In order to know where we are going we have to know where we have been. This week we read the double Torah portion of Mattot-Mas’ei which concludes the book of Numbers. Mas’ei, the second part of our double Torah portion opens with “These were the marches of the Israelites who started out from the land of Egypt, in the charge of Moses and Aaron. Moses recorded the various starting points of their various marches as directed by the Lord.”(Etz Chayim 954) The rest of this chapter lists all the names of the places the Israelites traveled while they wandered in the desert for 40 years. Why is this important? Why would the Torah want to take the time to review all of these places and give us what appears to be a long list of names?
God is reminding the people of Israel of all the places that God guided them through. Whether it was the miracle crossing the Sea of Reeds, giving them manna to eat at the Wilderness of Sin, or water to drink at Rephidim where Moses struck the rock to bring forth water. God is demonstrating how God was able to guide them in a safe way through the desert and protect them from natural dangers or human ones like enemy nations. As I read through this section I felt the parent child dynamic that is often associated with Israel and God, it reminded me of a parent and a child who were on a trip together and the parent saying to the child, “this is where you complained about not having animal crackers, this is where you had a tantrum, here we stopped to rest because we were both exhausted.”
By making this comparison between a parent and a child reminiscing about a trip and God telling Israel about the places they traveled during their years in the desert we learn a very important concept. We learn that the journeys we take in life shape who we are. They allow us to have perspective about what we have been through and what we can handle. They can remind us of the times we struggled and how we overcame those struggles. By knowing where we have been it allows us to have strength to navigate the current journey we are on.
We know life is hard for everyone in this country right now as we continue to deal with this virus, however we can draw strength from our past experiences of overcoming adversity to help get us through this time and into the future.
Shabbat Shalom Cantor Kowitz
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Minyan Requests Fred Cohen is observing Yahrzeit for his mother, Annabelle Cohen on Friday, July 17th at 6:45 PM.
Martin Kaufman is observing Yahrzeit for his father, Charles Kaufman on Sunday, July 19th at 9:00 AM.
Howard Fingeroth is oberving Yahrzeit for his mother, Esther Fingeroth on Sunday, July 19th at 8:00 PM. (Shiva Minyan)
Wendy Pincus Connelly is observing Yarhzeit for her stepfather, Dr. Laurence J. Newman on Monday, July 20 at 8:00 AM.
Please let us know if you have any celebrations, including anniversaries, birthdays, college acceptances, honor society, etc. that we can announce in our weekly blast.
Congregation Beth Ohr 2550 South Centre Avenue Bellmore NY 11710 (516) 781-3072 officestaff@cbohr.org
Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism