Daily Chumash

Moses was enraged that the Midianite females were spared. “They were the primary culprits, the ones who seduced the Israelites and brought about the plague which killed so many!” Moses exclaimed. All the males, and all women who possibly could have been involved in the campaign of seduction, were killed. The soldiers were instructed how to purify themselves from the ritual impurity they contracted from contact with corpses in the course of battle, and are told how to kosher the food utensils which were among the spoils. The spoils of the war were evenly divided between the soldiers and the greater community. Tithes from the spoils were given to Elazar the high priest and to the Levites. The army officers counted the soldiers who returned from battle, and determined that not a single man was lost in the war. To show gratitude to G‑d for this miracle, the officers donated to the Tabernacle all the gold jewelry which they personally plundered from the Midianites.