Matot-Massei: Significant Journeys
Dear readers,
Times are pretty sad right now. During the Three Weeks we remember the desolation of our Holy Land and the subsequent exile that has lasted until today. Yes, most of us are comfortably ensconced in our host countries and have enough to eat, but as a nation we are far from our home. Spiritually speaking, we are in the desert, longing for the Promised Land.
Yet, as I helped a bar mitzvah boy learn this week’s Torah reading, I noticed a heartening lesson. We read about the daughters of Tzelafchad and men of Manasseh, each struggling to ensure that they get their maximum share of the Land of Israel. Surrounded by the barren wastes of the desert, they were fully focused on their goal: Israel. They are poised to enter the land, and they want to possess and embrace it to the best of their abilities.
Perhaps we can take a lesson. To paraphrase the Rebbe, “Live as if Moshiach has already arrived, and he will arrive already.” Yes, we are mourning, and yes, things are pretty rotten, but learning about the future era of Moshiach and the Third Temple will bring it all that much closer.
Menachem Posner,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
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With the Flood, this...
