One Long Journey – Matot-Masei
Parshat Masei details the journeys that Am Yisrael travelled on their passage from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael.
The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah, Masei, 3) brings the parable of a king whose son was ill and he took him from one place to another to try cure his illness. After his son was cured, the king reminisces about all the places they had journeyed to. “This is where your head began to hurt. This is where we slept over in the motel. This is where the doctor gave you medicine”, etc. Similarly, HaKadosh Baruch Hu tells Moshe to list all the journeys and recall what happened at each.
The Midrash HaGadol (Bamidbar 33:1) says that the reason the Torah lists the journeys is because the goyim might say that in all 40 years that Am Yisrael were in the Midbar, they never had a moment’s peace, that they were walking day and night, because they lost their way in the desert. Therefore, the Torah specifically lists each journey to show that this was by design and not because they “lost their way.”
The Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim, part 3, chap. 50) says that the reason the Torah details these journeys is because the only people who actually physically witnessed all the miracles that took place in the Midbar were Am Yisrael. In later generations, all that happened in the Midbar will simply be a “story,” retold over and over and it is possible that people may doubt the veracity of these miracles, as happens with any “story.” People may theorize that they were not miracles at all and that Am Yisrael camped in proximity to civilization where there was water and food. This is why the Torah lists all these places, which anyone can go visit today and witness for themselves that they are uninhabitable and that the only way Am Yisrael could have survived in these places in the Midbar was by a miracle. The Abarbanel (Bamidbar 33, 1) says that the Midbar was the worst desolation known to man and Am Yisrael journeyed through it for 40 years in comfort and joy. R’ Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg in his sefer Haketav Vehakabalah (Bamidbar 33:1) says that not all the places listed were their geographical names, but were named after the incidents that occurred there.
How many journeys were there?
The Kli Yakar (Bamidbar 33:1) says that when Am Yisrael left Egypt, HaKadosh Baruch Hu originally intended for us to have only one journey – directly to Eretz Yisrael. However, since Am Yisrael sinned, it resulted in extra journeys. Am Yisrael, had the possibility of shortening the journeys to Eretz Yisrael if they would not have sinned. They would have traversed all 42 journeys, but in an accelerated time, instead of forty years. This teaches us that some journeys were forwards, while other were backwards.
The Maharal (Gur Aryeh, Bamidbar 33:1) says that there were 42, but if you actually count them, you will only find 41. However, if you include also the places from which they travelled, not just the places they travelled to (as Rashi does), there are 42. The Sfat Emet (Masei 5365) says there were 49, if you include the seven journeys that they backtracked. The consensus, however, is that there were 42 journeys
The Zohar HaKadosh says that there were twelve journeys until they reached Har Sinai. HaKadosh Baruch Hu wanted them to complete the remaining 30 journeys in 3 days, in other words 10 journeys per day. However, since they sinned, those 30 journeys still had to be traversed, but over a longer time (38 years). Rashi’s calculation (Bamidbar 33:1) is different to the Zohar, that in the first two years Am Yisrael travelled 22 journeys and in the remaining 38 years they travelled only 20 journeys.
The Seder Olam says that of those 38 years, Am Yisrael only journeyed 19 years, while the remaining 19 years – they were in one place (Kadesh Barnea).
The Sfat Emet says that Am Yisrael tried to escape visiting some of these places, but HaKadosh Baruch Hu would not allow them to, because by visiting all these places, Am Yisrael did a tikkun, repented for a sin. This teaches us that to bring about tikkun, one should not run from the “meitzar,” challenge, but rather search for a way to transcend the challenge, to work through it and find a solution. This is why, says the Sfat Emet, we read this parsha in the period of Ben HaMeitzarim, between the fasts of 17 Tammuz and 9 Av.
The fact that there are 42 journeys is not incidental, it corresponds to the name of HaKadosh Baruch Hu that has 42 letters. Each of the journeys contains one letter of the 42 (Shem MiShmuel). The parsha of the journeys contains highly elevated significance, related to the realm of Kabbalah, which is beyond the scope of this shiur. For this reason, we read this parsha from the Torah with a special tune, like we read Shirat HaYam.
R’ Bachyei (ibid.) points out that in the pasuk (Bamidbar 33:2) the word “Motza’eihem” appears twice. This refers to two redemptions, our Exodus from Egypt and the future Geulah (may it come speedily in our days). The fact they are both mentioned in the same pasuk teaches us that the future Geulah will resemble that of Egypt and will be accompanied by a similar, but greater, series of miracles, and also – by 42 journeys that Am Yisrael will have to take before the Geulah will arrive. During these journeys HaKadosh Baruch Hu will take care of us just like He did with Am Yisrael in the Midbar. It is unclear if these journeys that R’ Bachyei is referring to are yet to take place, or have already taken place during our years of exile.
We see, therefore, from the above, that the parsha of the journeys is not just some historical rendition of ages past. It encompasses profound principles of how the world works and how to live our lives.
Perhaps the most profound of all is using the journeys as a parable for our own life. Our lives resemble the journeys of Am Yisrael through the Midbar. Each of us has our own purpose and destiny in life and the journeys we travel to achieving that purpose and destiny depend on our choices and actions. Just like back then, we have the possibility of travelling the journey in a comfortable, less painful way, or to invoke unnecessary pain and suffering.
The lesson of the journeys is that throughout, Am Yisrael were enveloped by the Clouds of Glory and witnessed continual miracles on a daily basis. This has not changed. HaKadosh Baruch Hu is still there looking out for us, every step of the way and every day we experience untold miracles. All we need to do is to open our eyes and see what is in front of our faces, cast our eyes upwards and reconnect with HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: What was the ruling regarding the inheritance of the daughters of Tzlofchad?
Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: Why did Tzlofchad die (Bamidbar 27:3)? R’ Akiva (Gemara, Shabbat 96b) says that Tzlofchad was the person caught gathering wood on Shabbat (Bamidbar 15:32-36).
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