22 Jul PARASHAT MATOT-MASEI : THE TRULY MEANINGFUL JOURNEY

Parashat Maseh
begins with a list of
Beneh Yisrael’s 42
journeys from their
initial trek out of
Egypt, until their final
station at the banks of the Jordan River,
before crossing into the Land of Israel.
The Torah introduces this list with the
words, “Eleh Maseh Beneh Yisrael” –
“These are the journeys of the Children
of Israel…”
The Or Ha’haim Ha’kadosh (Rav Haim
Ben-Attar, 1696-1743), commenting on
this verse, notes the tradition explaining
the difference between the words
“Eleh” (“These”) and “Ve’eleh” (“And
these”). When the Torah introduces a
topic with the word “Eleh,” without the
conjunction “And,” it seeks to emphasize
that the information presented is to the
exclusion of something else. The word
“Eleh” should be understood to mean,
“Specifically these,” as opposed to other
things. The word “Ve’eleh,” by contrast,
does not imply exclusion, and simply
introduces information without setting it

apart from anything else.
The question thus arises as to the Torah’s
intent in introducing the list of Beneh
Yisrael’s journeys with the expression
“Eleh Maseh Beneh Yisrael.” What is
the Torah excluding? Why is the Torah
telling us that specifically these are Beneh
Yisrael’s journeys.
The Or Ha’haim answers based on the
Kabbalistic teaching that Beneh Yisrael’s
journeys through the wilderness were
necessary for the purpose of extracting
the “Nisoseh Ha’kedusha” – “sparks of
sanctity” – from the areas where they
traveled. These regions were overrun
by the forces of impurity, and Beneh
Yisrael were required to journey and
encamp at specific locations in order to
retrieve the “sparks” of holiness which
would otherwise fall prey to these
harmful forces. This endeavor, the Or
Ha’haim explains, could be achieved
only in a state of what he calls “Kedusha
Ha’shelema” – “perfect sanctity.” During
the years of travel through the wilderness,
Beneh Yisrael journeyed all together,

with the presence of
the Shechina, and they
were engrossed in
Torah learning. This
combination of the
entirety of Am Yisrael,
Torah learning, and the
divine presence created
the powerful spiritual
force necessary to
wrestle the “Nisoseh
Ha’kedusha” from the
forces of impurity in the
desert. The Or Ha’haim writes that Am
Yisrael has never returned to this level
since the generation of the wilderness;
this powerful force of Kedusha was
attained only during that time.
For this reason, the Or Ha’haim writes,
the Torah introduces this section with
the words, “Eleh Maseh Beneh Yisrael”
– indicating that only these were Beneh
Yisrael’s journeys. The Torah is telling
us that these journeys represented the
pinnacle of journeying, the highest level
of travel that has ever been attained.
The greatest trip we can ever take is one

which has a profound spiritual effect on
the place where we travel to, and no trip
ever achieved this goal to the same extent
as Beneh Yisrael’s travels through the
wilderness.
Wherever we find ourselves, and
wherever we travel, we must make it
our priority to “retrieve the sparks of
sanctity,” to generate Kedusha, through
prayer, Misva observance, and Torah
study. If we achieve this goal, then our
journey will have been truly significant
and meaningful, in a manner resembling
the journeys of our righteous ancestors
through the wilderness.