Parashat Masei - Journeying in the Wilderness

(1) These were the marches of the Israelites who started out from the land of Egypt, troop by troop, in the charge of Moses and Aaron.

(1) A legal teaching: Is one who is pursued by non-Jews or bandits allowed to transgress the laws of Sabbath? Our Rabbis taught: One who is pursued by non-Jews or bandits is permitted to transgress the laws of Shabbat, in order to save their own life. Thus we also find with David: When Saul attempted to kill him, he fled and escaped. Our Rabbis said: It once happened that they came to the [Jewish] leadership in Sepphoris with harsh orders from the [Roman] government. They went and said to Rabbi Elazar b. Parta: O Rabbi! We have received harsh orders from the government. What do you say we should do, should we flee? He feared telling them to flee explicitly, so he hinted to them: "Why are you asking me? Go and ask Jacob, Moses, and David". What does it say about Jacob? (Hosea 12): "And Jacob fled." Also about Moses, (Exodus 2): "Moses fled." And also about David, (I Samuel 19): "David fled and escaped." It also says (Isaiah 26): "Go my people, enter your rooms." The Holy Blessed One said to them: Such great ones were fearful and fled from those who hated them, yet for those forty years that you were in the desert, I did not let them flee. Instead I felled all their haters before them, in that I myself that was with them. Not only that, but there were all kinds of snakes, fiery serpents, and scorpions there: (Deut. 8): "Snakes, fiery serpents, and scorpions", yet I did not allow them to hurt you. Therefore The Holy Blessed One said to Moses: Record the journeys that Israel undertook in the desert, it order that they should know what kind of miracles I performed from them. How [will they know]? From all that they read regarding "These are the journeys".

(20) Go, my people, enter your chambers, And lock your doors behind you. Hide but a little moment, Until the indignation passes. (21) For lo! The Eternal shall come forth from God's place To punish the dwellers of the earth For their iniquity; And the earth shall disclose its bloodshed And shall no longer conceal its slain.

(2) This is what is stated in the verse (Psalms 77:21), "You led (nachita) Your people like a flock through Moses and Aaron." What is [the meaning of] nachita? It is the expression of an acrostic: Rabbi Eliezer says, "You did Nissim (miracles) for them; You gave them Chaim (life); You split the Yam Suf (Reed Sea) for them; You gave them the Torah through Moses and Aaron." Rabbi Yehoshua says, "You did Niflaot (wonders) for them; You gave them Cherut (freedom); Yamincha (Your right hand) delivered them; You gave them Tilluy rosh (holding the head high) through Moshe and Aharon." Our masters said, "Nevi'im (prophets) did You raise up from them; Hasidim (saints) did You raise up from them; Yesharim (upright ones) did You raise up from them; Temimim (unblemished ones) did You raise up from them through Moses and Aaron." Another interpretation [of] nachita: Rabbi Akiva says, "You did Noraot (dreadful things) to their enemies; You sentCharon af (waxing anger) against them and You fought against them; You covered them with Tehomot (depths) through Moses and Aaron. Another interpretation of (Psalms 77:21), "You led Your people like a flock": What is [the meaning of] flock? Just like one does not bring a flock under the shade of a roof (indoors), so too Israel when they were in the wilderness were not brought under the shade of a roof for forty years. Hence they were compared to a flock. Another interpretation of (Psalms 77:21), "You led Your people like a flock": Just like a flock does not have storerooms collected for them but rather only graze from the wilderness, so too Israel for the forty years that they were in the wilderness were fed without storehouses. . Hence they were compared to a flock. Another interpretation of (Psalms 77:21), "You led Your people like a flock": And just like a flock follows to anywhere that the shepherd leads them, so too Israel journeyed to any place that Moses and Aaron took them, as it is stated, "These are the journeys of the Children of Israel" - in order to fulfill that which is stated, "You led Your people like a flock through Moses and Aaron."

(3) (Numbers 33:1) "These are the stages of the Children of Israel": [The matter] is comparable to a king whose son was ill. He brought him to a certain place to heal him. When they returned, his father began recounting the stages, “Here we slept. Here we cooled off. Here you had a headache.” Thus the Holy Blessed One said to Moses, "Recount to them all the places where they provoked Me." It is therefore stated (in Numbers 33:1), "These are the stages...."

(4) Another interpretation: Why did all these stages (places) merit to be written in the Torah? Since they received Israel, the Holy Blessed One will give them their reward in the future. It is so stated (in Isaiah 35:1-2), "The arid desert shall be glad.... It shall blossom abundantly, it shall also exult...." And if the desert [will receive] such for receiving Israel; one who receives a Torah scholar into their home, all the more so!

You find that in the future the desert will be a settlement and a settlement will be a desert. And where is it shown a settlement will be a desert in the future? It is so stated (Malachi 1:3), "And I have hated Esau and will make his hills a desolation." And where is it shown a desert will be a settlement in the future? It is so stated (Isaiah 41:8), "I will make a desert into a lake of water." Now there are no trees in the desert, but there will be trees there in the future, as stated (Isaiah 41:19), "I will put cedar and acacia in the desert...." Now there is no path there, as it is all sand. But there will be a path there in the future, as stated (Isaiah 43:19), "I will place a path in the desert […]." And it states (Isaiah 35:8), "And there will be a highway there, and it shall be called the Sacred Way [...]."