Rabbi's Message for Shabbat Matot-Mas’ei, July 17-18 5780

Dear Members and Friends of Kehilat Shalom,
A substantial contrast is presented this week between the Torah reading and Haftarah. The Torah reading comprises two parshas together, Matot-Mas’ei, which mark the end of the Torah book of Bemidbar (Numbers). This reading marks the near-conclusion of the Jews’ 40-year journey in the desert, with Israel about to enter into the Holy Land:
אֵלֶּה הַמִּצְוֺת וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁה אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעַֽרְבֹת מוֹאָב עַל יַרְדֵּן יְרֵחוֹ׃
“These are the commandments and regulations that the LORD enjoined upon the Israelites, through Moses, on the steppes of Moab, at the Jordan near Jericho.” Note that the land of Moab corresponds with territory in the modern-day country of Jordan – to the east of the Jordan river, bordering Israel.
Mas’ei means “journeys (of)”, and the Torah section lists the forty-two stations of the Exodus – the places in the desert in which the Israelites encamped. The verses recount each encampment in sequence, e.g.,
“They journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the Sinai Desert.
“They journeyed from the Sinai Desert and camped in Kivroth Hataavah.
“They journeyed from Kivroth Hataavah and camped in Hazeroth.”
etc.
This detailed travelogue signifies a powerful journey of anticipation. Just as someone concluding a life-changing trip might wish to share every detail of their travels, so too Israel remembers its great voyage of Exodus under G-d’s protection.
The Torah reading outlines in specific detail the geographic boundaries of the land which will be Israel’s. These boundaries have not only historic but halachic impact lasting to this day for the Jewish people. This delineation of sacred territory, planning of borders, and preparation of the Jewish people, all serve to identify the centrality of the land of Israel to the hope and lifeblood of Judaism.
The Haftarah reading, by contrast, takes an ominous tone. It is one of the “tlat depuranuta” – the three Haftarot of Calamity – chastising Israel for their misdeeds, on the brink of the people’s being exiled from the Holy Land.
The prophet Yirmiyahu decries Israel’s betrayal of G-d: “For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the spring of living waters – to dig for themselves wells, broken wells that do not hold water." One of Israel’s ‘two evils’ was that they failed to appreciate what they had. Israel had taken Divine benevolence and protection for granted, and no longer sought out Hashem; they had forsaken the good. The other evil was that they pursued false hopes and ideals. Their worship of foreign idols signified not only a faithless betrayal of G-d, but also a futile pursuit to become like other peoples. When Jews fail to appreciate the presence of G-d in their life, and elevate other people’s gods and ideals over our own, we suffer. And indeed Yirmiayahu foresaw, and the people soon experienced, the tragedy of being cast out.
Just as in biblical times, Jews today still face “two evils” that threaten our people:
▪Failure to appreciate: We are challenged to recognize the great privilege of having a thriving Jewish State of Israel. Millions of Jews, direct descendants of people exiled from countries around the world, depend upon a safe, strong Israel for their survival. To neglect our responsibility to them, and to our Jewish peoplehood, is to transgress. To reject the connection between the Jewish people, Hashem, and the land of Israel, is to reject the very Torah that stands at the heart of Jewish meaning and survival.
▪Pursuit of foreign gods and ideals: It is easy to get caught up in the ideals of our surrounding society. We may find ourselves seeking material prosperity over spiritual flourishing. We may identify with political and philosophical ideologies more than Jewish ones. When we elevate the values and pursuits of the secular world so much so that we reject our Jewish ones, we end up deceived and fragmented as a people.The Torah & Haftarah readings of Matot-Mas’ei remind us to prioritize what is important to us as Jews. Our peoplehood rests on the foundations of G-d’s gifts of Torah and Israel.
As we say when we come to end of a book of Torah,
חזק חזק ונתחזק
“Be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen one another.”
Shabbat shalom!
_________________
Rabbi Leonard Cohen
Kehilat Shalom, Calgary
(403) 850-0106
leonardecohen@gmail.com