THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION NUMBERS 30:2-36:13 תשרפ טמ ו עסמ־ת י / Parashat Mattot-Masei In this week’s guide… WARNING: Rabbi Jason’s COMMENTARY takes the “journey deeper” theme seriously this week! It’s obviously meaningful to study WHAT the content of a given Torah portion means, but this week we’re going to learn the significance of WHEN we read it (on the calendar). Torah portions are profound on many levels and this week we get a deeper understanding of this reality. More specifically, we discover the power of remembering (even the worst things) as a pathway to hope!.. ............................1 Our NEW TESTAMENT TIE-IN continues our study of the events surrounding Phineas and the conflict with the Midianites. Another character from our recent readings—Balaam—is still lurking in this week’s Torah portion, as well. The tragedy involving Balaam and the Midianite women came to a violent conclusion and in its aftermath, ritual purification was required. This small detail ties into a central New Testament reality, one that is vital to our life in Messiah....................... ............................2 In BY THE NUMBERS we note the conclusion of our journey through Numbers by leaning into its Hebrew name: Bamidbar (which means, “in the wilderness”). There were a specific number of stops during Israel’s wandering “in the wilderness.” What might we learn from this number? What does it connect to in the larger scope of Scripture? And how do we find its significance for our personal journeys? Join us as we journey deeper...By the Numbers.......................................... ............................3 __________________________________________________________________________ OVERVIEW This double Torah portion brings us to the end of the Book of Numbers. Matot means “tribes” and is derived from the words of Numbers 30:1, “Moses spoke to the princes of the tribes of Bnei-Yisrael.” We read about the laws of vows and oaths as well as the story of Israel's war with Midian. This portion also details the tense process of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Mannaseh settling on the east side ofthe Jordan. Massei means “journeys” and is taken from Numbers 33:1, “These are the journeys of Bnei-Yisrael when they came out of Egypt by their divisions under the hand of Moses and Aaron.” In it we find a list of the encampments from Egypt to the plains of Moab. While explaining the land and its borders, Moses introduces the laws of the cities of refuge and more inheritance laws. FUSION GLOBAL WITH RABBI JASON תשרפ טמ ו עסמ־ת י / Weekly Torah Portion – Parashat Mattot-Masei Numbers 30:2-36:13 COMMENTARY by Rabbi Jason Sobel Why do we always read Torah portion Mas'ei during one of the three weeks preceding Tisha B'Av, a day of national tragedies on the Hebrew calendar for the Jewish people (including the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem)? What comfort and hope does it provide for us during these days of mourning historical tragedies? After the Egyptian exile, Israel suffered four additional exiles. They include the Edom-Rome (Edom), the Media-Persian (Media), the Babylonian (Bavel), and the Grecian-Syrian (Yavan) exiles. On the hermeneuticali level of sod (or hidden meaning), these four exiles are alluded to by the first letter of each of the four opening words of this week's Torah portion: elleh mas'ei benei Yisrael—"These are the journeys of the Children of Israel." Thus, this week's Torah portion (parashah in Hebrew) hints at the four future exiles that the people of Israel would have to endure. (1) The Aleph of Elleh / "These" is the first letter of Edom in Hebrew (2) The Mem of mas'ei / "journeys" stands for Media-Persia, Madai in Hebrew (3) The Beit of benei / "children" points to Babylon, Bavel in Hebrew (4) The Yud of Yisrael / "Israel" alludes to Yavan, Greece Furthermore, Rabbi Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulai taught that the two opening words of this portion also allude to the individuals who would redeem Israel from each of these exiles. I. The redemption from Egypt came through Aaron (his name begins with Aleph) and Moses (his name starts with Mem). II. In the days of Haman, God delivered the Jewish people through Esther (her name begins with Aleph) and Mordechai (his name begins with Mem). III. Ultimately, our redemption from our current "Edom-Rome exile" will come through Messiah (which begins with Mem), whose predecessor will be Elijah the Prophet (his name begins with Aleph). These connections allude to the truth that Israel's wilderness wanderings and the four exiles are pregnant with the promise of redemption. In light of this information, it makes sense that this Torah portion is always read sometime during Ben HaMetzarim ("The Narrow Straights"), the three weeks that precede Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. This arrangement reminds us that both our exile and redemption were a part of God's plan from the very beginning. The fact that God controls the destiny and fate of His people is so vital. Even in the Messianic Age, there will continue to be celebrations of Tisha B'Av and the three other biblical fast days as a memorial to God's faithfulness. There will, however, be one significant difference. The Messiah's victory will transform the days of Israel's fasting and sadness into days of feasting and rejoicing. As the prophet Zechariah wrote concerning Israel four minor fasts days: - 1 - This is what the LORD Almighty says: "The fasts of the fourth [the 17th of Tammuz, the days the Babylonians breached the walls of the First Temple], the fast of the fifth [Tisha B'Av, the Day both Temples were destroyed], the seventh [the fast of Gedaliah] and the fast of the tenth months [the fast of the 10th of Tevet, the day Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem leading to the First Temple's destruction] will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace." (Zech 8:19) Let us not forget: we worship the God who declares "the end from the beginning" (Isa 46:10). Even in the Temple's destruction and our people's exile, the Lord had already sown the seed of our final redemption through Messiah Yeshua. On a more personal level, we should recall the words of Rav Shaul, who taught that "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" (Rom 8:28 CJB). The suffering and pain of God's people in exile is a reality, but it isn't the finality. This news should be a source of encouragement and hope when we go through our "personal" exiles. The Lord will wipe every tear from your eye, turn your mourning into dancing, and remove your sackcloth and gird you with joy! NEW TESTAMENT TIE-IN Numbers 31 is a tragic tale, no matter how you look at it. After unwittingly serving as a voice of prophetic blessing to the Children of Israel, the seer Balaam apparently led the Israelites “to be unfaithful to Adonai in the matter of Peor, so that the plague was on the community of Adonai!” (v. 16). That unfaithfulness was explicitly sexual in nature, and culminated with Phineas’ zealous execution of two of the offenders. That incident concluded with the following instructions from the Lord: “Attack the Midianites and strike them dead” (Num 25:17 CSB). This week’s Torah portion picks up where that passage ended. Each of the twelve tribes mobilized one thousand soldiers and they attacked Midian to “carry out Adonai’s vengeance” (Num 31:3). The kings, all the men, and even Balaam were killed (vv. 7-8), but, “Bnei-Yisrael also captured women and sons of Midian, along with all their herds and flocks, and plundered all their goods…They seized all the plunder and all the spoil, both people and animals.” (Num 31:9,11) ancient tombs in Midian This decision to entangle themselves with unclean people and things angered Moses (v. 14) and necessitated ritual purification (v. 19). Fire was the primary method of cleansing. Of course, we no longer engage in these sorts of practices today, but this doesn’t mean that fire plays no part in our story. Fire is a fascinating topic of study in Scripture, but for the scope of this passage, let’s read the Apostle Peter’s words to early believers who endured hardship: “These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua.” (1 Pet 1:7 emphasis added) The first insight worth considering from this passage is that conditional impurity does not negate intrinsic value. We don’t throw away gold simply because it contains impurities. It’s easy for us to feel discouraged or unworthy as we go through the battles of life. Refiner’s fires aren’t kindled for the badness of impurities as much as the value of gold. God is not obsessed with our shortcomings but our value as image-bearers—His children. - 2 - Another truth is that while hardship is never celebrated (like a birthday), it is appreciated because God uses it to bring out the authentic (purest) versions of ourselves. This idea seems to be the essence of what Yeshua’s brother Yakov (aka “James”) meant in his epistle: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:2-3).