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Drash
for Shabbat Masei On the way out of the Friday night service, about a year ago, after I delivered my first drash, Donna Beyer asked me if I would do another drash. I told Donna that I intended to crawl back into the woodwork and that this was a one-shot deal. As I had explained to the congregation from the bimah, I did the drash because Sharon Geiger called me up, after I had refused her request, and gently nudged me along by saying, "Mal, won’t you do a drash out of friendship for me and Art?" Now here I am back on the bimah yet again to deliver another drash. How come, you ask? Was it some more gentle nudging? The truth of the matter is that I did another drash because Joe Steiner, plain out, just asked me if I would do one. Joe was so sincere and caring each and every time he phoned me or spoke to me at temple to ask how my brother Steve, "Zichrono L’Olam" was doing with his thirteen month ordeal of fighting brain cancer that I said yes. So I did the drash, not for the "Gipper", or for the " Nudger", but for Joe. Thank you Joe, from the very bottom of my heart, for your kindness. The Parsha Masei lists the names of the forty-two places, over forty years, that the Israelites marched to once they left the land of Egypt. Interestingly enough, the Torah does not record how long the Israelites stayed at each place, nor does it mention the very often-asked question, "Are we there yet?" These forty-two names are deemed important enough to have them all listed. This, on the surface, seems quite peculiar because the Torah, as a rule, is quite succinct and does not strive to waste words. So why then are each and every one of these stops listed? If we go to the text and look at some of the names, these names, in themselves, might offer up some clues. Verse sixteen reads, " They set out from the wilderness of Sinai and encamped at Kivrot Hata'avah." Verse seventeen reads, " They set out from Kivrot Hata'avah and encamped at Hatzerot." Kivrot is the plural of kever which means grave and Hata'avah means desires. Hatzerot is the plural of Hatzer which means gate or courtyard. I suspect that some of these encampments had no names before the Israelites stopped there; after all they were out in the wilderness. Perhaps, names were given to these places after the Israelites stayed there and learned some of life’s lessons? At Kivrot Hata'avah, perhaps the Israelites learned to confront, and control, and bury many of their desires. When this was accomplished, they moved on to Hatzerot, where, perhaps, they could now learn, that this world is just a portal ,or a gateway, or a courtyard, to heaven or the world to come. In my mind, many of these stations along the way were not just rest stops. They were tikunim, repair and fix-it shops for not only their physical journey but for their spiritual journey as well. Too often, we are in a rush to get from where we embark to where our final destination is. The way stations on the journey are equally important. Savor them all! Shabbat Shalom.
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