In the context of Reuven and Gad’s bold request to ultimately settle on the east bank of the Jordan river, Moshe reminds that – and they agree – that they will need to aid the rest of the tribes in conquering and settling the land. Moshe then reminds them:

"ונכבשה הארץ לפני ה' ואחר תשבו והייתם נקיים מה' ומישראל והיתה הארץ הזאת לכם, לאחזה לפני ה'" (במדבר ל"ב:כ"ב)

“And the Land will be conquered before the Lord, afterwards you may return, and you shall be innocent from the Lord and from Israel, and this land will become your heritage before the Lord” (Bamidbar 32:22).

 This verse serves according to some, as the Scriptural source for the idea of mar’is ayin, of others learning an erroneous message from your actions, due to their lack of context or understanding. Rabbi Dr. Moshe D. Tender, in an article he published in a Yeshiva University Torah journal, noted that there are two different components to mar’is ayin. Let’s assume I need to use the restroom so I walk into a non-kosher restaurant. Someone sees me, an observant Jew, walk in. There can be two outcomes, argues Rabbi Tendler, both negative. Someone can assume that I secretly do not keep kosher, that I am a fake; or worse, they could assume this particular restaurant is kosher because I walked into it. Hence, due to mar’is ayin, literally that which the eye beholds, I should avoid walking into said establishment.

The innocence this verse describes not only mandates that I do the right thing, but I am responsible to make sure my actions do not cause others inadvertently to sin, whether that sin be spreading rumors about me, assuming the worst about me, or violating other statutes. On the idea of v’hiyisem n’kiyim, we shall be innocent, Rav Soloveitchik commented:

One might think that one’s reputation is his own concern; that he need not care about others’ opinions. Halacha however maintains that one has no right to sully his own reputation; his character is sacred, and he is not permitted to forfeit his standing. The human personality must be protected and not degraded. (from a lecture in Boston, 1970 as quoted in The Neuwirth Edition, Chumash M’soras Harav, pp. 257).

The aforementioned concept should guide our lives. We must do what’s right in the eyes of God AND in the eyes of our fellow man. A chapter earlier, the guidelines for transfering ownership of utensils are provided. Certain vessels obtained from idolaters or potential idolaters need to be purged before we can use them. For this reason we bring certain utensils to a Mikvah before using them. But as we will see, this is not merely an exercise in exorcising idolatrous flavors from our pots and pans. There is much more to this very ubiquitous and important halacha.

We are concerned that, through heat, the flavor of an object in a pot can be imparted to the vessel, wich can then transfer it to other kosher items. If I boil meat in a pot, that pot takes on the flavor of the meat and becomes a “meat pot” even though I’ve scrubbed it clean of any actual meat. Halacha recognizes this concept as ta’am k’ikar, that there is a non-visible form of flavor that permeates objects. When one calls their rabbi because the milchig spoon made its way into the fleishig dishwasher, they are concerned with taam, the invisible flavor that absorbs into the utensil via heat. That bliya (the flavor that is absorbed via heat) may cause you to kasher an item, or need to dispose of it, if the damage done is irreparable.

When asking these types of kashrus shaylos to rabbis, often, the first question the rabbi will ask is, “when did the utensil absorb (via heat) the meat, or the milk?” The rabbi needs to know the status of the ta’am. The basic principle of ‘kashering’ is represented by the saying, ‘k’bol’o kach polto’ – the purging parallels the absorption. If a pot on the stove mixed milk and meat liquids, the koshering process for the pot demands boiled water. If a non-kosher piece of meat was placed on a spit over the fire, that spit can only be koshered via fire.

In parshas Matos, we are introduced to the idea of cleansing utensils belonging to idolaters before use in our camps.

"ויאמר אלעזר הכהן אל אנשי הצבא הבאים למלחמה. זאת חקת התורה אשר צוה ה' את משה, אך את הזהב ואת הכסף, את הנחושת את הברזל את הבדיל ואת העפרת, כל דבר אשר יבא באש, תעבירו באש וטהר אך במי נדה יתחטא, וכל אשר לא יבא באש, תעבירו במים"  (במדבר ל"א: כ"א-כ"ג)

“And Elazar the Kohen said to the men of the army who came to the battle, ‘’This is the decree of the Torah, which HASHEM commanded Moshe: only the gold and the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin and the lead – everything that comes into fire – you shall pass through fire and it will be purified; but it must be purify with the waters of sprinkling; and everything that does not come into fire, you shall pass through waters” (Bamidbar 31:21-23).

