25 Tammuz, 5784 - Tikkun Olam 47

on July 31, 2024

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 25 Tammuz, 5784
Parsha Mattot – Massei: (Numbers 30:2 – 36:13)
Fourth Portion: Numbers 32:20 – 33:49

Good morning! Today we transition into the final Parsha of Numbers. We roll towards Shabbat to finish our fourth book. Today we bring close the journey of the tribe and branches of Mattot, and into the final “journey” of Massei (which literally means Journey).

Let’s dig in. The context was Gad and Reuben coming to Moses because they wanted to live outside the land. They told Moses they would lead the fight in the land to clear it out for their brothers. Moses is about to respond:

20Moses said to them, “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord,

21and your armed force crosses the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies before Him,

22and the Land will be conquered before the Lord, afterwards you may return, and you shall be freed [of your obligation] from the Lord and from Israel, and this land will become your heritage before the Lord.

Basically, if you do what you say, it will go well for everyone.

23But, if you do not do so, behold, you will have sinned against the Lord, and be aware of your sin which will find you.

And if you don’t? Well. It is not going to go well for you. So then Moses tells them:

24So build yourselves cities for your children and enclosures for your sheep, and what has proceeded from your mouth you shall do.”

25The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do as my master commands.

26Our children and our wives, our livestock and our cattle will remain there, in the cities of Gilead.

27But your servants will cross over all who are armed for combat before the Lord, for the battle, as my master has spoken.”

They have an agreement. Everyone is on the same page.

28Moses commanded Eleazar the kohen and Joshua the son of Nun and all the paternal heads of the tribes of the children of Israel concerning them.

29Moses said to them, “If the descendants of Gad and Reuben cross the Jordan with you armed for battle before the Lord, and the Land is conquered before you, you shall give them the land of Gilead as a heritage.

30But if they do not cross over with you armed [for battle], they shall receive a possession among you in the land of Canaan.”

31The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben answered, saying, “We shall do as the Lord has spoken to your servants.

32We shall cross over in an armed force before the Lord to the land of Canaan, and then we shall have the possession of our inheritance on this side of the Jordan.”

33Moses gave the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan the land together with its cities within borders, the cities of the surrounding territory.

SO it is interesting here. Why is Manasseh involved? I don’t have good answers. My only speculation? Joseph was going to bridge the lands. Half of Joseph outside the land, Half of Joseph inside the promised land. Which would make sense as Joseph’s tribe is the reason they went to Egypt in the place. Joseph was sold into slavery. So half his tribe is outside the promised land. Just a thought.

Ok let’s keep going:

34The descendants of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer.

35And Atroth Shophan, Jazer, and Jogbehah.

36And Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities and sheepfolds.

We see Gad has built various lands.

37The descendants of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kirjathaim.

38And Nebo and Baal Meon, their names having been changed, and Sibmah. And they were called with names of the names of the cities they built.

Reuben built lands.

39The children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and conquered it, driving out the Amorites who were there.

It is interesting – Manasseh had to conquer land.

40Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it.

41Jair the son of Manasseh went and conquered their hamlets, and called them the hamlets of Jair.

42Nobah went and conquered Kenath and its surrounding villages, and called it Nobah, after his name.

Manasseh’s sons all had to conquer their lands.

I feel like this lends credence to Joseph being the bridge to two worlds. This is where Mattot ends. Let’s shift over to Massei:

33:1These are the journeys of the children of Israel who left the land of Egypt in their legions, under the charge of Moses and Aaron.

2Moses recorded their starting points for their journeys according to the word of the Lord, and these were their journeys with their starting points.

So we are going back to recount the journeys. Remember we looked at the journey from slavery, and they camped around cravings, ego, fear, and grief.

It will be interesting to see the camps in this context:

3They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day following the Passover sacrifice, the children of Israel left triumphantly before the eyes of all the Egyptians.

4And the Egyptians were busy burying because the Lord had struck down their firstborn and had wrought vengeance against their deities.

5The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped in Succoth.

Camp 1: Succoth

6They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, at the edge of the desert.

7They journeyed from Etham and camped in Pi hahiroth, which faces Baal zephon; and they camped in front of Migdol.

8They journeyed from Penei hahiroth and crossed in the midst of the sea to the desert. They walked for three days in the desert of Etham and camped in Marah.

Camp 2: Etham

Camp 3: Penei hahiroth

Camp 4: Marah

9They journeyed from Marah and arrived in Elim, and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.

Camp 1: Elim. With springs and trees. Cravings? Satisfying them?

10They journeyed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

11They journeyed from the Red Sea and camped in the desert of Sin.

12They journeyed from the desert of Sin and camped in Dophkah.

Camp 2,3,4: Red Sea, Sin, Dophkah

It is interesting to me – Sin is connected to fear in this context. Ok. Let’s keep going.

13They journeyed from Dophkah and camped in Alush.

14They journeyed from Alush and camped in Rephidim, but there there was no water for the people to drink.

15They journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the Sinai desert.

