B'Midbar/Numbers
CHAPTER 33
1. These are the stages of the journey [mas’ey] of the descendants of Israel who left Egypt by their armies at the hand of Moshe and Aharon.
Stages: or departures, from the term for “pulling up tent pegs” (i.e., break camp). This is only a single word in Hebrew, for Israel is a traveling people. This was a common occurrence when they had been nomadic shepherds, as well as during these 40 years. One must move from place to place whenever necessary to provide what is crucial to the flocks: water and grass. The Promised Land, “flowing with milk and honey”, should be an ideal place for flocks—a shepherd’s paradise, like Goshen. The seasons determine when Yaaqov’s sons pull up the pegs and move on. There are places one would go to find grass in the summer, whereas in the winter we could not camp there because they are flooded, though it is also easier to find water then, and the grass is much more abundant. In the summer the dry riverbeds would be highways in ancient times, easy to traverse. The whole household moves together when it is time to break camp, unlike the short excursions we take from the camp to carry out more routine work. Searching for grain and water is what defines a flock, and it holds true in the metaphorical sense as well. Water is a picture of the Torah (Eph. 5:26), since it is constantly flowing and is something that cleanses us, and from grain (one type of grass) we make bread, which symbolizes community. (1 Cor. 10:17) Like grain we have to be cut loose from where we grew up, be gathered in, and have our true selves revealed (unlike religions in which we pretend to meet the standard) as the useless parts are removed. We are all then mixed together so our strengths can balance one another’s weaknesses. Then we are crushed between two stones—in this case, the two tablets of the Torah, and both this and the heat that follows are somehow less painful when we are all in it together. This puts us in a state that will bring YHWH a pleasing aroma, because we are “one bread”. A community is the only context in which we can fully keep the Torah or even understand it well. In other words, we need to find “grain” in order to really drink of the “water”. It is a basic drive “hard-wired” into Israel to seek Torah and community, even if we do not realize it is what we are looking for. When we find it, we know this is what was missing. It is who we are. This is what moves Israel to pull up its tent pegs, no matter how deeply they were hammered in before. Every journey begins with a departure. It may seem obvious that one cannot stay where he is and get where he is going, but it is also very profound. Wherever we go, we leave someplace—and whatever is connected to it--behind. Our entire history began when YHWH told Avraham, at the age of 75, to pull up his stakes and move from all he had ever known to a place (We are told his age because it was the right season for him to move.) He gave him no map to find. He only said He would inform him when he was there. (Gen. 12) From then on, willingness to pull up stakes and walk has helped to define who a Hebrew (“one who crosses over to the other side”) is. His descendants are also looking for that Land; we have not yet arrived. Armies: or simply, in military-like order.
2. Now Moshe recorded their departures by their stages, upon the command of YHWH. These, then, are the stages of their journeyings, by their points of departure:
Why did Moshe record these stages? Because it is helpful to occasionally look back to where we have been—not to romanticize the past as they did in remembering the leeks and cucumbers, but forgetting that they were also slaves—but to see how far we have come, remember what YHWH has done for us and can still do, especially when we are in the middle of a test or trial. Looking back, we remember what He brought us through, just because we asked, and the fact that we have made it as far as the current set of troubles reminds us not to sweat it this time. The fact that He has never yet let us down will encourage us to keep on going. And simply remembering that once we were not what we are now will remind us of what YHWH has brought about; seeing the progress that past departures have brought about will give us strength to fight for more.
3. Now they set out from Raamses [“child of the sun”] in the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month--the day after the Passover--the descendants of Israel left high-handedly in the sight of all the Egyptians.
