Matot-Masei
This week we have a double parasha with Matot and Masei, which translates to “Tribes” and “Journeys” respectively. This is also the final parasha for the book of Numbers. So, tomorrow when we finish chanting the maftir, the final part of the portion, we will add the words that end each of the 5 books of the Torah, CHAZAK, CHAZAK, V’NITCHAZEK … Be strong, be strong, and we will be strengthened.
These parashas speak on the importance of vows and promises and teach us the importance of having our actions match our words.
We begin with God commanding through Moses that if a man or woman makes a vow to Adonai or makes a formal promise, that they must carry it out. A vow made by a wife may be cancelled by her husband if he hears it and acts on the same day it is made. This chapter also makes it clear that to violate an oath or vow is a serious sin and so vows should not be made lightly.
The parasha continues by recording the military campaign against the Midianites for their participation in causing our people to sin at Peor. It is in this chapter that we learn that the wicked prophet Balaam was the one behind the plan to have the men of Israel sleep with pagan women to cause God’s wrath to fall upon us. Balaam is found and killed during the battles for his sinful actions. Balaam’s death represents the final fate of all those who would imitate his prideful behavior, known as the “Way of Balaam.”
The final chapter of parashat Matot records a major incident between Moses and the tribes of Reuben and Gad. These tribes wanted to settle in the land east of Jordan, and the boundary of Israel. Moses reminded them of the vow they had made to help conquer the Promised Land and that if they were to abandon their people to claim this land they would come under God’s wrath. The leaders of Reuben and Gad responded to Moses by promising to help with the conquering of the Promised Land. With their vow made Moses made it known that if they kept their word, they would have the land they desired, but if they did not completely follow their promises then they would experience Adonai’s anger.
Parasha Masei is written to the second generation that was to inherit the land of Israel, and serves as a summary of the wanderings of our people in the wilderness.
There are 40 sites listed in this chapter where our people encamped. The number 40 is significant since it is the number of years we lived in the wilderness as the first generation passed away. We should probably understand this list as stylized by Moses to serve as a reminder for the generations to come. The stylizing of the journeys listed in this chapter is interesting. If you were to read the list on its own, you would think the journey went very well. Spoiler … we know differently!
God commanded the new generation of our people to utterly destroy the Canaanites. We were to destroy every religious site and item they possessed and to take complete possession of the Land. Israel was to be divided by tribe and then further subdivided by family.
We are reminded again by God to fulfill our promise to take full possession of the Land. Should we decide not to complete our promise then we have the clear warning of constant trouble from those we did not destroy. God also promises to remove us from the Land just like He will do with the Canaanites if we do not follow His command.
Chapter 34 contains the boundaries for the land of Israel and lists the tribal chiefs for the purpose of establishing an historical record.
Chapter 35 contains commandments concerning cities of refuge. God commanded our people to establish six cities of refuge for those who had unintentionally killed another person. These cities were to be a safe place for them to live until they could be brought to trial, and served as protection from family members seeking revenge.
For cases involving the death penalty, at least two witnesses were required to convict a person of murder. A person on trial could not offer payment to escape execution, but must be executed if they intentionally spilled the blood of another.
Chapter 36 concludes the book of Numbers and records an interesting incident. The daughters of a deceased tribal head were concerned that if they married outside their tribe they would lose their family’s land inheritance. The women went to Moses to seek council on how to resolve this predicament and through the God’s word, he allowed them to marry whomever they wanted within their own tribe. In this way the book of Numbers ends on a positive note, with godly women seeking and obeying the Word and the will of the God.
One of the major themes throughout parasha Matot and Masei is the importance of keeping a vow, oath, or promise. We began Matot with instructions concerning the limited times a vow could be broken without causing a serious issue.
Parasha Masei ended with the story about how a family of daughters and their tribe were concerned about keeping their inheritance in Israel, an inheritance promised by God. So, throughout these parashas we can see the seriousness of vows and that there are serious consequences for breaking them.
There is an important theme here that our actions must follow our words. What we say needs to be what we do and the promises we make not to be taken lightly, especially with God. Unfortunately, history shows our failure to match our actions to our words.
In the first parasha of this book, our people started on a high note, following the commands of God, but then things begin to take a sinful turn. The sin of unbelief of the generation that left Egypt was so great that they were condemned to die in the wilderness. In chapter 33 Moses chooses to leave out these shameful events. This is intentional by Moses because the sins of the previous generation were not being held against this next generation; they had the opportunity to succeed where their parents had failed, and Moses implores them to not repeat those mistakes.
The rest of our people’s history is well known to us with all the subsequent blessings and sufferings that came from obedience or disobedience. It is a major theme, and the reality of being human that we walk through this life in many ways as hypocrites. We make promises we may never intend to keep, making promises without thinking, or failing to match our actions to our words.
As we come to the end of the book of Numbers each of us needs to ask ourselves what vows we have made and how we are doing with keeping them. We are 10 weeks away from Yom Kippur, the day when we look deeply into our souls and take an accounting of our actions. We implore God to annul the vows which we were unable to keep. We make ourselves vulnerable as we admit our shortcomings in front of God and our fellow human beings. As we examine ourselves, we seek to walk through life with holiness in mind. But how is that walking going right now? What small step can I take to repair the world that is so broken. The list of sins found in our High Holy Day liturgy suggests some shortcomings. But our words are meaningless if they don’t lead to actions.
This Shabbat we begin the month of Av. We commemorate on the 9th of the month the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and many other tragedies in Jewish life which are attributed to this on date. We allow ourselves to hit rock bottom, but then we enter the month of Elul which immediately precedes Rosh Hashanah, a month whose name is an acronym for the Hebrew phrase “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li – I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” It is a month in which we hear the call of love through the shofar, a love that beckons us to remember that our actions speak louder than our words. When we muster up the strength to confront our humanity with all its shortcomings and beauty. Be strong, be strong, and together as a community, we will be strengthened. Chazak, chazak v’nitchazek.
