“The children of Reuben and the children of Gad had much livestock; it was very considerable. And they saw the land of Yazer and the land of Gilad, and, behold, the place was a place for livestock” (Numbers 32:1). “The children of Reuben and the children of Gad had much livestock” – halakha: three gifts were created in the world. If one acquires one of them, he acquires the delight of the entire world.
If he acquired wisdom, he acquired everything. If he acquired might, he acquired everything. If he acquired wealth, he acquired everything. When?
It is when they are gifts of Heaven and they come by means of the Torah. But the might and wealth of flesh and blood is nothing, just as Solomon says: “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, and the war is not to the valiant; also not to the wise is bread, and also not to the clever is wealth, and also not to the knowledgeable is favor; rather, time and chance befalls all of them” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).
Likewise, Jeremiah says: “So said the Lord: Let the wise not glory in his wisdom, and let the valiant not glory in his valor; let the rich not glory in his riches. Rather, let [the one who glories] glory in this: [perceiving and knowing Me]” (Jeremiah 9:22–23). These gifts, when they do not come from the Holy One blessed be He, they will ultimately cease from him. Our Rabbis taught: Two wise men stood in the world, one from Israel and one from the idolaters, Aḥitofel from Israel and Bilam from the nations of the world, and both were eradicated from the world.
Likewise, two mighty men stood in the world, one from Israel and one from the nations of the world, Samson from Israel and Goliath from the nations of the world, and both were eradicated from the world. Likewise, two wealthy men stood in the world, one from Israel and one from the nations of the world, Koraḥ from Israel and Haman from the nations of the world, and both were eradicated from the world.
Why? It is because their gift was not from the Holy One blessed be He, but they seized it for themselves. You find similarly with the children of Gad and the children of Reuben, who were wealthy and they had considerable livestock. But they loved their money and settled themselves outside of the Land of Israel.
That is why they were exiled first among all the tribes, as it is stated: “He exiled the Reubenite, the Gadite, and half the tribe of Manasseh” (I Chronicles 5:26). What caused this for them? It is because they separated themselves from their brethren because of their acquisitions. From where is it derived? It is from what is written in the Torah: “The children of Reuben [and the children of Gad] had much livestock…”