Masei

“It’s not the destination it’s the journey.” I hate when people say that. I pretty much hate any cliché, to be fair. However, for the parsha called “Journeys” (Masei) this saying seemed highly relevant. Turns out it is a biblical cliché so what can you do.

The parsha starts out telling us about the 42 different “journeys” or encampments made along the way to the promised land. None of the plot points are mentioned except the death of Aaron on Mount Hor; just the names of the places that the Israelites stopped. It then goes on to enumerate the borders of the promised land and to remind everyone of their promised inheritance. Why do we need to be reminded of the various stops along the way? Why is each stop considered a journey unto itself? In my humble opinion, I think that the Torah is not telling us “it’s not the destination but the journey” bur rather it IS the destination AND the journey. Of course the destination is important, so important that we must be reminded of the exact borders of the land. But each stop along the way had its own significance and taught the people the lessons they needed to learn before they could even begin to think about entering Eretz Yisrael. It all happened for a reason; every single moment of the last 40 years of wandering.

Technically speaking, I am a citizen of the State of Israel. So what exactly is my destination if I am already here? Good question, reader. Very thoughtful. Living in the land of Israel is very important but we aren’t yet done. We aren’t done settling the land, first of all. There are many pieces of land that belong to Eretz Yisrael that aren’t currently a part of the State of Israel. Not to get political or anything (I understand that such a thing might currently be disastrous in the search for a peaceful Middle East…it’s just an ideal for the future of the Jewish people. Calm down, reader). We are still waiting for Moshiach and Beit haMikdash. We still have collective improvements to be made in the way the various factions of Jewish people talk to each other. Jews shouldn’t be fighting other Jews and yet I see and hear plenty of secular people act disgusted at the thought of a haredi Jew or I get called an unpleasant name by a religious Jew because my skirt doesn’t completely cover my knees. 

Not only do we have a collective need for communal harmony, but we also have an abundant need for bettering ourselves. I want so desperately to be at peace with myself and my past and to have everyone around me feel respected at all times. Those are my own personal goals and I am sure you have your own, too. Basically, to conclude, if you aren’t currently located in Eretz Yisrael you need to get here even if it takes you 42 journeys to do so. Better late than never. And if you are here, then you still have a mountain of work ahead of you. Our own geographic journeys are over but there is still a whole lot of work to do on the inside both individually and communally.