English: R. Yochanan said: Wherever it says “and he settled,” it is only language of distress; and here too, “And Israel settled in Shittim” — “and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moav.”
Type of Learning
Pattern-reading of וישב across Tanach.
What Is Learned
Settling that should have been rest becomes the opening of the Shittim disaster.