE MASHAL
click hukat 2025 for download
THE ART OF THE MASHAL
LSichon, king of the Emori, was an ambitious leader. In his quest to conquer Moav and expand his territory, he launched an expensive military campaign. He raised taxes, imposed harsh decrees, and even hired Bilaam to curse Moav. He succeeded. He took the city of Cheshbon and added it to his empire.
But what he didn’t realize was that all his efforts, his planning, his strategies, were not really his own victory. They were part of a divine setup. Bnei Yisrael were not permitted to conquer land from Moav or Amon. However, once Sichon seized that land, it became Emori territory, and open for Bnei Yisrael to conquer. Sichon thought he was building his legacy. But he was really paving the way for Bnei Yisrael.
The Torah tells us, “Therefore, the rulers say: Come to Cheshbon” (Bamidbar 21:27). In the Talmud (Bava Batra 78b), our sages reframe this verse through a spiritual lens: “Who are the rulers (moshlim)? Those who rule over their evil inclination.” “Come to Cheshbon” — come and make a cheshbon, an accounting — not of war and land, but of your life, your choices, your soul.
Why choose this story to teach such a fundamental spiritual lesson? Why would the Torah tie the concept of cheshbon hanefesh — soul-accounting — to a geopolitical event like Sichon’s campaign?
Rabbeinu Bachya writes in Chovot HaLevavot, a man can spend his entire life amassing wealth, only to die and leave it to someone who uses it for purposes entirely contrary to his own values. One may even toil his whole life and inadvertently fund his enemy’s success. That is the ultimate miscalculation.
How many people exhaust themselves in pursuit of wealth, power, or status — only to later realize it was never really theirs to keep? How often does a person build something with great effort, only to see it passed on to someone else — sometimes even someone they dislike?
Mussar is not about guilt. It’s about clarity. It’s the power to stop before you act — and ask the only questions that really matters: Is this action an investment in eternity and what lasts, or an investment in an illusion, just caught in the motions of worldly hustle?? What will these efforts lead me to? What will be the reaction to my actions? Am I fooling myself? This story of Sihon is showing us how, one can work his whole life, and not realize, that he was just working for someone else. Not himself.
You- are your soul. Your body does not go up with you. You can’t take anything with you, when you go to Heaven. Not even your socks. Don’t only work for your Guf, which you can’t even take with you. Invest in your soul, for it will always be yours.
The only way to apply Mussar, to actually self help, is to be moshlim — the rulers of the urge. How does one overcome his urges?
Mussar is clarity, and there are two ways to reach that clarity, and they are found here in the passuk. C+P=M. Cheshbon+Parable = Mussar. Through Cheshbon. Through introspective thought. And through Mashal, as the passuk says, Moshlim. That is the way the Mussar flashlight shines in the darkest places of our soul, and brings to light our Ego, Jealousy, and Passions, that too often hide in the shadows. Most sin, is when we are unaware that we are being controlled by any, or by all, of these three.
The whole story of Cheshbon and Sichon, was a true story. It was a story in history that actually happened, but the Torah teaches us, to look at everything in life, as a Mashal, and learn from it how you can serve G-d better. All of the stories of the Torah, are true, they really happened, but they are also parables to different moments in each an everyone’s life, the original “bibliotherapy” and the source of it. Even if the story of Sichon just looks like a war that has nothing to do with serving G-d, it has everything to do, with us serving G-d.
Not everyone sees the mashal. Why? Because to find it, you need three things:
- You Need to Be Quick. Life doesn’t wait. The inspiration in a moment can evaporate before you even recognize it. You need to notice. You spill coffee — is it just a mess? Or a message: Even one careless move can stain something white for life. Train yourself to pause and ask: “What’s the mashal here?” The Mashal part of the imagination, is like a muscle. The more you use it, the better you get at it.
Rav Yosef Pinhasi zt”l once shared a remarkable story, that happened to him, on the way to a Kiruv outreach event in Israel. While waiting at a red light, a driver pulled up beside him, recognized him and joked, “Rabbi! You’ve got till the light turns green to bring me back, to do teshuva!”
Without missing a beat, Rav Pinhasi replied, “Why don’t you drive forward? סע ! ” The man laughed, “I can’t — the light’s red!” Rav Pinhasi smiled, “So what? There’s no police around.” The driver hesitated. “What if there’s a camera? I could get fined.” Rav Pinhasi leaned in and said, “And maybe there’s a camera above, watching too?”
The light turned green. They drove off. Years later, a bearded man approached Rav Pinhasi and said, “I’m the guy from the red light. Your words changed my life.” That one moment, one Mashal — sparked someone’s full return to teshuva.
- You Need to Be Smart, mashal smart. You need to know yourself. Know people. Know Torah. When you understand the patterns of human behavior — ego, desire, jealousy — you start seeing them everywhere. The guy who cut you off? Ego. The in-law who bragged? Insecurity masked as pride.
The envy you felt seeing someone else’s successful career? A mirror reflecting your own untapped potential.
Learn Mesilat Yesharim, Chovot HaLevavot, or even modern books on mindset. Find what you connect with that teaches you about human behavior, through a Torah lens. The smarter you are about life, the clearer the mashal becomes.
- You Need to Be Spiritual: Without a spiritual compass, you won’t ask “What is Hashem teaching me?”
You’ll ask “Why is this happening to me?” A spiritual person doesn’t just see a traffic jam. He sees a pause button from Heaven: A moment to breathe, reflect, recalculate.
The more you train your eye to find the mashal, the more life starts to feel like a dialogue with Hashem, and the more clarity you have. The more clarity you have, the more you have control of your behavior.
