The portion of Masei is the last in the book of Numbers and the end of the forty year journey in the desert. The entire book of Deuteronomy takes place during a mere thirty-seven day period. Therefore the Torah summarizes the forty-two journeys that occurred during their wanderings in the desert, from the time they left Egypt to where they are camped in the plains of Moav near Jericho.
These journeys are introduced by a verse that is constructed in a mirror like fashion: “And Moses wrote there going forth according to their journeys at the command of God, and these were their journeys according to their going forth” (Numbers (33:2). The verbs “going forth” and “journeys” reverse themselves in the second half of the verse. One senses a dynamic pulsating energy in the summary of the journeys which is emphasized by the special way the words are chanted when the Torah is read publicly. According to Chassidut, which sees all the Torah as eternal instruction for each person in every generation, these forty-two journeys are an archetypal paradigm for the life journey of every individual. Each person though experiences these journeys in a fashion uniquely fitting for their soul and life’s work and purpose.
As each place along the journey is mentioned the same formula is repeated: “They journeyed from….and they camped in…” This formula alludes to how all process and progress works in an ebb and flow dynamic of starts and stops, action and rest, receptiveness and taking initiative. This same dynamic forms the basic structure of time as experienced in the Jewish cycle of the year where six days of work are followed by Shabbat and six years of agricultural work is followed by a Sabbatical year.
This idea of the dynamic nature of process can be seen in another subject of this Torah portion where the specific borders of the land of Israel are delineated for the first and only time in the Torah. Although today there are some disagreements as to where these borders are on the map, in their Torah description they seem very specific. Yet when delving into the various borders during Jewish history and according to other sources we see in fact that there are five different sets of borders. In short these borders are of those who returned from the Babylonian exile, the borders of those who entered the land with Joshua after the forty years in the desert, the borders as described in the portion of Masei, the larger borders promised to Abraham in the book of Genesis (from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates) and the borders promised in the future Messianic era. These five borders beginning with the first are progressively larger until the future borders of which it is stated: “In the future the land of Israel will spread [and encompass] all the lands [of the earth]” (Pesikta Rabbati).
When contemplating the meaning to all these changing borders we see that just like the journeys and the encampments in the desert were part of an ongoing process of change and growth, so too the borders of Israel are not really static, yet pulsating and ever changing. We see how true this is in the last sixty years of Jewish history. One of the secrets of how the borders are set for each generation is alluded to in the second paragraph of the Shema which is recited twice daily.
We are told that if we follow the word of God and observe the commandments then we will receive the rain in its time and that we will thrive and be at peace in our land. But if we do not listen to the word of God then the heavens will be shut up and we will be exiled from the land. The message is clear: the privilege of the Jewish people to live in the holy land is directly dependent on our actions and the moral and ethical fiber of Jewish society living in the land. The same holds true for the physical borders of the land – the more we merit, the more the holiness of the land expands, until at the time of the Messiah the holiness will encompass all the world.
A beautiful allusion to the central role to be played by the land and people of Israel in the historic process and progress of mankind is found in the description of the borders in our portion of Masei. In the specific description of each of the four directions the same word (totsotav) is used in describing the border. The numeric value of this word is 913, the same as bereishit, “in the beginning,” the first word of the Torah. The very first Rashi in the Torah questions why the Torah needed to begin with the account of creation and not from the first commandment, for the essence of the Torah are the commandments. He answers his rhetorical question by stating that in the future the nations of the world will come and accuse the Jewish people of stealing the land of Israel. Therefore the Torah begins with the creation in order to establish that the same God who created heaven and earth is the One who gave the Jewish people the land of Israel.
This teaching is quite relevant today when in fact much of the world does accuse us with stealing the land. Rashi’s commentary is truly prophetic for our times. Beyond this though, we see that the borders of Israel are intrinsically connected to the very purpose of creation – to create a dwelling place for God in this, the most physical of worlds. The future borders of Israel are the fulfillment of the concept that “the last in deed is the first in thought.” In that day the infinite energy of the Creator will be revealed within the finite parameters of the physical world. This is represented by the borders of Israel expanding to the entire world. Until then we need to create through our thoughts, speech and action the merit which will allow that revelation to take place – soon and in our days.
