פרשת מסעי – "למה נכתבו המסעות הללו?"

These are the stages of the children of Israel, by which they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their hosts under the hand of Moses and Aaron. And Moses wrote their goings forth, stage by stage, by the commandment of the LORD; and these are their stages at their goings forth. And they journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians, while the Egyptians were burying them that the LORD had smitten among them, even all their first-born; upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments. And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth. And they journeyed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness. And they journeyed from Etham, and turned back unto Pihahiroth, which is before Baal-zephon; and they pitched before Migdol. And they journeyed from Penehahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days’journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah. And they journeyed from Marah, and came unto Elim; and in Elim were twelve springs of water, and threescore and ten palm-trees; and they pitched there. And they journeyed from Elim, and pitched by the Red Sea. And they journeyed from the Red Sea, and pitched in the wilderness of Sin. And they journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, and pitched in Dophkah. And they journeyed from Dophkah, and pitched in Alush. And they journeyed from Alush, and pitched in Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. And they journeyed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. And they journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai, and pitched in Kibroth-hattaavah. And they journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah, and pitched in Hazeroth. And they journeyed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah. And they journeyed from Rithmah, and pitched in Rimmon-perez. And they journeyed from Rimmon-perez, and pitched in Libnah. And they journeyed from Libnah, and pitched in Rissah. And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelah. And they journeyed from Kehelah, and pitched in mount Shepher. And they journeyed from mount Shepher, and pitched in Haradah. And they journeyed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth. And they journeyed from Makheloth, and pitched in Tahath. And they journeyed from Tahath, and pitched in Terah. And they journeyed from Terah, and pitched in Mithkah. And they journeyed from Mithkah, and pitched in Hashmonah. And they journeyed from Hashmonah, and pitched in Moseroth. And they journeyed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-jaakan. And they journeyed from Bene-jaakan, and pitched in Hor-haggidgad. And they journeyed from Hor-haggidgad, and pitched in Jotbah. And they journeyed from Jotbah, and pitched in Abronah. And they journeyed from Abronah, and pitched in Ezion-geber. And they journeyed from Ezion-geber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin—the same is Kadesh. And they journeyed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.— And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. And Aaron was a hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor. And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.— And they journeyed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. And they journeyed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon. And they journeyed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth. And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched in Ije-abarim, in the border of Moab. And they journeyed from Ijim, and pitched in Dibon-gad. And they journeyed from Dibon-gad, and pitched in Almon-diblathaim. And they journeyed from Almon-diblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, in front of Nebo. And they journeyed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. And they pitched by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth even unto Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

אלה מסעי THESE ARE THE JOURNEYS (STAGES) [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] — Why are these stations recorded here? In order to make known the loving acts of the Omnipresent: that although He had decreed against them to make them move about and wander in the wilderness, you should not think that they wandered and moved about without cessation from one station to another station all the forty years, and that they had no rest, for you see that there are here only forty-two stages. Deduct from them fourteen, all of which were their stopping places in the first year after they left Egypt, before the decree was made, viz., from the time when they journeyed from Rameses until when they came to Rithmah whence the spies were sent out — as it is said. (Numbers 12:16): “And afterwards the people journeyed from Hazeroth, [and encamped in the wilderness of Paran], whereupon the Lord said unto Moses, (Numbers 13:2) "Send thee men [who may search out the land]”; and here (v. 18) it states, “and they journeyed from Hazeroth and they encamped in Rithmah”, so you learn that it (Rithmah) is in the wilderness of Paran. — Further deduct from them the eight stages which were after Aaron’s death viz., those from Mount Hor to the plains of Moab in the fourtieth year (v. 38). It follows that during the whole of the thirty eight years they made only twenty journeys. This is excerpted from the work of R. Moses the Preacher. — R. Tanchuma gave another explanation of it (of the question why these stages are here recorded). A parable! It may be compared to the case of a king whose son was ill and whom he took to a distant place to cure him. When they returned home the father began to enumerate all the stages, saying to him, “Here we slept, here we caught cold, here you had the head-ache, etc.” (Midrash Tanchuma 4:10:3.