In this week's Haftorah, the prophet Micha describes G-d's quarrel with His nation. G-d did many good, "righteous acts" (tzedakot) with Israel. In return, he does not ask for "thousands of rams" or an offering of the firstborn. (This may be a reference to the story of Yiftach and his daughter in last week's Haftorah). Rather:

He has told you, O man, what is good! What does Hashem require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your G-d! (Micha 6:8)

Amongst the list of righteous acts that G-d did with Israel there is a pasuk which ties the Haftorah to the parsha:

My people, hear, now, what Balak, king of Moav, schemed, and what Bil'am son of Be'or answered him [and all the events] from Shittim to Gilgal -- in order to know the righteous acts of Hashem. (6:5)

The righteousness of G-d with Bnei Yisrael in Gilgal is obvious, since Israel's settlement of Eretz Yisrael began from there, and this was the starting point of their march in the Holy Land. This is a direct continuation of G-d's righteousness with His nation mentioned in the previous pasuk, "I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage." (6:4)

There are actually two facets to the righteousness of Gilgal and its link to the previous pasuk. The Radak explains: "to Gilgal -- that which G-d, blessed be He, did for you, taking you across the Jordan on dry land." According to this, the link with Yetziat Mitzrayim is the double crossing of the sea on dry land. Rashi elaborates further: "to Gilgal -- until I brought you to Gigal and captured the land before you." According to Rashi, the connection with the previous pasuk is not only through the splitting of the seas, but through the completion of the redemption from Egypt, the land of tumah (spiritual defilement), to freedom in the Holy Land.

The righteousness of G-d with Israel in Shittim is more difficult. What righteousness did Hashem do with them in Shittim? Most of the commentators relate to the fact that G-d did not destroy Bnei Yisrael for sinning with the daughters of Moav. As Rashi writes, "You sinned to Me there. Know My righteousness that I did not withhold My good and help from you." Similarly, the Ibn Ezra writes, "Then you sinned a great sin, for which you were all deserving of death, but I had compassion on you." The Radak and the other commentaries explain the same way.

Rashi mentions another facet to the righteousness of Shittim. On the words, "what Bil'am son of Be'or answered him," Rashi writes: "'How can I anger? Hashem is not angry.' (Bamidbar 23:8) -- I did not become angry all those days." Rashi is referring to the well-known Gemara in Masechet Brachot (7a), that Bil'am was able to aim for that single moment in which Hashem is angry. ("For his anger endures but a moment.") Therefore, in these days, Hashem did not get angry at all. According to this, Shittim remind us of the righteousness of Hashem in turning Bil'am's curses to blessings. Rashi explains the same way in our parsha.

We now also understand the emphasis, "in order to recognize the righteous acts of Hashem," since Bnei Yisrael did not know at all about the intention of Bil'am to curse them and of G-d's action (or inaction) which saved them. Rashi already comments in last week's parsha, regarding the miracle of the mountains and the stream, "G-d said: Who will inform My children of these miracles? The parable says, if you gave a piece of bread to a child, let his mother know [so that she will appreciate your kindness.]" On the pasuk in Hallel, "Praise Hashem, all nations; praise Him all the states! For His kindness has overwhelmed us" (Tehillim 117:1-2), the question is asked, why should the nations praise Hashem because His kindness overwhelms Am Yisrael? The answer is that there are many times that Am Yisrael has no inkling of the great troubles from which G-d rescued them! Only the nations, who plot the evil that, with G-d's help, does not transpire -- only they know how great Hashem's chesed is on Am Yisrael. Therefore Micha alerts them to the righteousness of Hashem, that he did not become angry, in order to know the righteousness of Hashem with Israel -- in Shittim.

It is possible that there is another nuance in the expression, "from Shittim to Gilgal." Shittim and Gilgal represent two extremes in the purity of Am Yisrael. Shittim signifies the peak of moral decline, "The people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moav." (Bamidbar 25:1) Gilgal, on the other hand, signifies the peak of moral purity through the circumcision of the entire nation, "Today, I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from upon you." (Yehoshua 5:9) Hashem's righteousness with Israel is His raising them from the deep pit of Egypt and Shittim to the great height of Gilgal and Eretz Yisrael.

Based on this, we can suggest a novel aspect to the final pasuk of the Haftorah, "What does Hashem require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your G-d!" Generally "to walk humbly with your G-d" is explained as humility, straightforwardness, and modesty, which is the opposite of arrogance. However, there is a well-known Sfat Emet that the sin of Shittim was made possible because of the lack of G-d's anger at that time. Divine "chesed," with no bounds of justice, brought to the "chesed hu" (disgrace) of immorality. Thus, when man is careful "to do justice," which seals and bounds his efforts "to love kindness," the result is modesty, which is the opposite of immorality. This fulfills the ascent "from Shittim to Gilgal."