Parshat Masei 5782
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week’s parsha the different stations of Bnei Yisrael’s sojourn in the desert. The very first pasuk in the parsha connects their travels with their leaving Mitzrayim, as the pasuk states (Chapter 33, Pasuk 1), אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים. The Sfas Emes learns that the Torah connects the two to teach that just as יציאת מצרים was miraculous, so was their journey in the desert. If so, what is the significance of knowing that the journeys of Bnei Yisrael from place to place in the desert was on a supernatural level?
One of the challenges of living in a world governed by the rules of nature is the difficulty in recognizing Hashem as the Creator of the world. Nature typically serves as a barrier, a Mechitzah, between man and Gd. Living in civilized, settled areas only strengthens this notion that we have everything under control. The existence of a place like the desert where man can’t make it on his own; where man is dependent on Hashem, serves as a testimony and an indication that Gd created the world.
There is a fundamental teaching of the Chidushei Harim that the Sfas Emes brings in parshat Vaera. The Mishnah in Avos (Chapter 5, Mishnah 1) teaches that the world was created in “ten speakings”, בעשרה מאמרות. The word אמר refers to a soft, subtle way of speaking. As the pasuk teaches (Bereishis, Chapter 27, Pasuk 41), ויאמר עשיו בלבו, Eisav said to himself. This expresses the notion that Gd’s presence in the world was subtle, and not so noticeable. This changed with the עשר מכות, Gd intervening in the natural world and creating supernatural events. And the עשר מכות culminated in the עשרת הדברות, Gd revealing Himself to Am Yisrael and giving us the Torah. דבור is a harsh and clear way of speaking, as the brothers say about Yosef (Bereishis, Chapter 42, Pasuk 30), דבר האיש אדוני הארץ אתנו קשות; the man who was the ruler over the land spoke to us harshly. The “harsh” speech of the Dibros represents the idea that this time, it was clear to all that Hashem is the Creator and gave us the Torah.
This is the connection between the מסעות במדבר and יציאת מצרים. Just as the Jews left Egypt only through the miraculous events brought by Gd, so too the ability to survive in the desert is only the result of the kindness and miracles of Hashem. And when we find ourselves in an atmosphere as challenging as the desert, it enables us to fully subjugate ourselves to the will of Hashem. As we read in last week’s Haftarah (Yirmiyahu, Chapter 2, Pasuk 2), זכרתי לך חסד נעוריך אהבת כלולותיך לכתך אחרי במדבר בארץ לא זרועה. The desert is described as an infertile, unpassable area, where Bnei Yisrael blindly followed Hashem. This is the only way we can become close to Hashem; by totally subjugating ourselves and our desires to Him.
Just as there are places where living takes place on a supernatural level and prove the existence of Gd, there are unique times where living is on a supernatural plane. That time is Shabbos. Shabbos is a day of holiness and life on a higher plane, and a day where we need to totally subjugate our will to that of Gd. By keeping Shabbos, we testify that Gd created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day.
It is very popular today to say how essential Shabbos is as a day to disconnect from the world, and from our physical life. But that misses the whole point of Shabbos. We keep Shabbos because we subjugate ourselves to the will of Gd. We would love to work and make more money, but we are prohibited from doing so. We don’t keep Shabbos out of convenience; we keep it out of obligation. And just as in the desert, we follow blindly whether we can see ourselves making it through on the other end, the same notion applies to Shabbos.
The Sfas Emes teaches that their experience in the desert was a necessary prelude to entering Eretz Yisrael. The Medrash teaches that Eretz Yisrael is one of the presents given to Bnei Yisrael that can only be acquired through suffering. And the challenges of the desert prepared them for the challenges of Eretz Yisrael. But Bnei Yisrael subjugating themselves to the will of Hashem in the desert caused them to merit the Land of Israel, the basis of all civilization and the land from which the creation extended.
Good Shabbos
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