Matot-masey
Summary: Matot (“Tribes”) opens with laws about vows, and continues to describe the Israelites’ war against the Midianites and the allocation of spoils. The tribes of Reuben and Gad request to dwell outside of the Land of Israel, and Moses acquiesces on the condition that they help conquer it. Masei (“Travels”), the final Torah portion in the Book of Numbers, opens with a list of places that the Israelites traveled in the desert. God commands the Israelites to destroy idolatry in the Land of Israel, outlines Israel’s boundaries, and details the laws of cities of refuge for accidental killers. (hebcal.com)
D'var Torah: Parashat Matot-Masei
Rabbi Seth Reimer Commentary
Mattot (part one of this double Torah portion concluding the book of Numbers) begins with a discourse on the inviolability of sacred vows. The parashah goes on to tell how, on God’s command, Israel crushes Midian in a war of retribution. The tribes of Reuben and Gad along with the half-tribe of Menasheh ask to settle in conquered territories that lie across the Jordan River and east of land God has intended for the people Israel. God grants their wish on condition that these outliers participate, with their Israelite brethren, in the upcoming war to conquer all of Canaan. Masey (part two of our Torah portion) begins by summarizing the stages of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the plains of Moab. Our text continues with an instruction to wipe out Canaan’s inhabitants and assign the land by lot to Israel’s males. National boundaries are stipulated, tribal leaders identified. From territories provided the Israelite tribes, Levites, whom God has given no territories, receive forty-eight cities as dwelling-places. Six cities of refuge are designated for anyone who has committed accidental manslaughter and needs protection from relatives seeking blood-vengeance. In the parashah’s concluding chapter, the daughters of a man who had no son are married off to their cousins, thereby safe-guarding their tribe’s patrimony
Rabbi Jan Saltzman Commentary
Packing, unpacking, moving, setting up a camp and breaking it down again. This is the week when we are to chant the names of the 42 stopping-off places that is described this week's Torah portion, Matot-Masei, as the Israelites move from place to place as they work their way through the wilderness. Earlier in the parasha, we are confronted by a text that describes an army that kills and destroys, with a vengeance that is shocking yet familiar. We recoil from this part of our Torah, and in that recoiling, embrace the opportunity to reject the murderous ways that still pollute our world today.
As always, there are gems waiting to be unearthed in the turmoil; one place to begin is with the journey between the 42 campsites.
We can ask, why does the Torah record these 42 moves? Why doesn't it just simply say, "The Israelites moved their armies and camps through the wilderness"? Especially when we know, from back in Numbers 4:5,that the setting up and breaking down the camp involved dismantling and rebuilding the ark each time!
The Novominsker Rebbe, R. Nahum Perlow, remarks on this verse that the travels of the Israelites is a sign that the destiny of the Jews is to be in constant renewal: that what might seem as a resting place is actually the springboard to the next step. We are wired, by the stories of our ancestors, to strive to ever and ever higher grounds, and not to be content with settling with what is, but to imagine what might be. And then act on that vision of what is possible. (and, yes, this week, here in Vermont, to be on any higher ground is an especially good piece of advice, with the raging waters from the rain!).
Of course, there is also deep wisdom in noticing and being nourished by every place we camp. Each camp was set up where there was water and feed for the animals. To linger for while in a place that feels safe and allows us to relax is also required. Yet we are invited to never cease from wondering, what might be next? How might things be improved? Who is denied the comfort and on whose backs does my comfort rest?
As we move through these 3 weeks that will lead us to Tisha B'Av, we amke sure that we are deeply cognizant of what suffering and destruction feel like. May we also be reminded that we don't have to get stuck in that mind-field, and begin to imagine what might be.
--- Rabbi Jan
