Why not invade from the Golan like sensible people?
In the parsha this Shabbat we heard tell of the first conquests of Bnei Yisrael as preparation toward conquering Canaan. After crushing Sichon at Yahtzah, the armies of Yisrael storm Og's land and from there the Tribe of Menashe storm the northeastern portion of the Golan and Bashan. Which raises a question: From p'shat, it seems that Am Yisrael was in the Golan, then headed back south to Arvot Moav, which is where Balak and Pinchas take place. They hang around that area until past Moshe's death, and then they head west, cross the Jordan River in Yehoshua and conquer Yericho (opposite where they were in Arvot Moav). Now, some people may not be aware of this, but it seems that this was hundreds of kilometers back and forth, just to get the people back to Arvot Moav! Why? I mean, why not simply conquer Canaan from the Golan? Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun explains in this excellent class that Bnei Yisrael actually split into two groups: The advancing army which conquered the Land ...