Matot-Mas’ey
Numbers 30:2 - 36:13
Quite often I receive an email in my inbox from Kodak or Snapfish, stating, “Your invited to view X’s photos!” After signing into my account, I am able to go step by step through a family member’s vacation, a friend’s wedding weekend or the first weeks of a child’s life. Whether or not I was there, the pictures and their captions help convey to me the details of these moments.
In this week’s double Torah portion, Matot-Mas’ey, Moses in his own way creates a documentary of the Israelites’ forty-two masim, journeys from Egypt to the Land of Israel. In describing the forty years in the desert, Moses uses the expression: vayisu, “and they set out” to define each stage of the journey. On the surface this might seem to be a dull slide show of one site visited after another (Ramseses, Succoth, Etham, etc), but bubbling up underneath these details, one finds a rich presentation of the various stages of the Israelites’ evolving identity as a people.
As Moses recalls the Israelites’ journey out of the Sea of Reeds through the wilderness of Sin (Num. 33:11), we are reminded of the moment when the manna, the desert food God provided for the Israelites first formed on the ground with the morning dew. Moses’ mention of Rephidim (Num. 33:14) takes us back to the moment when the Israelites first bitterly complained of thirst and bemoaned their lack of water. Cautiously, it also reminds us of the moment Moses lost his temper and smashed his staff into a rock hoping to finally quiet the Israelites’ grumblings.
As he mentions each stop along the way, we are reminded of all the miracles that Israel experienced in the desert. As he describes each journey from one place to the next, we are reminded of each and every challenge and obstacle the Israelites faced along the way. So often we describe the Israelites as wandering through the desert, as if there is no definition or order to their journey. Yet through the use of this refrain- “vayisu,” Moses emphasizes that each step in the desert held significance and that each experience was infused with meaning. These details are what transformed each individual in this ragtag group into a true Israelite.
This past May as I began my transition from one stage of my journey to the next, I was reminded of the importance of reflecting on the past. Just a few days before my Rabbinic Ordination I entered into the mikvah to mark this transformation. On each of the seven steps into the mikvah I was asked to reflect on the different stages of my journey. Who were the people that supported and challenged me along the way? Which events brought joy to my life? How had the obstacles transformed me or strengthened me along the way? Each stage along our journey offers its own challenges and blessings to be discovered. This Shabbat we conclude Numbers, the fourth book of Torah, known in Hebrew as Bemidbar, “in the desert” with Moses’ reflection of the Israelites’ journey through the desert. At this transition, let us also take time to reflect on the stages of our own journeys.
This Shabbat, I invite you to join with the Jewish people and take out one of your old photo albums. As you flip through the various stages of your life feel free to laugh at the outfits chosen in years past, enjoy sweet memories, share difficult experiences, and remember those who made you who you are today. Share these stories.
But I also challenge you to look behind the surface. As you look at these pictures, ask yourself. Who was I at this moment in my life? What were my interests? What challenges did I face? What blessings surrounded me? As you flip from one page to the next, notice the inner transformations that led you to where you are today.
Just as we as the Jewish people are strengthened by recalling our past and ensure our future only by living deeply in the present, I say to each of you: “Hazak, Hazak, V’hit’nazek” Be strong, be strong, may you be strengthened on each continued step of your journey.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Alissa Forrest
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