Parashat Mattot presents us with considerable challenges. Much of it is very technical in nature, and seems to contain three distinct, seemingly disconnected chapters: Chapter 30 discusses laws of vows, chapter 31 deals with the war against the Midianites and the spoils from the war, and chapter 32 narrates the request and plan for the tribes of Reuven, Gad, and Menashe to act as shock-troops and then settle land on the eastern side of the Jordan.

Our focus in this shiur is the equal division of the spoils of war, which ultimately connect the three chapters of this parasha. Why does Judaism devote so much energy to this topic? Why do we need organized legal arrangements about the spoils of vanquished enemies? We explore ethical, tactical, and theological approaches to this question.