Shabbat Parashat Maatot/Maasei - 5783

Shabbat Parashat Maatot/Maasei - 5783

Rabbi Hal Miller

These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went forth from the land

of Egypt according to their legions, under the hand of Moshe and Aharon.

[Bamidbar 33:1]

The Torah presented the itinerary of the Jewish people before. Why do we have

another copy here, and in particular with such detail? The simple answer is in the

next verse, "Moshe wrote their goings for according to their journeys at the bidding

of God". But there must be much more for us to learn than just 'God said to do it'.

Rashi asks our question and answers that this is "to make known the acts of

kindness" of God. Despite decreeing the forty years in the desert, these verses are

proof that for most of the time they were settled in one place for a long period and

were at peace, with a constant supply of all their needs.

Rambam concentrates on the documenting of the miracles in the desert. The people

who were there knew them to be true, but future generations may begin to doubt them.

Sforno adds that God wanted to reward the Jews for following Him blindly through

the desert, so our verses show how extensively the people did so. Certainly, as Rav

Hirsch writes, our list includes information not on the original list.

Alshich notes that the verse says "journeys of the children of Israel", which means

these stages were caused by the children of Israel, that they did not leave Egypt of

their own free will, rather were chased out by the Egyptians. Thus they needed to be

purified before going to the land. Malbim follows this line of thought, saying that each

journey was a step further away from Egypt rather than a step further toward Canaan.

Rav Schwab is close to this when he notes that our verses do not include mention of the

big miracles and the giving of the Torah but are limited to a list of places where Israel

needed rebuke.

From the positive viewpoint, Kol Dodi explains that "all the journeys represent stages in the

spiritual journey from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael." From the next verse he understands that the

first portion of the journeys was going away from Egypt, and the second phase was the

going toward the land. Sfas Emes agrees with this and says that the removal from the pit of

Egypt had to be gradual to ensure it was completely cleared before they went to the holy

land.

The first time the Torah gave the travel itinerary was to explain the travels. This time it is to

explain other things.