When B'nei Yisroel passed through Arnon, they sang a song of praise to Hashem for saving the nation from being ambushed by Cana'anim who were hiding in caves in the area. The Cana'anim were planning to attack from elevated caves as B'nei Yisroel passed through a valley below, but the mountain opposite the one in whose caves the Cana'anim were stationed miraculously moved and pressed against the mountain containing the Cana'anim, and the jagged cliffs of the moving mountain went into the caves where the Cana'anim were hiding, killing them on impact. When B'nei Yisroel realized how God had miraculously saved them from being ambushed, they broke out in song. (Rashi, explaining 21:15, from Tanchuma 20)

Although this was an event of major salvation, why did it merit a song? B'nei Yisroel were saved and protected on so many other occasions, but rarely did they break out in song. What was different here?

Rashi (20:1) notes that the narrative of Parshas Chukas occurred right after the last members of the previous generation of B'nei Yisroel had died (as a result of the Chet Ha-Meraglim/Sin of the Spies). One would expect this new period to reflect a fresh start, with the nation prepared to enter the Land expeditiously, avoiding sin and the delays that sin had caused for the past 39 years. What, however, transpires at this new juncture and opportunity for a new beginning? "And the people argued with Moshe, saying...Why did you bring the congregation of God to this desert to die...to this bad place...and Moshe struck the rock" (20:3-4,11); "And the people spoke against God and Moshe: Why did you take us out of Mitzrayim to die in the desert, for there is no bread or water, and our souls have come to despise this Mann (Manna)...and Hashem sent venomous serpents, and they bit the people and many of the nation perished..." (21:5-6) With such rebellion and resultant punishment at a time when one would expect utmost respect and total compliance with God's commands, one would not be surprised if the nation never made it to Eretz Yisroel.

This is precisely where the shira (song) at Arnon comes in. It is highly unlikely that B'nei Yisroel were at that time anticipating special favors from Hashem, under the circumstances and in the context of sin and rebellion. However, in affirmation of Hashem's promise to bring the second generation to the Land, He overlooked the people's failings and performed the totally unexpected miracle at Arnon. When one is overcome by unanticipated, abundant goodness, he must express his appreciation in a super-verbal manner, as mere words cannot contain his strong feelings. This is the shira at Arnon, reflecting a burst of thanksgiving for overwhelming and unexpected goodness.

The shira at Arnon is introduced by the simile, "Es vaheiv b'Sufa, v'es ha-nechalim Arnon" - "As the miracles at the Sea of Reeds, so are the miracles at Arnon." Why were the events at Arnon compared with K'rias Yam Suf - the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds?

In both situations, the Jewish People faced pursuers, and God supernaturally trapped the pursuers and decimated them between moving natural bodies. In both cases, the salvation was unexpected: B'nei Yisroel at Yam Suf were lacking merit, and Nachshon walked into the current, which miraculously and unexpectedly split into walls of water; at Arnon, the nation surely also seemed unworthy for such a miracle, which caught it by surprise. As the walls of Yam Suf shut down on the Egyptians, B'nei Yisroel trekked onward to redemption, with the closing walls representing the closing of a dark period in the nation's history, which was being left behind in favor of a fresh beginning; the converging of the mountains at Arnon to crush the heathen ambushers, followed by the mountains again separating, with a stream emerging from the gap, likewise represented the closing of a period of turmoil and strife, and the embarkation on a fresh path of bounty and life. When the nation felt doomed due to its apparent destiny of repeated sin and resultant delay and punishment, God stepped in and pulled it out of the mire by demonstrating His commitment to end the 40-year period of wandering, bedazzling the people with His wonders and inspiring it as at Yam Suf, when B'nei Yisroel similarly broke out in song of elation upon unexpected goodness. This is the import and message of Arnon.

Our parsha is teeming with liturgy, for in the very next aliya we are presented with yet another poetic composition, penned or voiced by seers or folk-lyricists when Sichon, King of Cheshbon, conquered Moav, prior to Sichon's own defeat at the hands of B'nei Yisroel. "Therefore do the composers of similes proclaim: Let us come to Cheshbon; may the city of Sichon be built and established. For a fire has gone forth from Cheshbon, a flame from the city of Sichon; it has devoured the city of Moav...Woe to you, Moav, you have been decimated, o nation of (the idol) K'mosh, for it (K'mosh) has handed over its sons as refugees and its daughters as captives to Sichon..." (ibid. 27-29) Why does the Torah bother to quote this poetic piece about the conquest of Moav at the hands of Sichon prior to Sichon's fall to B'nei Yisroel?

The previous d'var Torah on Parshas Chukas in this series noted that the mitzvah of Parah Adumah serves as an introduction to the parsha because the parsha is centered on a seemingly paradoxical existential motif, and that only from the perspective of God Himself is there true order in the apparently contradictory schemes of life. It would seem that this theme explains the poem about Sichon's victory as well.

When Sichon defeated Moav, it was clear to all that the real force with whom to reckon was Sichon; he stole the show and was projected by fate to dominate. However, Hashem's plan was for Sichon's triumph to be quite temporary and utilitarian, for B'nei Yisroel were prohibited from attacking Moav, and they could therefore not conquer the territory of Moav unless another power controlled it. Sichon was that other power, whom God enabled to uproot Moav in order to permit Jewish occupation of that territory. (Rashi on 21:26 from Gemara Chullin 60b) What seemed to be total, fateful domination for Sichon, as depicted in the song or poem about his victory, was actually the reverse - Sichon's triumph was to be a temporary stage for B'nei Yisroel's entry and sweep of the land of the apparently indefatigable Sichon. The message of Parshas Chukas is borne out in this narrative and its triumphalist liturgy, for that which seemed to be the ultimate conquest, as expressed poetically with utmost confidence and elation, was really a small step in Hashem's master plan, for only Hashem truly understands history's chain of events and the apparent paradoxes of human experiences.

Coming back to Arnon, this theme again shines through, for that which was expected did not materialize, and the events which did occur seemed to contradict all that was anticipated. The mystery that is the Parah Adumah, and the unknown and inscrutable plans of God that reaped salvation at Yam Suf and Arnon, must serve to inspire us and humble us before Hashem, the Master of Creation and the hidden yet transcendent Unifier of all.