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Home -> Masei -> 5785

אלה שמות האנשים אשר ינחלו לכם את הארץ

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Masei

These are the names of the men who are to take possession of the Land for you. (34:17)

Each nasi, leader of his respective tribe, took title to a province on behalf of his entire tribe. He would later apportion the land to be distributed among the members of his shevet, tribe. Noticeably, preceding each tribal leader, the word nasi is written, except for the first three the Torah mentions: Yehuda (Calev ben Yefuneh); Shimon (Shmuel ben Amihud); Binyamin (Elidad ben Kislon). Why is the title nasi omitted from their names? Horav Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, zl, explains that all the nesiim achieved distinction as a result of being selected to lead their respective shevet. Their position distinguished them…

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Home -> Masei -> 5785

אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים... ויכתב משה את מוציא הם למסעיהם על פי ד' ואלה מסעיהם למוצאיהם

Sruly Schnair
In 5785, Masei

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael, who went forth from the land of Egypt… Moshe wrote their goings for the according to their journeys, according to the bidding of Hashem, and these were the journeys according to their goings forth. (33:1,2)

The Torah attributes much significance to Klal Yisrael’s forty-year journey throughout the wilderness – to the point that it details each one of its forty-two encampments. Apparently, we can derive much from this journey and each one of the stops Bnei Yisrael made. Horav Zakai, a student of Horav Chaim Volozhiner, zl, was a deeply righteous Jew, who had a profound understanding of all areas of Torah – both revealed and unrevealed. Every year, when he would recite the forty-two encampments listed at the beginning of Parashas Masei, he would break down in bitter weeping. When asked for an explanation…

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Home -> Masei -> 5784

והקריתם לכם ערים ערי מקלט... ונס שמה רוצח מכה נפש בשגגה וישב בה עד מות הכהן הגדול

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Masei

You shall designate cities for yourselves, cities of refuge… and a murderer shall flee there – one who takes a life unintentionally… He shall dwell in it until the death of the Kohen Gadol. (35:11,25)

The rotzeiach b’shogeg, unintentional murderer, is sent into exile to one of the designated cities of refuge. There, he will be safe from the wrath and vengeance of the go’eil ha’dam, redeemer of the blood, a close relative of the victim who has the right to exact vengeance against the murderer. The rotzeiach b’shogeg is safe as long as he remains within the confines of the ir miklat. If he leaves and the redeemer catches him, his blood is on his own hands. The rotzieach remains in the ir miklat until the death of the Kohen Gadol, who, on some…

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Home -> Masei -> 5784

אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair
In 5784, Masei

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael, who went forth from the land of Egypt. (33:1)

The Torah makes a point of detailing each and every one of the nation’s encampments in the Wilderness. Clearly, we must derive a lesson from this pasuk. Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, explains (based on the commentaries of the Rishonim) that the idea of yetzias Mitzrayim, the Egyptian exodus, is based on the principle that it and all its accompanying miracles and wonders were revealed for anyone to see. No room existed for even the biggest fool or greatest agnostic to deny what took place. If one possessed a modicum of intelligence, he saw what was clearly Divine intervention in its…

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Home -> Masei -> 5783

ומצרים מקברים... ובאלהיהם עשה ד' שפטים

Sruly Schnair
In 5783, Masei

And the Egyptians were burying (those among them whom Hashem had struck)… and on their gods Hashem had inflicted punishment. (33:4)

The Torah begins by informing us that the Jewish people left Egypt “with an upraised hand to the eyes of the Egyptians.” It then apprises us of the Egyptians burying their dead and continues to let us know that, not only did the firstborn perish, but Hashem also destroyed their idols. Can we derive a message from the juxtaposition of these two punishments? To explain the connection between the two punishments, we cite Rabbeinu Bachya who writes (commentary to Shemos 12:12) that, while Hashem, indeed, destroyed the Egyptian idols at night (the same time that He smote the firstborn), the…

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Home -> Masei -> 5783

אלה מסעי בני ישראל אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair
In 5783, Masei

These are the sojourns of Bnei Yisrael who went forth from the land of Egypt. (33:1)

Parashas Masei concludes Klal Yisrael’s forty-year sojourn in the wilderness. Many of the individuals in the nation who now stood before Moshe Rabbeinu, poised to enter into the Promised Land, were but children when they left Egypt, while others of them had been born after the liberation. Their parents, who had slaved for Pharaoh and had been redeemed from Egypt, were no longer alive. They paid a heavy price for their insubordination. They had been raised in a culture that was morally deviant and spiritually bankrupt, yet, they merited being liberated from that country. Apparently, they did not have the…

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Home -> Masei -> 5782

ולארץ לא יכפר לדם אשר שפך בה כי אם בדם שפכו

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Masei

The land will not have atonement for the blood that was spilled in it, except through the blood of the one who spilled it. (35:33)

Why does the land require atonement?  Did it sin in any way concerning the murder?  Is it guilty of some form of murder?  Horav Zaidel Epstein, zl, explains that the strictures of the complaint against the land is in its passive response to the murder.  It acted with indifference, with cool detachment, as if the murder were nothing at all.  The land should have cried out and made demands.  Who ever heard of the land expressing its emotion with regard to a wanton act of murder?  The Mashgiach refers us to Hashem’s curse of Kayin’s act of murdering his brother. …

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Home -> Masei -> 5782

והקריתם לכם ערים ערי מקלט ... ונס שמה רצח מכה נפש בשגגה

Sruly Schnair
In 5782, Masei

You shall designate cities for yourselves… and a murderer shall flee there – one who takes a life unintentionally. (35:11)

The Arei Miklat, Cities of Refuge, served as home to two groups of Jews: Shevet Levi, the spiritual exemplars of our nation; and the rotzeach b’shogeg, one who committed unintentional murder.  The relationship between these two groups seems to be a bit of a stretch.  They are quite the opposite of one another.  The Bostoner Rebbe, zl, was one of the founders of the baal teshuvah movement in this country.  The Rebbe was called to address the annual Agudath Israel convention. He used his time at the podium as an opportunity to exhort observant Jews to reach out to their…

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Home -> Masei -> 5781

ונס שמה רצח מכה נפש בשגגה

Sruly Schnair
In 5781, Masei

And a murderer shall flee the one who takes a life unintentionally. (35:11)

The word rotze’ach, murderer, followed by makeh nefesh, one who takes a life, is seemingly redundant. Why does the Torah repeat itself? Horav Chaim Toito, Shlita, employs the following story as a means for distinguishing between the two terms. A devout, G-d-fearing Jew lived in a small village not far from Sanz. He earned a living by using his house as an inn and restaurant. It was a lucrative business. One day, a poor man dressed in tattered clothes appeared at his inn. Being a kind-hearted man, the innkeeper gave this man a decent, nourishing meal, after which he took…

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Home -> Matos -> 5780

אלה מסעי בני ישראל ... ויכתב משה את מוצאיהם למסעיהם על פי ד'

Sruly Schnair
In 5780, Matos, Masei

These are the journeys of Bnei Yisrael… Moshe wrote their goings forth according to their journeys at the bidding of Hashem. (33:1,2)

The journeys of Klal Yisrael from the time they left Egypt until their arrival in the Holy Land are significant, since the Torah underscores them. The Torah only contains events that have importance for posterity. Moshe recorded these journeys by the word of Hashem, because (according to Rambam), in this way, the nation would remember the miraculous events which occurred in the wilderness for all time. Veritably, some of these miracles were clearly evident, such as the Clouds of Glory and the manna. As we all know only too well, however, memory fades, and doubters and skeptics are likely to…

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