The Journey or the Destination?
Where have you lived during your life? Have you wished at times you were someplace else or do you embrace the place where you are? Have you ever found that at first you did not understand why you ended up somewhere, but over time realized that it was meant to be? These questions form the essence of the life message God conveys in the beginning of the Torah portion of Massei.
Every word in the Torah is like diamonds and rubies and no word is without meaning or significance. Yet, God expands in great detail all of the places the Jewish people journeyed while traveling in the desert on the way to Israel. It is odd. All of the locations are already recorded as they stopped along the way from Egypt to Israel.
Why does God ask Moshe to record each location again? In fact, the name of the Torah portion Massei, the final one in the book of Bamidbar, records each of the 42 locations by name. What is the purpose and what is the eternal relevance to us? Even more puzzling is that the name of the Parsha is not stations or stops, but rather journeys - even though the reference is to a location where they stopped.
The Baal Shem Tov offers a clue by suggesting that the 42 stations from Egypt to the Promised Land are replayed in the life of every Jew as the soul journeys from its descent onto earth until the end of our lives when the soul returns to God. The stops are not merely locations, but lessons and opportunities for growth.
Rashi answers our questions by explaining that the locations are enumerated to demonstrate God's kindnesses. Rabbi Tanuchuma in the Midrash expands this notion via the example of a king whose child was sick and traveled to a far away location to heal him. While they were returning from the their successful trip, the father reminded the child of all of the stops along the way, "Here is where we slept, here is where you hurt your head, here we met this person." The father is reviewing the places to demonstrate to the child that no location was without some meaning and purpose. Each place contributes to his overall journey and progress in life.
In life, we are all challenged to ask ourselves what can we learn from each "stop" in life? Although we may not always understand when we might pause, lose our momentum, or stay put in a certain place, we should realize that from God's perspective this pause is not taking away from our life journey, but adding to it. Rather than wish we were somewhere else, how can we find a way to "embrace the place."
God enumerates the names of each location to stress what we learn from each place - whether in moments of growth or even setbacks - helps define and redefine the direction we are going and ultimately the journey we take throughout our lives.
As we enter the nine days of Av, may we all not only mourn the past but spend time in personal introspection into how we each can create a world worthy of the rebuilding of the Temple when we will return to Israel and there will be peace on earth.