Two questions emerge from the above text. First, why are the laws of ta’am k’ikar derived from the confiscated vessels of idolaters? Why not teach them in a passage pertaining to the dietary laws, or one addressing the purity of utensils? Secondly, I have a more textual question. The verse above states that Elazar addressed the soldiers “coming to war.” Actually, he spoke before the soldiers returning from war. Why does the Torah employ the phrase haba’im l’milchama (coming to war). Should it not have stated, “hachozrim m’milchama – returning from war?

I believe the answers relate to the mandate of v’hiyisem n’kiyim, we must be innocent.

The Kotzker Rebbe understands “coming to war” as referring to the battle against the yetzer hara, the evil inclination. This battle would indeed be waged upon their return from war, back to civilization. Why then, asks the Kotzker, were these laws not taught after the earlier war against the idolatrous subjects of Sichon? The Kotzker answers that the war against Sichon did not cause the minds of the Jewish people to become putrid (to become p’gam). The scheme of the Midianites to seduce the Jewish people with their women, adversely affected the souls and minds of the Jews. Therefore, The Torah teaches us to spew forth all the impure absorptions after the war against Midian.

The Chofetz Chaim (introduction to Likutei Halachos) sees the whole passage as a call to teshuvah.

“Why would the laws of purifying vessels be categorized as a chok? We understand the rationale of the laws of kashering as k’bolo kach polto. There is, however, a deeper meaning here. The Torah is compared to fire (Yirmiyahu 23:29), and also to water (see Sifri Ekev – just as water bring man up from his tumah, so do words of Torah). After a person sins and brings a spirit of tumah into himself, he should never despair. He should attempt to repent from his misguided ways, and busy himself with God’s Torah, which is the source of purity (m’kor hataharah), as if he just ascended in a pure state from the mikvah. If a person says, ‘my sins are excessive and water will not suffice the cleansing, because these sins have absorbed internally into me’, the Torah also provides the fire option (if a vessel requires only boiling water, fire can still cleanse it). The power of learning Torah also purges man as fire cleanses a pot, to purify the absorbed impurity. This will cleanse his soul from the impurities imbued within him. Sometimes a mikvah is sufficient; other times fire is needed. But there is always hope if one clings to Torah. “

Impurity – tumah – is so incredibly dangerous to our immortal souls. We must avoid it and purge it from our midst even if we must use fire. Never underestimate the minute impure bliyos in a pot, and how it can adversely affect our spiritual wellbeing. This is the battle we as Jews must wage, a spiritual battle, as well as the physical wars we must encounter.

A story is told how a man came to the Arizal – Rabbi Yitzchak Luria – and told the famed Kabbalist that he has committed sins so egregious that the only way he felt he could atone would be death by fire – s’reifah – which entails pouring boiling lead down one’s throat. The Arizal lived well after the period of halachic capital punishment, but told the man that if he felt such a process was indeed necessary, he would administer the punishment in six months time. During that time, the man should pray, fast and engage in an intense teshuvah process.

After six months of life-altering repentance, the man appeared as scheduled before the beis din (Rabbinical Court) of the Arizal. He wore his white kittel, his shroud, and prepared for the final installment of his purging process. The Arizal stood there with two other judges, said the Shma prayer with the man, aided him in the confessional recitation and asked him to sit down on a chair. As described in the Mishnah in Sanhedrin (7:2), they tied the man’s mouth open to receive the boiling lead. Tears poured down all four men’s faces as one of the judges came with the pitcher of “lead.” He poured it down the man’s throat and the man swallowed. The man then looked up and said, “Rebbe. That wasn’t lead; that was honey!” The Arizal, through his tears, told the man that they could not administer capital punishment in that day and age, but his teshuvah process completely atoned for whatever sin he committed.

That invisible taam has so much to teach us about our commitment to a life of kedushah (sanctity/nobility). During these three difficult Shabbatot, which serve as a period of introspection, may we grow in our relationship to our Creator and emulate His love for all of His creatures. May our souls be as kosher and pure and naki -  innocent! - as our two sets of dishes.