The Israelite soldiers returned from the war with the Midianites and Moshe did not like what he saw.
וַיִּקְצֹף מֹשֶׁה עַל פְּקוּדֵי הֶחָיִל שָׂרֵי הָאֲלָפִים וְשָׂרֵי הַמֵּאוֹת הַבָּאִים מִצְּבָא הַמִּלְחָמָה׃ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם מֹשֶׁה הַחִיִּיתֶם כׇּל־נְקֵבָה׃ הֵן הֵנָּה הָיוּ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּדְבַר בִּלְעָם לִמְסׇר־מַעַל בַּד’ עַל־דְּבַר־פְּעוֹר וַתְּהִי הַמַּגֵּפָה בַּעֲדַת ד’
Moses became angry with the commanders of the army, the officers of thousands and the officers of hundreds, who had come back from the military campaign. Moses said to them, “You have spared every female! Yet they are the very ones who, at the bidding of Balaam, induced the Israelites to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so that the LORD’s community was struck by the plague. (31:14-16)
Now verse 14 states that Moshe became angry with the soldiers. The next verse is what he said to them. As a continuum all the Torah needs to state is, “and he (referring to Moshe in the previous verse) said to them.” Why does it repeat, “Moshe said to them?” It sounds like we have two separate things going on here.
Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin, of blessed memory, in his commentary Oznayim LeTorah writes that two things took place here. First, Moshe became angry. Realizing that he had become angry, Moshe gave himself some time to calm down. When you’re angry it’s not the time to talk lest you overreact due to your anger. So there was no continuum here. There was anger, followed by a deep breath, and then some rebuke.
This can also be brought out by the wording used to introduce Moshe’s words to the soldiers. The Torah states in verse 15, ויאמר – and he said. This form connotes a soft form of speaking. If Moshe was angry as he spoke then the Torah should have used the word וידבר – and he spoke which connotes a more forceful form of speaking. The explanation is that although Moshe became angry, when he rebuked the soldiers he spoke softly because he had made sure to calm down beforehand.
Sefer Chasidim (The Book of the Pious, written in medieval Germany) #655 relates an amazing story. There was once a son who was extraordinarily respectful to his father. On his deathbed, the father said to him, “You have honored me during my lifetime and now you must honor me after my death. I command you that if you should ever be overcome by anger, hold in your anger overnight.” Afterwards, the son was forced to embark on a journey to a distant land where he remained for tens of years. Finally he returned home unannounced and found his wife embracing a handsome young man he did not know. He became enraged and reached for his dagger. Suddenly he remembered his father’s words that he must hold in his anger until the next day. The next day he was shocked to find out that when he left his wife so many years before that she was expecting his child and that young man was none other than his own son!
If you ever become angry, wait before you react. A little bit of time can make a lifetime of a difference.
Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak