STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS MATOS-MASEI 5779
“THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY”
An elderly man was asked what it's like to become old. He responded, "I don't know; I'm still learning.”
This week marks the Shloshim for my beloved Bubby, Fruma bas Lieber a’h. During the last twenty years, when I would ask Bubby how she was doing, she would often say, “Dani, I’m getting old!” I would always reply, “As long as you’re only getting old Bubby, and you’re not old yet!”
Bubby’s life
was a long journey that began in a small village called Tarnagot, in Poland.
The journey passed through Siberia and included much suffering there. From
there it continued in Samarkand in Uzbekistan where she met an orphaned scholar
who became her husband of almost fifty years. Their first child was born there,
before they made their way to New York through Paris.
Their journey
continued, for a brief time in the then nascent city of Lakewood, NJ, and then
as the Rabbi and Rebbitzin of Anshei Slonim on the Lower East Side of Manhattan
for a few decades, until the Shul was forced to close its doors in the 1970s.
Zaydei was part of the Agudas Harabonim and became a mashgiach for kashrus.
After Zaydei’s
untimely passing in 1988, Bubby began the next phase of her life as a widow.
She remained in her apartment filled wall to wall with Zaydei’s seforim on the
Lower East Side, and would come to visit her children in Monsey each Shabbos.
When she was no longer able to live alone, she moved to an assisted living
facility in Monsey, until her passing a month ago at the age of 96.
Bubby was the
last of her siblings to pass, and now the book of her long and often arduous,
yet rewarding and spiritually enriched journey, has come to its rightful close.
Parshas Masei begins by delineating the forty-two encampments of the nation during their forty-year sojourn in the desert.
It is
axiomatic that the Torah does not contain an extra letter. Every letter and
word contains myriad ideas and lessons that can be gleaned. Why then does the
Torah list the name of every place Klal Yisroel passed through? What difference
does it make to us if Klal Yisroel dwelled in places called Yatva or Chor
Hagidgad?
The answer lies in the Torah's terminology. The
pasuk[1] says,
"Moshe wrote their findings according to their journeys at the bidding of
Hashem, and these were their journeys according to their findings." What
were their 'findings' in the desert and what did those findings have to do with
their travels?
Life itself is
an elongated journey. Some components of the journey are physical, others spiritual,
and others psychological. But every component of life is part of that journey.
One cannot cross the finish line without having traversed every step of the
road leading there.
The Torah is
teaching us that every journey is a 'finding' and every step of life must be
seen as part of a growth process. Even the setbacks of life that seem to hinder
our growth are ultimately part of our growth.
The Torah
makes it a point to list every one of the nation’s travels to symbolize that
every one of those forty-two encampments was vital for them to arrive at the
Promised Land.
Life
does not present itself with clear answers and goals. The struggle of life is
for one to seek out his purpose and to find his place. Hashem also sets certain
obstacles in one's way in order to bring out certain abilities he may not know
he has. When one's back is against the wall, he discovers capabilities he was
never aware of. The road may not always be smooth and direct, but it all leads
to his ultimate destination.
There was a time during the life of the Avnei Nezer[2] when his doctor instructed him to refrain from any in-depth study. As can be imagined, it was extremely difficult for the renown and brilliant scholar, and he was extremely troubled with the restriction.
During that
time, he met his father-in-law, the Kotzker Rebbe[3]. When
the rebbe inquired about his welfare, the Avnei Nezer replied that it was very
difficult for him that he was unable to learn during that time.
The Kotzker
Rebbe replied that in Parshas Matos, after the war against Midyan, Hashem
instructed Moshe to take an inventory of the spoils of the captured people and
animals and to divide them[4].
Moshe Rabbeinu
was the leader of the nation, the one who led them out of Egypt amidst
incredible miracles, the one who brought the Torah down from heaven, and the
only mortal to have direct communication with Hashem on demand. And now he had
to be an accountant. But Moshe Rabbeinu embraced that mission like he embraced
every other instruction of G-d throughout the previous forty years. If that’s
what G-d wanted from him, he was ready and willing to do it.
The Kotzker
told his son-in-law that our mission in life is to fulfill whatever Hashem
wants from us in any given situation. If at that moment he was unable to learn
in depth then that is Hashem’s will for him and he should embrace it, even if
it’s personally challenging.
Sefer Vayikra opens with the words: “And Hashem called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of the Meeting saying." Why does the pasuk begin that Hashem called to Moshe and spoke to him; why couldn’t it simply say that Hashem spoke to Moshe?
The Slonimer Rebbe zt'l explained that the Torah is teaching us that one must view every occurrence in life as a calling from Hashem.
Sefer Vayikra opens with the words: “And Hashem called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of the Meeting saying." Why does the pasuk begin that Hashem called to Moshe and spoke to him; why couldn’t it simply say that Hashem spoke to Moshe?
The Slonimer Rebbe zt'l explained that the Torah is teaching us that one must view every occurrence in life as a calling from Hashem.
If one is wary
that Hashem is constantly calling out to him through the situations of life,
then the person will recognize that it is mission from Hashem.
The Gemara[5] relates that Rabbi Yochanan would stand before old Armenian (i.e. gentile) men simply because of their life experience. Rabbi Yochanan felt that anyone who has lived life for many years, even if he hasn’t accomplished much, is worthy of respect because life is an experience and experience is the greatest teacher.
Every
facet of life is a building block. Even the obstacles of life have tremendous
purpose. "Eileh masei B'nai Yisroel- These are the travels of B'nai
Yisroel". Every place is mentioned, since every place contributed to their
growth. That is not just the story of the Jewish people but the story of each
and every one of us.
“Assess the spoils of the captives”
“And Hashem
called to Moshe”
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW
Rebbe/Guidance Counselor – Heichal HaTorah
Principal – Ohr Naftoli- New Windsor
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