A Tidbit of Torah – Parshiyot Mattot-Masei 5784

The second of our two Torah portions designated for this Shabbat opens with:

These were the marches of the Israelites who started out from the land of Egypt, troop by troop, in the charge of Moses and Aaron. Moses recorded the starting points of their various marches as directed by the Lord. And these marches, by starting points, were as follows…
Bamidbar/Numbers 33:1-2

A great many commentators are drawn to the repetition of language, especially in verse 2, as well as the reversal in order of the terminology. I was particularly struck by an interpretation offered by Rabbi Israel of Ruzhin.1 Rabbi Israel begins by quoting the great medieval French commentator Rashi’s general principle that the Torah uses the term “these” to negate preceding items and uses the term “and these” to indicate an addition to something previously stated.

Rabbi Israel applies this principle to our verses, asserting that the Torah’s intention here is to teach each person the importance of reflecting on the past, recognizing and accepting mistakes made along life’s journey, and then undertake appropriate corrective actions and changes in behavior. This, Rabbi Israel says, is why Moshe includes within his recounting of the marches of the Israelites those episodes in which they failed to live up to Divine decrees. Moshe hopes that learning from these failures will impel the next generation of the people to avoid such mistakes and grow more sensitive to God’s expectations.

Rabbi Israel sees this as an enduring model both for personal growth as a Jew and the collective moral and ethical development of the Jewish people. Only an honest reckoning with our past, embracing proudly moments of accomplishment and being discomfited by moments of failure, can give us greater self-awareness as a community, highlighting our journey together, and acting as a guidepost into the future.

Shabbat Shalom –

Rabbi David M. Eligberg

1 Israel Friedman of Ruzhin (5 October 1796 – 9 October 1850) was a 19th-century Hasidic rebbe who was also known as Der Heiliger Ruzhiner, “The holy one from Ruzhyn”). Friedman was the first and only Ruzhiner Rebbe. His sons and grandsons each founded their own dynasties, collectively known as the “House of Ruzhin”.