Once upon a time, a father took his child on a long journey to find a doctor, a specialist. On the way back home, once the child was feeling better, the father pointed out the many stops they had made along their long and treacherous journey: “Here is where we slept for the night. Here is where you shivered from the cold. Here is where your head started hurting badly,” and so on. Why did the father point out all of these moments? Was it just to make small talk, or was there a deeper message he was trying to convey?
This story is brought up in the Midrash of this week’s Torah portion, Massei, to explain the deeper meaning behind the Torah’s listing of the forty-two stops the Jewish people made on their way from Egypt to the Land of Israel.
The Midrash doesn’t just call out a few notable it recalls the entire journey, reminding us of what the Jews went through. The first night after leaving Egypt, they had a good night’s sleep. As they continued into the desert, however, the cold began to affect them, so G-d provided them with clouds of glory, creating a protective barrier between them and the elements. By the third stop, they began to complain and question. It was as if, collectively, their heads began to ache.
Of course, there were many more stops along the way. But even these three examples offer more than just a sampling—they hint at the challenges that the Jewish people faced over their forty years in the wilderness and their stages of growth.
In the story, the father points out their struggles only on the journey home. Similarly, the Torah recalls these experiences some forty years after it happened, at the edge of the Promised Land, to help us learn from the past.
G-d desires that we have free choice. He didn’t want us to leave Egypt because He took us out. He wanted us to want to leave on our own volition, but we couldn’t. We needed Him. So how do free will and Divine intervention coexist? If G-d is doing the work, do we really have a choice? Is our future preordained, or are we the ones steering the wheel?
These three stages from the journey help guide us toward true independence:
-We must take ownership of our lives. Rest is more than just shutting down. It’s tuning in. It’s a chance to reflect on what makes me who I am.
-Once we begin to understand ourselves and our purpose in this world, we must cool down, taking the time to internalize that reflection, becoming our own person.
-Only then can we reach our ultimate goal: true freedom, the ability to think for ourselves.
G-d gives us guidance, but He doesn’t want robots. He wants people who think for themselves, who live with awareness, who express their individuality … because they know who they are.
Reflecting on our past, on our journey, helps us bring our inner soul into our everyday lives.
Shabbat Shalom