Parashat Masei, the final parashah of the Book of Bamidbar, opens with a list of the forty-two places where the Jewish people camped during their forty years in the wilderness.At first, the list seems unnecessary. Why does the Torah record every stop?
Rabbi Yitzchak Zilber brings the explanations of Rashi and Rambam, who show that these names are not merely geography. They are testimony.
Rashi quotes Rabbi Moshe HaDarshan, who explains that the list shows the mercy of G-d. True, the years in the desert were a punishment after the sin of the spies. Yet even in punishment, there was mercy.
People might imagine that the Jews wandered constantly for forty years. Rashi calculates otherwise. Fourteen journeys took place during the first year, before the decree. Eight took place in the final year. During the remaining thirty-eight years, there were only twenty journeys, with long periods of rest between them. For many years, the nation remained in one place.
Even when G-d disciplined His people, He did not crush them.
Rambam gives another explanation. Future generations might wonder whether survival in the Sinai wilderness was truly miraculous. Perhaps the Jewish people camped near water, fields, or settlements. Therefore, the Torah records the exact places. Whoever knows those locations can see that they are barren and unfit to sustain an entire nation.
Men, women, children, and the elderly survived there for forty years. There is no natural explanation. Without the mahn, the well, the Clouds of Glory, and the pillar of fire, survival would have been impossible.
The list of journeys therefore keeps the miracle alive.
This lesson applies to a person’s life as well. We remember the great events: a wedding, a birth, a move, a recovery, a success. But often, the smaller stops shape us just as much. A delay, a disappointment, a meeting, a failure, or a place we did not expect to remain may later prove necessary.
At the time, a person does not always understand why he has arrived at a certain “camp.” Only later does he see what that stop gave him.
Looking back, we often discover that what seemed like a delay was preparation.
The parashah also teaches this through Moshe Rabbeinu. Before his passing, Moshe established three Cities of Refuge east of the Jordan River. They would not function until the other three were later established in Eretz Yisrael. Still, Moshe did what he could.
Rabbi Zilber points out the lesson: If a person cannot complete a mitzvah, he should still do whatever part is possible.
Every journey has meaning. Every stop can serve a purpose. And every step taken for Hashem is never wasted.
Parashat Masei is sponsored by Avraham Zavurov & Frida Yagudayev
Rabbi Yitzchok Zilber, zt”l, dedicated his life to teaching Torah, and his impactful writings continue to inspire Jews worldwide. Copyright 2023 by The LaMaalot Foundation. Conversations on the Torah is catalogued at The Library of Congress. All rights reserved. www.LaMaalot.org
Parashat Masei: Every Journey Has a Purpose
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