Matot-Masei | Numbers 30:2–36:13
This week’s double Torah portion brings us to the final chapters of the Book of Numbers—and to the edge of the Promised Land.
After forty years of wandering, the Israelites are preparing to cross into an unknown future. Behind them are decades of uncertainty, struggle, loss, transformation, and growth. Ahead of them is a destination they have dreamed about but have never seen.
I know what it is like to find myself on a road I never expected to travel.
I also know that there are moments when the road ahead feels too long, too difficult, or too uncertain to navigate alone.
Again and again, I am reminded that strength does not mean carrying everything by myself. Sometimes strength means reaching out. Sometimes it means accepting help. Sometimes it means allowing the people who care to walk beside me.
Strength for the Journey
Parashat Matot begins with a reminder that our words matter. The Torah teaches that when we make a vow or commitment, we are responsible for honoring it.
This emphasis on responsibility continues when the tribes of Reuben and Gad ask to settle on the eastern side of the Jordan, where the land is especially well suited for their livestock. Moses worries that they are preparing to remain safely behind while the other tribes continue into the Promised Land.
Reuben and Gad promise that they will not abandon the rest of the community. They will cross the Jordan with the other Israelites and help them secure the land before returning to build homes for their own families.
Their promise is a reminder that belonging to a community is both a blessing and a responsibility.
It is not enough to reach a comfortable place and forget those who are still struggling. We are responsible for one another. We are called to show up, to listen, to help carry difficult burdens, and to continue walking beside others even when our own immediate needs have been met.
Service is one of my core values, and I have always found it easier to offer support than to ask for help. In order to receive support, I must abandon the notion that I am Superwoman and acknowledge that I cannot—and should not—do everything alone.
True strength is not independence at all costs. It is knowing when to lead, when to accompany, when to reach out, and when to allow ourselves to be held by a caring community.
There are times when we are called to offer support, and there are times when we need to lean on other people. Both require strength and courage.
Parashat Masei recounts the Israelites’ forty-two stages of travel through the wilderness. Each place where they camped is named, creating a record of the long and complicated journey that brought them from Egypt to the banks of the Jordan River.
Some of those places held moments of revelation and blessing. Others held conflict, disappointment, uncertainty, or grief. There were places where the Israelites remained for a long time and others they passed through quickly. Yet each stopping place became part of their sacred story. Each an opportunity to remember God dwells among us, and that we are NOT alone.
We often measure a journey by its destination. We focus on reaching the goal, solving the problem, completing the task, receiving the answer, or getting through the crisis.
Together, Matot and Masei remind us that the journey is shaped both by the commitments we make and by the people who travel with us. Our paths may be deeply personal, but we are not meant to walk them alone.
Strengthen & Be Strengthened
May we strengthen each other
by reaching out in kindness
and listening with love.
May we strengthen each other
by standing in our truth
and letting others stand in theirs.
May we strengthen each other
by working together to build
a caring, cohesive community.
May we strengthen each other
by practicing positivity and using our gifts
to make the world a better place.
May we each strengthen—
and always be strengthened by—
one another.
Ken Y’hi Ratzon/May it be God’s will.
Journeying Through the Three Weeks
We are now in the Three Weeks, the period of mourning that leads to Tisha B’Av.
During this season, we remember destruction, exile, displacement, and the devastating consequences of division within the Jewish community.
It would be easy to experience these weeks only as a journey deeper into sorrow. But Jewish memory does more than ask us to mourn what was broken. It asks us to consider what we are doing now to strengthen the connections that hold us together.
Where there is isolation, can we create belonging?
Where there is division, can we listen more carefully?
Where the road feels overwhelming, can we walk beside one another?
We cannot repair every fracture. We cannot remove every obstacle or protect the people we love from every painful stage of their journeys.
But we can choose how we travel together.
We can be present. We can speak with compassion. We can honor our commitments. We can offer practical help, prayer, encouragement, and love. We can build community by creating spaces where people feel safe enough to breathe, strong enough to hope, and supported enough to take the next step.
Journey Towards the Light
May you be blessed to discover
your personal purpose
at this point in your life’s journey,
and use your Divine gifts—
to make the difference
only you can make.
May you be surrounded by those
who accept you for who you truly are,
and encourage you to shine your soul’s light.
May you continue to grow
in awareness, confidence, and compassion
as you journey towards the light,
and may the unspoken prayer of your heart
be answered and fulfilled.
Journey Towards the Light is the name of the Artist-in-Residence workshops I offer. If you, or your organization, are interested in creative ways of building and strengthening community, please reach out! I love teaching, and helping communities explore new paths to connection.
Guided Journaling Questions
- Where do you find yourself on your life’s journey right now?
- What has an unexpected stopping place taught you about yourself?
- Who has helped strengthen you during a difficult stage of your journey?
- Who might need you to walk beside them this week?
- What makes it difficult for you to ask for or accept help?
A Blessing for the Road Ahead
May you honor each stage of your journey,
including the places you did not choose.
May you recognize the strength
you have gained along the way.
May you be surrounded by people
who listen with love,
walk beside you with compassion,
and remind you that you are not alone.
May you use your gifts
to strengthen those who share your path.
And may we continue traveling together,
one sacred step at a time,
toward healing, wholeness,
and an ever-expanding light.
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