Parshat Matos Masei 5780
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the beginning of the second of this week’s parshiyot, parshat Masei, the different places Bnei Yisrael travelled to and encamped upon leaving Egypt. The first pasuk in the parsha states, Eileh Masi Bnei Yisrael Asher Yatzu M’Eretz Mitzrayim. These are the travels of Bnei Yisrael who went out from Egypt. While it’s true that these travels began upon leaving Mitzrayim, by stressing the words Asher Yatzu M’Eretz Mitzrayim, the Torah seems to be implying a stronger connection between the travels and encampments and Yetzias Mitzrayim.
The Sfas Emes teaches that there were forty-two travels brought in our parsha, as Rashi teaches on the first pasuk. And in addition, after Aharon died and the Ananei Ha’Kavod left, some members of Bnei Yisrael tried to return to Mitzrayim and went back eight encampments (see the Yerushalmi, Sotah, Chapter 1, Halacha 10). This totals fifty, and corresponds to the words of the Zohar Hakadosh which teaches that Yetzias Mitzrayim is mentioned in the Torah fifty times.
The fifty times Yetzias Mitzrayim is mentioned represents the growth process of leaving the 49 levels of impurity of Mitzrayim until they reached the level of purity sufficient to receive the Torah. And this is also expressed in the forty-nine days we count from Yetzias Mitzrayim until we received the Torah on day number fifty. And the fifty encampments of Bnei Yisrael are the details, the Prat, of the Clal, the event of Yetzias Mitzrayim, the spiritual freedom from the Tumah of Egypt.
When Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim, they left B’Rechush Gadol, with great wealth which they took from the Egyptians. The Sfas Emes understands that this Rechush Gadol, wasn’t merely a physical wealth, but a spiritual one as well. It expresses the idea of being able to extract whatever positive and holiness which can be garnered from every place and experience. And just as Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim and were able to leave with having removed whatever holiness there might have been, so too during these fifty travels, every possible element of holiness was extracted and taken with them. There was an ongoing Yetzias Mitzrayim taking place during their travels as well.
This notion of making the most of our travels and our experiences is expressed elsewhere as well, particularly by Yaakov Avinu. Yaakov left home and suffered great hardship in the house of Lavan. When Yaakov leaves the house of Lavan, the Torah tells us (Bereishis, Chapter 31, Pasuk 2), Vayar Yaakov es Pnei Lavan, V’Hineih Eiynenu Imo Kismol Shilshom. Yaakov looked at the face of Lavan, and it wasn’t the same as it had been previously. The Ohr Gedalyahu teaches that the change in Lavan’s face expresses the idea that anything positive in Lavan Yaakov had already removed and extracted. It was time to move on.
And when Yaakov leaves and is about to meet up with Eisav, he davens to Hashem and says (Bereishis, Chapter 32, Pasuk 11), Ki B’Makli Avarti es Ha’Yarden Hazeh, V’Atah Hayisi L’Shnei Machanos. I crossed the Jordan just with my stick, and now I have two camps worth of possessions. Yaakov looks back upon his travels and acknowledges that he started out with nothing and how far he has come. Yaakov has survived the house of Lavan and he is soon going to arrive home with his own version of Rechush Gadol.
The travels of Bnei Yisrael and the travels of Yaakov Avinu are an important lesson for all of us. Firstly, we must make the most of our travels in life and figure out how to take out the positive and the holy from everything. It is precisely through this process that we are able to grow. And when we look back, as Yaakov did, and see how far we have come, it helps us move forward. For we bow our heads in thanks and awe to Hashem for His guidance and direction through life’s travels. And only by acknowledging our dependence on Him, are we able to move forward and gain the most from the travels that still await us.
Good Shabbos
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