Masaay, The Meaning Of The Many Masaot Meanderings

Why does the parasha outline the 42 places where the Jews traveled? Do we really need to know the exact names of the places? What do we learn from this? Here are various responses given throughout the ages;

Rambam writes that by recording where we have been we are recording for posterity a verification of a very unlikely story, that Jews were living in the desert for 40 years.

Rashi gives two interpretations; One is that this list recalls the loving memories of each place, as a father might reminisce with his son over places they had been together. It is a tribute to the love which G-d and the Jews feel toward this period of history, despite all the sins on the way. The other idea is that Moshe delineated the places so as to point out that we should not think that the Jews wandered constantly for 40 years but rather that most of the wandering was at the beginning and the end of the 40 years. This conveys the notion, that on the whole, we need to look at the bright side and be appreciative of a life which could have been worse.

Two medieval commentators, Rashi from France and Seforno from Spain suggest two almost opposite purposes for the recording of this travelogue. Rashi says that it shows the khasdo shel makom, the kindness of G-d, to record for posterity the kindness of G-d in providing for us for 40 years in the desert. But the Spanish commentator, Seforno says that it is not to show how good G-d was to us but on the contrary, it shows zechutam shel yisrael, our merit, to declare before G-d how remarkable the Jews were in being willing to walk and march into the desert and follow G-d for 40 years in an uninhabitable environ. Then there is a debate as to who wrote down these places, G-d or Moshe. Depending on which view you take, we have then four views;

1. G-d saying how great the Jews were. 2. G-d saying how kind he was to the Jews. 3. The people are saying how trusting of G-d they were or 4. the people are saying how great G-d was to them.

The Tzror Hamor, Rabbi Avraham Sebag, who was himself expelled both from Spain and Portugal, says that the places correspond to the 42 names of Hashem, and in that way, the Torah ends on the names of G-d. He also says that just as Moshe recorded the 42 places we wandered in the desert, so one day will be written down all the thousands of wanderings we have experienced throughout history. The Jews in the desert didn’t deserve redemption and neither do we. But just as they were redeemed so will we be redeemed.

The Kedushat Levi, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichiv, writes that we went to each of these place to make a tikkun, a spiritual fixing of each of these places. Our job in life is to fix the place we live in, to do what we can to uplift the place in which we live.

Maor Vashemesh, Rabbi Klonomous Kalman Epstein, tries to connect the names of the 42 places with the nature of the journey. For instance; There is laziness, rifyon, at Refidim, so they went to Sinai, where they got the torah, which makes you not have laziness and stay away from sin. So they buried their desires, taavot, known as the Kivrot Hataavah, then to avoid taavot, desires, they went to Chatzerot, walls, to protect them from lust. Then they could even go to Rechovot, meaning expanses, not be afraid even outside, and from there went to Ritma, meaning a coal, since the love of God was strong like a coal, from there to Rimon paretz, that the inside was breaking out to the outside, to become Livnah, white, or pure, and finally to Kehelata, the highest, kollel, including all madregot, all levels.

Netivot Shalom, the Rebbe of Slonim quotes the Besht who maintains that the 42 stops represent the stages of a man’s life. Every person must undergo 42 trials and travails. We are all on a long and difficult journey. It is through all these journeys that we purify our souls.