Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
(א) אֵ֜לֶּה מַסְעֵ֣י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָצְא֛וּ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לְצִבְאֹתָ֑ם בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְאַהֲרֹֽן׃
These were the marches of Benei Yisrael, who left Egypt, troop by troop, led by Moshe and Aharon.
This introduces a list of every one of the 42 places in the מִדְבָּר (midbar, wilderness) where Benei Yisrael stopped along their journey to Eretz Yisrael.
Why do we need this list? Does it add something to what we’ve already learned through the whole book of Bemidbar?
Rashi offers two explanations.
לָמָּה נִכְתְּבוּ הַמַּסָּעוֹת הַלָּלוּ? לְהוֹדִיעַ חֲסָדָיו שֶׁל מָקוֹם, שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁגָּזַר עֲלֵיהֶם לְטַלְטְלַם וְלַהֲנִיעָם בַּמִּדְבָּר, לֹא תֹאמַר שֶׁהָיוּ נָעִים וּמְטֻלְטָלִים מִמַּסָּע לְמַסָּע כָּל אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה וְלֹא הָיְתָה לָהֶם מְנוּחָה…
וְרַבִּי תַנְחוּמָא דָרַשׁ בּוֹ דְּרָשָׁה אַחֶרֶת: מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיָה בְנוֹ חוֹלֶה וְהוֹלִיכוֹ לְמָקוֹם רָחוֹק לְרַפֹּאתוֹ. כֵּיוָן שֶׁהָיוּ חוֹזְרִין הִתְחִיל אָבִיו מוֹנֶה כָל הַמַּסָּעוֹת, אָמַר לוֹ, כָּאן יָשַׁנְנוּ, כָּאן הוֹקַרְנוּ, כָּאן חָשַׁשְׁתָּ אֶת רֹאשְׁךָ וְכוּ':
Why are these marches recorded here? To tell us about God’s kindness. Although God decreed that they would have to wander in the wilderness, you should not think that they wandered without any rest…
R. Tanhuma gave another explanation, with a mashal (parable). It’s like a king whose son was sick and whom he took to a faraway place for treatment. On the way home, the father would recall the stops along their journey, saying to his son, “Here we slept, here we got cold, here you had that headache, etc.”
According to Rashi’s first answer, the list of stops gives us information about God’s kindness to Benei Yisrael.
According to Rashi’s second answer, the list of stops is a chance for Benei Yisrael to reflect back on their journey with God, and to appreciate how there were a lot of tough moments along the way, but they seem to have ended up in a good place together (finally about to go into Eretz Yisrael).
- What’s it like to reminisce on the way home from a trip? Why do you think people like to remember the stories of things that happen to them? How can it impact our experience?
- Explain Rashi’s two answers in your own words. What is each one adding to our understanding of the pesukim?
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