This week’s Perashah recounts the war with Midyan, which served as the foundation for the laws of tebilath kelim—the immersion of utensils. After the battle, the Bene Yisrael took spoils, including many vessels used in the preparation of food. Mosheh taught:
“Everything that passes through fire must be purified, but it shall also be cleansed in the waters of niddah.” (Bemidbar 31:23)
First, the utensils in which forbidden foods were cooked had to be kashered before they could be used with kasher food. Second, there is a miṣwah to immerse such utensils in a miqweh before use. But what is the idea behind this tebilah?
The Rambam writes:
“This immersion, required for food utensils acquired from a gentile and only after they have been made permissible for eating and drinking, is not due to laws of purity or impurity—it is a decree of the Sages and is hinted at in the verse: ‘Whatever enters the fire…’” (Ma’akhaloth Asuroth 17:5)
A few lines later, he adds:
“There are additional matters the Sages forbade—not from the Torah, but in order to create distance from gentiles, lest one intermingle and ultimately enter into intermarriage. These include: not drinking wine with them, even without suspicion of idolatrous use; not eating their bread or cooked food, even without concern over non-kasher pots.” (ibid. 17:9)
According to Maimonides, the requirement of tebilath kelim is also a safeguard against assimilation. While most Rishonim see it as a Torah-level obligation, Rambam emphasizes its role in preventing intermingling between Jews and non-Jews.
By restricting shared eating and drinking—even down to the utensils involved—the danger of social blending is diminished. This served as a model for other rabbinic enactments aimed at slowing the tide of assimilation.
Here are a few examples:
- ‘Erub Ḥaṣeroth – Even in enclosed courtyards, one must “rent the domain” from any non-Jewish resident to carry on Shabbath, discouraging shared residential arrangements.
- Bread baked in a gentile’s home is forbidden, even if kasheruth is not in question.
- Cooked foods (like meat, fish, and poultry) prepared by a non-Jew may not be eaten.
- Wine may not be shared with non-Jews, even when free of kasheruth concerns.
- The Rabbis even attempted (unsuccessfully) to ban gentile oil.
This partial list shows the Sages’ deep concern over intermarriage and assimilation—threats that endanger the spiritual survival of Kelal Yisrael. Today, assimilation consumes vast portions of our people, reaching up to 90% in some communities.
Our survival after millennia of exile is an open miracle, with no historical parallel. But as this Perashah teaches us, while we must thank the Creator—barukh Hu—for His miracles, we must also take practical action, following the protective gezeroth of our Sages, to hold back the tide of assimilation.
May the Holy One, yitbarakh, give us the strength and clarity to preserve the sanctity of Am Yisrael, and our distinct identity, in every generation.