This week we read the final two portions of the Book of Numbers Matot Heads of Tribes and Masei Marching Stages. The 40 year journey from the Exodus out of Egypt through the Wilderness of Sinai have reached the very frontier of the Promised Land.
But they are not the same Children of Israel. With the exception of 2 of the 12 spies rewarded for their faithfulness, Caleb and Joshua, the whole adult generation, save Moses, have died out in the wilderness. With Moses’ death, the Children can go in. In the next book, Deuteronomy, Moses will give his final charge, his song and his blessing before passing on and leaving it to Joshua to lead the people in.
At the beginning of Massei, the last Torah portion in Numbers, 42 marching stages are enumerated, many never heard of before or since. While the geographic location of most of these places has been lost over time “we are left with the rhythm of the place-names.”*
“Moshe wrote down their departures, by their marching stages, by order of The Compassionate One. Now these are their marching stages, by their departures. Now these are their marching stages, by their departures: They marched from Ra’mses, in the first New Moon, on the morrow of the Passover meal, the Children of Israel departed with a high hand, before the eyes of all Egypt, while Egypt was burying those that The Compassionate one had struck dead among them, all the firstborn, and on their gods, the Compassionate One had rendered judgment. And the Children of Israel marched on from Ra’mses, and encamped at Sukkot; they marched on from Sukkot and encamped at Eitam, which is at the edge of the wilderness…” Numbers 33: 2—6
Rashi points out that the Children of Israel were able to depart with a high hand because the Egyptians for whom burial was such an important ritual – some of their tombstones, the pyramids still stand today – were too busy with so many burials to pursue their departed slaves. But the Children of Israel were still too ingrained in their slave mentality. If they had been ready to go into the land they could have made the trip in a matter of months. A new generation had to be raised in freedom. What actually happened during those 40 years to prepare the generation of liberators of the promised land? We do not have the entire record. We do know that there were ups and downs. There were miracles and there were droughts. There were attacks by marauders and successful conquests of those who would not allow passage.
Why do we have to go through what life presents us with? Sometimes life can be very difficult. Could life be arranged so that everything works smoothly according to a pre-arranged plan without all the pain?
At each of the 42 stages something was learned. Each was a stage in development to help the Children of Israel become a free people; still not perfect, never close to perfect, but ready enough to take on the task of entering the Promised Land.
So too in our own individual lives, each of us must go through some difficult challenges, that at the time we may not understand its purpose. We are entrusted with our short lives to become who we are meant to become. Each stage has its own purpose. In the case of the Children of Israel, God has Moshe numerate them and record each one for posterity to learn from.
The original stated plan was for the Children of Israel to go from Egypt directly to the Promised Land. The 40 years in the Wilderness of Sinai was a kind of punishment for the lack of faith of the Children of Israel. Rashi brings a midrash, an ancient rabbinic commentary which includes a quotation of Rabbi Tanchum: “This is compared to a king whose son was ill and who brought him to a distant place for treatment. When they returned, the father began enumerating all the journeys. He said “here we slept,” “here we were chilled,” and “here you had a headache,”, etc. Avigdor Bonchek commenting on Rashi: “It tells us of His fatherly concern for our wellbeing. As a father’s relationship with his son is strengthened when the child is ill, so too God’s relationship to His people was forged during all those years in the wilderness. The memorable experiences Israel lived through together with God became part and parcel of their historical bonding……Mentioning the journeys is intended, ironically, to awaken in the Jew a reciprocal feeling of gratitude and nearness to Him. Ironically, because in the final analysis, the wilderness years were punishment for their sin. But this teaches us that any memory can be turned into a positive experience…Rabbi Tanchum…reframed Israel’s punishment of forty years in the wilderness: he saw in these years a sign of God’s kindness and love.”**
Our perspective can help us to accept what life has to offer. Ariel, a young clerk I knew in Jerusalem, would daily answer my query: “How are you?” with “Hakol Tov It’s All Good”. Once he was severely burned and was out of work for weeks. When he came back I asked: “How are you?” Still in obvious great pain, Ariel replied: “It’s all good.” We may not understand. But if we realize it is all from God, the source of all, the one who loves you and me and all of us, we will begin to sense that whatever life gives us, it is all good, though that may not be immediately apparent.
Life is a journey. Might as well enjoy each stage, each experience. It’s all a gift. It’s all good.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
Shaya Kelter