Further (Matot-Masei)

Torah Tuesday in (exactly) 100 words

In 1964 Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters drove a day-glo school bus with the destination “FURTHER.”

The Israelites made 42 journeys from their escape from Egypt to their arrival in the Promised Land. Forty-two times they broke down their camp, pulled up tent stakes, and went. Sometimes they circled back to places they’d been before. But they kept traveling. Further.

The Baal Shem Tov taught that the human soul undertakes 42 journeys, from birth (through the parted sea) to death (returning to Source). Sometimes we backtrack. But forty-two times we leave the comfort of the familiar to go further.

Every Tuesday – and yes, I know it’s not Tuesday – I offer a reflection on the Torah portion of the week -- in 100 words, of course. This week’s Torah portion is Matot-Masei, in the book of Numbers. Masei details each of the 42 journeys of the Israelites – leaving and arriving at places that have both geographic and psycho-spiritual meaning. See Rabbi David Zaslow’s beautiful interpretive translation of this passage.

What leg of your journey are you on? What would it mean to go further? Please share, comment, and join the conversation!