16They journeyed from the Sinai desert and camped in Kivroth hataavah.

4 camps. Again, camp 2 dealing with Ego – no water. They had to rely on Hashem.

17They journeyed from Kivroth hataavah and camped in Hazeroth

18They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah.

19They journeyed from Rithmah and camped in Rimmon perez.

20They journeyed from Rimmon perez and camped in Libnah.

21They journeyed from Libnah and camped in Rissah.

22They journeyed from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah.

23They journeyed from Kehelathah and camped in Mount Shepher.

24They journeyed from Mount Shepher and camped in Haradah.

25They journeyed from Haradah and camped in Makheloth.

26They journeyed from Makheloth and camped in Tahath.

27They journeyed from Tahath and camped in Tarah.

28They journeyed from Tarah and camped in Mithkah.

29They journeyed from Mithkah and camped in Hashmonah.

30They journeyed from Hashmonah and camped in Moseroth.

31They journeyed from Moseroth and camped in Benei jaakan.

32They journeyed from Benei jaakan and camped in Hor hagidgad.

33They journeyed from Hor hagidgad and camped in Jotbathah.

34They journeyed from Jotbathah and camped in Abronah.

35They journeyed from Abronah and camped in Etzion geber.

36They journeyed from Ezion geber and camped in the desert of Zin, which is Kadesh.

5 journeys of 4 camps with nothing noted.

37They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.

38Aaron the kohen ascended Mount Hor at the Lord’s bidding and died there, on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year of the children of Israel’s exodus from Egypt.

Camp 2 in this set? Aaron dies. We know 40 years have passed. Prior, we had 8 sets of 4 camps. 32 camps. This means they set up camp 34 times in a little over 40 years.

39Aaron was one hundred and twenty three years old when he died at Mount Hor.

40The Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelt in the south, in the land of Canaan, heard that the children of Israel had arrived.

41They journeyed from Mount Hor and camped in Zalmonah.

42They journeyed from Zalmonah and camped in Punon.

What is interesting here? Aaron dies and they don’t jump right into grief. They camped in fear.

We think people should be grieving – when they are camped in fear. This is an important less. Fear comes before grief. Fear is what creates denial.

Courage through fear allows us to grieve – and heal. And this was the 9^th journey through these four camps. Let’s see where this goes:

43They journeyed from Punon and camped in Oboth.

44They journeyed from Oboth and camped at the ruins of Abarim, on the Moabite boundary.

45They journeyed from the ruins and camped in Dibon gad.

46They journeyed from Dibon gad and camped in Almon diblathaimah.

This was the 10^th journey.

47They journeyed from Almon diblathaimah and camped in the mountains of Abarim, in front of Nebo.

48They journeyed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

49They camped along the Jordan from Beth jeshimoth to Abel shittim, in the plains of Moab.

And isn’t it interesting. On this 11^th journey, they end halfway. From the mountains? To the Jericho. What came next was fear. Moses was going to die. They would need courage to cross the Jordan. This is a beautiful picture!

What is your take? What are you in denial about? Where do you need courage?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 23 Tamuz,5783

Today is an interesting day in our Torah journey. We actually have a double portion that is straddling two Parshot. We have one portion closing out Parsha Mattot, and then a second portion in Parsha Mase’ei. This means “Journeys.” We go from “Branches/Tribes” to “Journeys.”

We went from “Balak” to “Pinchas” – from the depths of despair to a lantern. Then we discussed the tribes and branches that came out of the light shining on our despair, and it seems like NOW we are ready for our journey ahead.

Let’s dig in.

We close Mattot out with a resolution of the cliff hanger from yesterday. Rueben and Gad had approached Moses and and asked to remain outside the promise land. Moses thought this was out of cowardice – but they said they would fight for their families in the promised land.

Moses responds in our portion today:

if you do this thing you’ve said
if you arm yourselves for battle before God
if your army crosses the Jordan before God
if your army stays until God has driven out His enemies before Him
if your army stays until the land is conquered before God

If Reuben and Gad do those things…then…

you may return to the land here you have claimed
you will be free of any obligation to God and Israel
this land will become your heritage before God.

Moses warns them if they do NOT do these these things – “your sin will find you.” That’s pretty ominous. But instead, they say to Moses – “Your servants will do as my master commands!”

They will leave behind their children, their wives, and their cattle.

Then Moses then gave Gad and Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh the kingdom of the Amorites (that belonged to King Sihon) and kingdom of Bashan (that belonged to King Og).

And that is where the parsha Mattot ends.

As we transition to the new Parsha, Mase’ei, there is a quote that I think is important:

“At every stage of your journey there will be obstacles which, however unpleasant they may seem, have the positive effect of helping you grow. Look at obstacles as transformational tools. Remember that there are no shortcuts-and that every stage is crucial to your soul’s journey.”

Our journey ahead begins with obstacles. These may be unpleasant things – but have the positive effect of helping us grow. These are transformational tools. There are no shortcuts. This is crucial.

