by Rav Netanel Yosifun, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel
A Hassidic story for Parashat Mas'ei (one of this week's two weekly portions, Numbers 30,2 to the end of the book):
Rabbe Yechiel Michel Ashkenazi, son-in-law of the holy Baal Shem Tov (the Besht), wished to visit his father, who lived across the sea in a far-off country. Before he left, he called on his saintly father-in-law to ask for a blessing for his journey to honor his father.
The Besht blessed R. Yechiel that he should travel safely and return in peace. It was summer time, and R. Yechiel, thinking ahead, asked the Besht for a blessing that he should return in time for Rosh HaShanah. The Besht did not respond, and did so twice more when R. Yechiel asked him again and again. The son-in-law got the hint, and realized that he would not be able to return in time. He therefore packed a shofar in his suitcase so that he could make sure to hear the Biblically-required Rosh HaShanah shofar blasts.
And in fact, on his way back, while in a ship on the sea, a heavy storm broke out, driving the ship far from its destination. It finally made shore on Rosh HaShanah eve in an unfamiliar land, where no Jews were found.
R. Yechiel understood that the storm was all for his sake, and that it was G-d's will that he should spend the holy days specifically in that place. He accepted the suffering with good cheer, knowing that he did not, and might not ever, know the full story. He spent that Rosh HaShanah praying from the depths of his heart, with great sobbing and cries, and of course blew the shofar as prescribed.
When he finally returned home after the holiday, he again called upon his illustrious father-in-law, the Baal Shem Tov. The Besht received him most affectionately, and explained: "Know that in that place, there were no Jews, but there were many holy sparks. If you had not come there, Jews would have been forcibly taken there in metal chains – but because you were there for Rosh HaShanah, and prayed so heartfully, you were able to raise up all the sparks to their source, thus voiding the need for Jews to be there.
Truly this story teaches us a great principle in the service of G-d, one that arises from this week's Parashat Mas'ei as well, and one that can gladden and benefit all of us. The portion begins by listing the names of the 42 encampments during the Children of Israel's journey through the Sinai Desert on their way to the Promised Land. Many Sages and commentators are puzzled by this list: Why must we know the names of these places in which the Israelites stayed? The past is over, these places were temporary way-stations, and the main thing is that we arrived safely at our destination, Eretz Yisrael. What importance do these places have for us now?
Several answers have been given. The Medrash (Bamidbar Rabba 23,3) says that this can be compared to a king who took his ill son to a far-off doctor for a cure. On their way back, as they passed each place through which they had originally come, the father pointed out each place and said, "Here we slept, here we were cold, here your head hurt you, etc." The same here: G-d told Moshe to list for them all the places in which they had sinned and angered G-d.
What is this story telling us? The commentators explain that the Sages wish to teach us that the young prince was ill throughout the long journey, but in the end he was cured. The king sought to impress upon him that just as he went through great hardships on his journey to complete health, so too in the future, whenever he faced difficulties, he must always take heart and trust that, with G-d's help, he would survive them.
The same for Israel: They sinned and were punished many times in the desert in those encampments, but G-d ultimately saved them from all dangers and protected them. And now too, at the end of this Book of Numbers, after a plague struck the Israelites following the sin of Baal Pe'or, they must gird themselves with faith and recognize that G-d would extricate them from those grave hardships and grant them blessing.
Another explanation, based on the Kabbalah, is given by the Ohr HaChaim, whose yahrtzeit (death-date anniversary) was commemorated this week by many Jews around the world. He says that the purpose of Bnei Yisrael's travels through the desert was to raise up the holy sparks – aspects of spirituality – that were there in the wilderness. This is why in some places they spent just a few hours, and in some they stayed for up to a year (Bamidbar 9,22) – each place according to its need for raising up the sparks.
It would seem that here we can ask another question: If the purpose was to encamp in each place for a certain amount of time, why does the Torah introduce the list of places by saying, "These are the journeys of the Children of Israel"? It should have emphasized the "encampments" instead!
If a person encounters a situation of difficulties and challenges, like the sick young prince, and sinks in the mire of his sadness and allows only that to leave its mark – then he does not raise up any "sparks of sanctity" from that place. He rather stays "encamped" there, and makes no progress. But if he understands that there was a purpose and reason for his arrival in that specific place and situation, and he garners benefit and meaning from its challenges, then he truly is cured of the hardships, raising up its "sparks" that will help him spiritually as he continues his journey. He then travels and takes with him the holy Divine spark wherever he goes.
In each encampment, the important thing is not the act of encamping, but rather what we take from it to the next place. In every station of life, the main thing is not the difficulty we face there, but rather the lesson we learn there from it, and what we take with us for the rest of the journey. These are the "sparks" that we raise up wherever we go – the very purpose for which we arrived there.
If we live with this constant awareness, then in every station we find ourselves, and from every challenge we face, we will extricate the most and will thus be filled with happiness.
The Holy Temple, too, will be rebuilt from the very stones that we worked so hard to drag and lift – speedily in our days!
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