Set out: the Hebrew term will be alternately translated "pulled up stakes", "broke camp", "journeyed", "departed", or "traveled" throughout this account. In the same way, "encamped" is expressed through a variety of phrases to avoid the feeling of redundancy and to bring out added nuances in the words as an example of the range of meaning that a single Hebrew word often has. Remember that though we have left the “Egypt” that held us in chains, Goshen is still part of Egypt, so we have not come all the way home even if we are regathering. High-handedly: boldly, openly, in broad daylight. This was not a covert operation. They were not sneaking out; some of the Egyptians were meant to be shaken loose and come out with us. This is the testimony to them that it is YHWH that is moving us. We are leaving many things we once “ate” of, to move on to better grass and cleaner water. As we move out of beliefs and relationships that are not of YHWH, we should not be ashamed or intimidated, but, as a city set on a hill, light the way for others as a testimony of what YHWH has done. But do not stick around and wait for them, because as long as you stay there, so will they. Do wait for other sheep in the flock, but in most cases “Egyptians” who hesitate will end up not coming along anyway. Move on to the grass and water that are awaiting us, or we will end up starving as the land we are meant to leave dries up. And tell the community what things you are determined to leave behind, so that they can help you leave. It is significant that it is Raamses that is mentioned, because this was one of the cities our ancestors helped build. They invested so much of their lives in it; can we just leave it behind? This is a trap many Israelites have fallen into, and the temptation is strong for those of us who invested so much effort and emotion in building the Church. We must burn the bridges, and if YHWH wants them rebuilt, He will do so. But if we do not, there will be too strong a temptation to run back to what seems more secure, but really is not. Kefa, as a wealthy fisherman whose family lived very close to the synagogue (for we can see both it and the remains of his home today in Kfar Nahum) and probably invested in it too, may have left more than anyone else to follow Yahshua, and he asked whether it would pay off. (Mat. 19:27) Yahshua said he would receive a hundredfold reward. Leaving things behind is thus also an investment in where we are going. How do we know when it is time to move on? When Torah moves us, for it teaches us what is in season when. When we get to a part of the trail that no one has traversed for a long time, will we stop, or will we take up the responsibility to press on through the brambles and clear it ourselves? Not all grass and water are in plain sight, and Torah is not just a map to the grass and water, but through it. Learn from it as you continue to move, and keep seeking what YHWH has for His flock. He has often moved His people by means of famine (Gen. 12:10; 26:1; 41:56; 42:1; Ruth 1:1; 2 Kings 8:1, etc.). YHWH still interferes in our lives if we are not moved simply by His word, as we should be. If we stay at a place that once sustained us but which has run out of clean water, when YHWH has moved on, we will starve to death waiting for Him to come back. The Hebrew word for famine is ra’av, which sounds very much like rav, which means “abundance”. The Church seems like a place of abundance, especially compared to where we were before that, but it is really like a granary full of fruit loops—only a little nourishment, but mostly sugar, and that diet will kill one soon after it makes him fat. Its water is tainted as well, though it kept us alive for a while. It tasted wonderful before we got a taste of the pure, sweet water; tasting that is like being reborn! YHWH says He will judge the shepherds who knew where the fresh water was, but muddied it for the sheep after drinking from it themselves. If YHWH is moving you by famine, but letting someone else stay where they are, be thankful that you are one of the people He has decided is going to move on to better pasture no matter what. The famine of hearing YHWH’s word (Amos 8:11ff) is unnecessary, because there is grass in community and water in the Torah. His Word is still there waiting to be heard, if we put ourselves in a position to hear it, and that involves pulling up tent pegs. Man does not live by bread alone, but by YHWH’s word. (Deut. 8:3) Torah is an endless supply of water that flows from YHWH’s mouth. But neither can flocks survive on water alone. No matter how clean, clear, or abundant the water is, we cannot spend all of our time alone with YHWH. We are a people. We need each other. There is only one Temple ceremony per year that involves water, but grain offerings are required to be brought every day, and the bread in the sanctuary is renewed every Sabbath. The Torah delivers us and shows us who we are, but it can only be fully understood in the context of community with the rest of Israel. “What has been” sets the Scriptural pattern for “what will be”. (Eccles. 1:9) We need to gather as in Goshen to learn to care for sheep again before we can return to the Land, for now we are again at a stage where only together can we move on to the next place of provision.
Commentary on
Parashat Mas'ey
Pulling Up
the Tent Pegs