Parsha Mase’ei is the final Parsha in the book of Numbers. We will finish out this fourth book of the Torah and transition into the fifth – Deuteronomy.

One of the things I have been learning are about “segments” of our lives. We transition from one segment to another – one job to the next, one career to the next, adding children to our family, children moving away for college, etc. If we look at life in these “segments” we know a new segment will be coming at some point. So working to set an intent as we transition from one segment to the next? That is super important.

What transitions are you going through? What do we want to bring with us into this new segment? What do we want to leave behind? I am speaking within us? What habits and patterns do we want to release? What do we want to change?

As we dig into the first portion of Mase’ei, we read about 42 Journeys:

1-12 are the journeys from Exodus to Sinai
- This is the story of the journey of being freed from slavery to the giving of direction. Are you at the stage of life where you have just been released from what has been holding you back? Are you getting ready to receive direction for the next segment of your life? These are the questions to answer here.
13-15 is the short journey from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea
- This is the story of being given the Torah/Direction and traveling to the promised land the first time, and the spies giving a bad report that caused the Israelites to wander for 40 years in the desert. It’s interesting the short space of the journey from being given direction, to accepting a bad report. The question if you are in this stage of your journey – who are you listening to? Are you bringing in positive reports from people like Caleb and Joshua? Or are you listening to the 10 spies who were naysayers? If you are struggling with a choice, who you listen to for advice is crucial
16-33 are the Desert wanderings
- Are you feeling like you were given direction, but now you are wandering with no direction at all? Maybe you aren’t wandering as much as walking through a labyrinth. You are still moving towards the promised land – but if you fight against this journey, it will be frustrating. The goal here is NOT to frustrate you – it’s to be happy in the journey and understand you are going to the promised land – but its a long route. If you are Joshua or Caleb in this journey? There can be peace. If you are NOT, it’s going to be tough. As my therapist tells me all the time “embrace the suck.” It’s a part of the journey!
34-42 is the final journey Towards the Land of Israel – the promised land
- Are you almost there? So close you can taste it? This part of your life may be about preparing for war/conflict/battle. You have what you need – you are getting ready. Some questions to consider; What do we need to let go of to enter the promised land? What do we need to bring with us? Are we going to camp and live outside the promised land, but fight in it? Or are we all in and going into the land to settle? There is NO judgment in this segment.

And this is where today’s portion closes. Where are you at in your journey? Which of the segments feels most real for you? Maybe it isn’t one? Maybe some are overlapping. For me? I am definitely in that first segment – I have recently felt free and liberated, but I am working towards a solid direction for the next segment of my life. That has been my almost 18 month journey that started on January 13, 2022. Tomorrow (July 13, 2023) is a “double birth” (9 months x 2) and I am excited to receive whatever Hashem provides for me as direction moving forward! I am at the base of Sinai! Where are you?

Those are my thoughts – what about yours? Where are you?

5782:

Mase’ei:

As we transition to the new Parsha, Mase’ei, there is a quote that I think is important:

Our journey ahead begins with obstacles. These may be unpleasant things – but have the positive effect of helping us grow. These are transformational tools. There are no shortcuts. This is crucial.

Parsha Mase’ei is the final Parsha in the book of Numbers. We will finish out this fourth book of the Torah and transition into the fifth – Deuteronomy.

As we dig into the first portion of Mase’ei, we read about 42 Journeys:

1-12 are the journeys from Exodus to Sinai
- This is the story of the journey of being freed from slavery to the giving of direction. Are you at the stage of life where you have just been released from what has been holding you back? Are you getting ready to receive direction for the next segment of your life? These are the questions to answer here.
13-15 is the short journey from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea
- This is the story of being given the Torah/Direction and traveling to the promised land the first time, and the spies giving a bad report that caused the Israelites to wander for 40 years in the desert. It’s interesting the short space of the journey from being given direction, to accepting a bad report. The question if you are in this stage of your journey – who are you listening to? Are you bringing in positive reports from people like Caleb and Joshua? Or are you listening to the 10 spies who were naysayers? If you are struggling with a choice, who you listen to for advice is crucial
16-33 are the Desert wanderings
- Are you feeling like you were given direction, but now you are wandering with no direction at all? Maybe you aren’t wandering as much as walking through a labyrinth. You are still moving towards the promised land – but if you fight against this journey, it will be frustrating. The goal here is NOT to frustrate you – it’s to be happy in the journey and understand you are going to the promised land – but its a long route. If you are Joshua or Caleb in this journey? There can be peace. If you are NOT, it’s going to be tough. As my therapist tells me all the time “embrace the suck.” It’s a part of the journey!
34-42 is the final journey Towards the Land of Israel – the promised land
- Are you almost there? So close you can taste it? This part of your life may be about preparing for war/conflict/battle. You have what you need – you are getting ready. Some questions to consider; What do we need to let go of to enter the promised land? What do we need to bring with us? Are we going to camp and live outside the promised land, but fight in it? Or are we all in and going into the land to settle? There is NO judgment in this segment.