A Taste of Shabbos – Parashat Matot-Masei

Tribes, and Travels: the literal translation of the upcoming last two portions in the book of Numbers. This week is actually the conclusion of the Torah, since the fifth book is in a separate category. Many sages like to find a connection between the beginning and end of a Torah text, so I will also try to do so.

Meanwhile, the events in these last portions mainly take place just as the Israelites are about to enter the Promised Land. In Matot, two of the twelve tribes want to stay in Trans Jordan where there is a vast amount of land for their cattle. Moshe chastises them for that desire and gets them to agree to go with the other ten tribes into the land to help them fight their enemies, and once the land is settled, they can go back to their preferred location.

The Hassidic masters, as usual, derive a personal lesson from that process. We may have good intentions behind our actions but we still have to consider the effects on others. Nevertheless, our prayers are meant to ask for help in choosing wisely. Thus we are also encouraged to make choices that are aligned with our personal needs and interests at the same time that we rely on Divine guidance.

One example of this combination: In the following portion of Masei, the land of Israel is divided by lottery. However, each tribe also selects a portion of land that is most suited to that tribe’s abilities and concerns. The lottery is not random, but rather an indication of heavenly assistance.  Two containers were set up, one with the names of the tribes and the other with the section of the land. The priest, as in the Yom Kippur service, puts a hand in each and draws forth both a specific tribe and its matching land. The idea is that even when we consciously chose our path in life, G-d ultimately takes us to where we need to be for our soul’s life journey. A similar dynamic for all times is when a new born is given a Hebrew name; the parents chose a name that they are drawn to, but the name is actually a minor form of prophecy that is deeply related to the nature of the soul.

Another personal application of the desert journey is a well-known teaching of the Baal Shem Tov that the 42 stops in the desert parallel (not just Jackie Robinson’s number) 42 journeys each soul must take during one lifetime. Though days and circumstances may resemble the day before, each one is uniquely different. This takes us back to the beginning of the Torah which expresses the ten statements of creation- the ten times (actually nine times the word ‘VaYomer is cited, but the sages say we count the first word, ‘Beraisheet’ in a beginning, as an all-inclusive statement) culminating in Shabbat when Menucha, rest, was created. So too in the desert, both the travels and the encampments were all part of the journey away from Egypt and toward ‘Yarden Yericho’- the Jordan river where Jericho was the first stop in Canaan.

The desert trek was like the six weekdays- workdays for us, and the stops were like Shabbat. The Ohr haChaim says that in general, each week is meant to last only seven days, and each Shabbat the world is renewed for another seven days. It is the power of our immersion in the pleasure of Shabbat that helps extend creation for another week. Furthermore, think of the week as a kind of a menorah shape. The central stem is Shabbos; the three days after, carry the radiance from the previous Shabbos, while from Wednesday on, the next three days get their light from the coming Shabbos.

This image gives us insight as to an opinion in the Talmud that if Israel would observe one Shabbat completely, then Mashiach would come. A variant opinion says that if Israel would observe two Sabbaths, then the redemption would come. Which one is correct? Both can be resolved by the above point that the second Shabbat is really a ‘bookend’ for the first, encompassing both the preparation for the coming Shabbos, and the ‘after glow’ from the previous one.

There is a rather trippy Talmudic teaching that talks about people travelling through the desert and forgetting which day of the week it is. So when they want to ‘find’ Shabbos what do they do? One opinion is that they count seven days and make the seventh day Shabbos. Another is the reverse; to commemorate Shabbos on the spot and then to count another six days. How can both be right? One answer is that whenever they choose to keep Shabbos, they should extend some of the Shabbos feeling into the week days, because one of them may actually be Shabbos! The point is the journey from Shabbos to the week and back, is not linear. Like the Jewish calendar in general, it is more like a spiral that takes up back to an origin point, but with a cumulative effect that builds upon the previous weeks, months, and years. As we focus on our personal lives, and revisit how each tribe dealt with their unique challenges and destinies, we need to remember that together with our individual agency, there is a continual Creator guiding us and travelling with us- our own individual ‘GPS’=G-d’s Personal System, that is taking us to the next place we need to be, to grow in the best way possible. And as in the beginning of creation, G-d rested by ‘going inside’ so too Shabbos helps us step back and ‘stop, look, and listen’ and take stock of where we have been to better figure out where we are going. May our Sabbath cessation of weekday concerns, better prepare us for the next stage in our continuing life’s journey!