פרשות מטות ומסעי
In parshas Masei, the Torah describes all of Bnei Yisrael’s travels through the desert and mentions every place where the nation camped. Hashem commanded Moshe to write down the name of every place Bnei Yisrael travelled intending it to be a message for future generations. However, as we read the chronicles of our ancestors’ travels today, we have reason to wonder what message Moshe left us. What can we learn today from what seems to be a mere list of places, information that would seem to be insignificant even to those who were stationed in the desert during those times?
Rashi, citing the Midrash Tanchuma, tells a parable of a king who had a sick son and travelled a great distance with him in order to find a cure. Upon completing their mission, the king and his son return home, travelling on the same path that they had taken. As the two walk, the king recalls the memories of their outward journey. “Here was where we slept,” says the king. “Here is where we got cold,” he continues. “Here is where you had a headache…,” etc. The Gur Aryeh explains that this parable is a way to understand why Hashem commanded Moshe to chronicle the nation’s travels. When one goes through life and experiences the world, he can sometimes forget that Hashem is with him. It is very easy for a person to look at events without seeing Hashem’s guiding hand. Hashem therefore commanded Moshe to write down all the travels of the Jewish people, in order to remind them: “Don’t think you were just by yourselves. I was with you all along. Every place you went, I was there too!” The Jewish People faced many challenges in their journeys, but Hashem was always there, watching over them with love and constantly helping them along the way. This is a message to us as well. We need to remember how important it is to bring Hashem into our lives and to bring Him into our struggles. A person must reflect and feel that Hashem loves him and is constantly taking care of him. This is the message of parshas Masei. We need to remember that Hashem loves us and is with us wherever we go.
The Malbim adds that there is something else that Moshe Rabbeinu tried to teach us by chronicling the travels of the Jewish people in parshas Masei. Not only is it important to remember that Hashem is with us and stands beside us in all our challenges. We should also appreciate the challenges that we go through in life as something to be thankful for in and of themselves. Every trial a person goes through can be a means to bring him closer to Hashem. When a person confronts difficulty and chooses to grow from it, he should train himself to thank Hashem for the fact that he went through such adversity. Through the Jewish People’s travels in the desert, they purified themselves from the negative influences of growing up in Egyptian society. Being enslaved by a corrupt culture had greatly affected the spirituality of the entire Jewish People, plunging them to the 49th level of spiritual impurity. In order to remove the awful effects of their traumatic experience, the Jewish people needed 40 years of life in the desert. Through the difficulties of desert life, the Jewish people grew in their faith, becoming very close to Hashem and ultimately evolving to become the holy nation that was ready to enter Eretz Yisrael. Although it is certainly difficult to appreciate our challenges as they arise, we need to have faith and appreciate that everything is for our good. The Alter of Slobodka once said that although we often can’t see why we are going through our troubles, we have to keep our emuna. If we do so, we will be pleasantly surprised to see how much good came out of our struggles.
Rav Yoel Meir Bloch was one of the rosh yeshivas at Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio. Rav Bloch grew up in Europe and became a very distinguished young talmid chacham. However, after a lesser member of the community slandered him to the government, Rav Bloch was forced to flee Europe and go to America. He had to leave his family behind and run for his life, something that he later recalled was one of the most painful experiences he ever had. However, looking back at the incident, Rav Bloch expressed his tremendous appreciation to Hashem for bringing about such an event. Unfortunately, just a short time after Rav Bloch’s escape, the Nazis invaded and devastated his Jewish community in Europe. Most likely, if Rav Bloch had stayed in Europe he would not have survived. Incredibly, by forcing Rav Bloch to flee to the United States, Hashem saved his life and paved the way for him to become one of the most influential rabbis in America, helping build America into a place of Torah. Rav Bloch himself appreciated in his later years just how fortunate he was to have Hashem with him in all of his travels.
May we all be zoche to remember that Hashem is with us wherever we go!!!