Parshat Matot - Masei
Parsha Overview
Matot
Moshe teaches the rules and restrictions governing oaths and vows, especially the role of a husband or father in either upholding or annulling a vow. The Bnei Yisrael wage war against Midian. They kill the five Midianite kings, all the males and Bilaam. Moshe is upset that women were taken captive. They were catalysts for the immoral behavior of the Jewish People. He rebukes the officers. The spoils of war are counted and apportioned. The commanding officers report to Moshe that there was not even one casualty among the Bnei Yisrael. They bring an offering that is taken by Moshe and Elazar and placed in the Ohel Mo'ed (Tent of Meeting). The Tribes of Gad and Reuven, who own large quantities of livestock, petition Moshe to allow them to remain on the eastern side of the Jordan River and not enter the western Land of Israel. They explain that the land east of the Jordan is quite suitable grazing land for their livestock. Moshe's initial response is that this request will discourage the rest of the Bnei Yisrael, and that it is akin to the sin of the spies. They assure Moshe that they will first help conquer the Land of Israel, and only then will they go back to their homes on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Moshe grants their request on condition that they uphold their part of the deal.
Masei
The Torah names all 42 encampments of the Bnei Yisrael on their 40-year journey from the Exodus to the crossing of the Jordan River into Eretz Yisrael. Hashem commands the Bnei Yisrael to drive out the Canaanites from the Land of Israel and to demolish every vestige of their idolatry. The Bnei Yisrael are warned that if they fail to completely rid the Land of the Canaanites, those who remain will be “pins in their eyes and thorns in their sides.” The boundaries of the Land of Israel are defined, and the tribes are commanded to set aside 48 cities for the Levites, who do not receive a regular portion in the division of the Land. Cities of refuge are to be established so that someone who unintentionally kills another person may flee there. The daughters of Tzlofchad marry members of their own tribe so that their inheritance will stay in their own tribe. Thus ends the Book of Bamidbar/Numbers, the fourth of the Books of the Torah.
Parsha Insights
Parshat Masei
A Map of the Soul
“These are the journeys of the Children of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt...” (33:1)
The Torah is not a history book. It is a guide to the inner structure of physical reality — and of the soul.
The Baal Shem Tov teaches that the 42 journeys in the Torah portion of Masei are not only the historical journeys of the Jewish People in the wilderness, but also a spiritual map of each individual’s life. From birth — symbolized by Egypt — to the final journey into the World to Come, each of us goes through our own 42 stations. Sometimes we’re climbing; sometimes we’re stuck. Sometimes it feels like we are going backwards. But every stop is part of the plan.
The Torah uses the phrase “These are the journeys” — not “these are the encampments” to emphasize that essence of life is movement, not the resting. We are not defined by where we paused, but by how we moved forward afterward.
Life is a journey, and growth only happens in motion.
These journeys were dictated “by the word of Hashem.” The Divine Presence guides each of our steps — even the detours, even the failures. Every stage has its purpose. There is no such thing as being “off the path,” provided that we allow the journey to bring us closer to Hashem.
Perhaps that’s why the Torah lists even the seemingly “negative” places — the complaints, the rebellions. Because in truth, those low points are also milestones of growth. Teshuva, return, is always available — and often our deepest spiritual development comes precisely in those difficult encampments.
The Torah portion of Masei reminds us: We are each on a journey — unique, winding, and often mysterious. But with emunah, with faith, we can trust that every step — from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael —is a part of a Divine choreography leading us from our beginnings toward our ultimate destination.
