This Week’s Torah Portion: Matot – Mas-ei (Numbers 30:2–36:13)
We end the 4th book of the Torah with two Torah portions.
The end of the book is a summary of all the wanderings in the wilderness and also an acknowledgment that we will soon enter the Promised Land; however, Moses will not enter with us.
The greatest leader we ever had will not get to cross the Jordan with us and enter the land.
From Moses, we learn that not all our prayers can be answered. We always need to desire and want more, knowing that not everything we want to achieve in our lives and not everything we wish for will be answered.
Parsha Matot – Mas-ei Summary:
Moses explains to the Israelites the laws concerning vows made by men and women. (30:2—17)
Israel wages war against the Midianites. (31:1—18)
The laws regarding the spoils of war are outlined. (31:19—54)
The tribes of Reuben and Gad are granted permission to stay on the east bank of the Jordan River. (32:1—42)
The itinerary of the Israelites through the wilderness from Egypt to Jordan is delineated. (33:1-49)
Moses tells Israel to remove the current inhabitants of the land that God will give them and to destroy their gods. (33:50-56)
The boundaries of the Land of Israel are defined, along with those of the Levitical cities and the cities of refuge. (34:1-35:15)
God makes a precise distinction between murder and manslaughter. (35:16-34)
The laws of inheritance as they apply to Israelite women are delineated. (36:1-13)
