Mattot Massei This week’s parsha relates the wandering of the Jewish people in the desert until after 40 years they finally entered the Land of Israel – their new home. The Torah spends an inordinate number of words describing their travels – “They travelled from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Seen. They travelled from the wilderness of Seen” The question is; why is it necessary to relate all of this? And even if it is, surely the Torah could have said it in a much shorter form – they camped at A, B, C etc.? We know that the 40 years in the desert were a period of spiritual growth and development for the Jewish people. After the episodes of the Golden Calf and the spies this was necessary to prepare them for living in the Land of Israel. Rabbi Twerski explains that each encampment symbolised another step in their path of spiritual growth. Thus, the enumeration of each journey is also an account of their spiritual progress. Often when we are on a journey, we would like to jump to the end point. People who have just started to learn Torah are sometimes anxious to learn Kabbalah – the mystical secrets of Torah. However, in truth reaching for something which we are not prepared for can be worse than futile. The Torah recounts each journey of the Jewish people in this way, to teach us that it is only once they had solidified their attainment at one level that they were ready to move up to the next. This is how we achieve real growth.
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