Matot-Masei – Once Upon a Week

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Yehuda Bachana.

Matot-Masei provides us with yet another double Torah portion. This week’s portion is always read during a period called ‘Bein HaMetzarim’ - between the days of distress.This time of mourning is a striking contrast between the hope and the preparations of the People of Israel who are about to enter the Promised Land; and the destruction, exile and the long period of ‘Hester Panim’ – the hiding of God’s face.

Bein HaMetzarim is the 3-week period of mourning that leads up to the 9th of Av: a national day of fasting commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temple and the destruction of Jerusalem.

During these weeks we read the Haftarot that deal with calamity and punishments. While, after the 9th of Av, the appointed Haftarot speak of comfort and forgiveness.The first one after the 9th of Av, will be the famous text from Isaiah 40:

That we read on the Shabbat known as ‘Shabbat Nechamu’ - Shabbat of Comfort.

is said at the end of Passover, and it is a well-known expression that voices our desire, and perhaps even the need, to go up to Jerusalem and stroll along her streets. This declaration accompanied us during the times of exile in distant places – even without the possibility to visit the Promised Land nor Jerusalem.Nevertheless, our hope did not perish, and our existence is proof that hope is everlasting.

Next week’s Torah portion Devarim which is read during the period the 9th of Av, will remind us of the destruction of the Temple and the painful exile and horrors we experienced as a people. Nevertheless, we never lost faith. Our faith in God remained strong, knowing God’s Biblical prophesies will be fulfilled one day.

By means of a ‘nes galuy’, a visible miracle, God will bring us back to the Promised Land (Israel) and to the Holy City (Jerusalem). And it happened! we are here today as a result of a ‘nes galuy’, a visible miracle.

Today, we remember - in order to defend ourselves.Similarly, on the Holocaust Remembrance Day we proclaim that:

We will not let them hurt us again, and the State of Israel will defend our right to exist. That is the reason why we need an army, to be able to defend ourselves.

The security policy of the State of Israel is based on the basic need to ensure the existence of the State of Israel!Failure to eliminate existential threats against Israel, will result in the destruction of what is called: the “third Temple”, as this terminally of Israel, was used during the Yom Kippur war.

As a Messianic Jew, I believe with all my heart, that God did not abandon our nation. The fact that our people are still alive, proves this. I believe that Yeshua is the Messiah of Israel. He is the One promised to the world.

Yeshua continues to lead the People of Israel, even though He is still hidden. Yeshua is the One who leads us and saves the State of Israel, time after time. It is not through our own strength.

Our life here is a true miracle, starting from the establishment of the State until the last of our military victories. One day, soon we pray, G-d will remove the vail from our eyes, and we will receive Yeshua for who He is: the Messiah and King of Israel!

Our Torah portion approaches the need for an army from several angles. Starting with:

And from a different, Moses criticizes the Tribes of Gad and Reuven, saying:

Let’s go back to the beginning of chapter 31, God speaks to Moses, commanding him to go out to war against the Midianites:

Let’s stop to think about this verse for a moment. God asks Moses to fight the Midianites, knowing that it will actually be his last task.

After the war Moses will die. Any normal person would postpone the preparations for this war against the Midianites, gaining a few more days of grace for himself.Moses, however, is like Abraham, who got up early to take Isaac to Mount Moriah. Moses, too, hurried to prepare the army for war.

The commentators express a great love for Moses and explain chapter 31:5 in a very interesting and beautiful way:‘Were supplied’ means that the people were recruited against their will. The idea being that the People of Israel - out of love for Moses - refused to be recruited for his last task and therefore hid. and the tribe chiefs went from tent to tent, from family to family, taking soldiers by force and handing them over to Moses.

I think that this commentary is beautiful and emphasizes the great love and importance of Moses in the life of our people.

Interestingly, the New Testament refers to the Torah as ‘Moses’:

Saying that on every Sabbath, in every city and town of the world, ‘Moses’ - the Torah Portions are learned.

The war against the Midianites is viewed from yet another angle when the tribes of Gad and Reuven see the green pastures across the Trans-Jordan. They ask Moses’ permission to settle there instead of in the Promised Land.At first Moses is angry with them, as he recognizes their request to have traces from the rebellion of the spies’. Moses replies with a rhetorical question:

And only after the Tribes of Gad and Reuven promise to join the conquest of the land in the front line, Moses calms down and allows them to settle in Trans-Jordan.

Now, let’s return to the first part of our Torah portion, as it deals with vows: vow of a wife or of a daughter, including the right of a husband or father to cancel the vow of his wife or daughter. How can I approach this topic in a ‘politically correct’ way?

After reading chapter 30, I understand the following:

1. women can take vows,2. the validity of a vow is the same for both men and women,3. a man can cancel the vow of his wife or daughter.

Now, breaking a vow is not an easy topic in the Torah. If someone takes a vow, he or she is obligated to fulfill it. A vow is an agreement between man and God. So, why then, does the Torah allow a father to annul a vow of his daughter?

It is all a matter of authority.A child is under his or her parents’ authority.If a child sins, that sin passes to the head of the family, making him bear the guilt in stead; while the child stays clean from sin. When a child reaches the age of bar or bat mitzvah, the father proclaims:

From that moment on, any deed of the child (good or bad), will be upon his or her own head, while his parents remain clean.

When someone makes a vow, it is usually done under dramatic circumstances. The person is desperately in need of help from Above and therefore makes the vow.…If God saves me from the current situation, I will give or do so and so… The problem is that we make promises – under pressure - and sometimes exaggerate.

The Torah allows the husband to cancel the vow, because the one who vowed could not completely understand the significance of the promise that was made.

Authority is not a bad word; rather, it is a logical and organizational part of society. When a low-level manager makes a mistake, someone of a higher rank can overturn the decision for the sake of the company.

As Messianic believers we have several levels of authority above us. The first level is the father of the family, similar to the rest of society. Secondly, we are under the authority of our congregational leaders. Whereas the highest level of authority above us, is Yeshua Himself.

We accept and believe that He is our Messiah and Savior. He takes our sins and transgressions upon Himself.Unlike a father of the family who proclaims:

Yeshua does not proclaim anything like that. Instead, He takes our sins upon Himself, leaving us clean and pure.

The vows known to us from the Bible are hard and even problematic, having been made in times of distress, Jacob - while running from Esau, Hannah – who was barren, and Jephtah from Gilead – during a war, facing a violent death.All of these people felt they had nothing to lose. Feeling life would not matter, unless they survived this hardship or struggle.

Someone in authority, someone with life-experience, which enables them to see the bigger picture - From that position in life, they can help us see the real size of the problem ahead of us. It enables them to guide us to better understand if our hardship justifies making such a big promise or commitment.

Remember, Hannah had to give Samuel away, give him to God. And Jephtah had to sacrifice his daughter.Furthermore, many commentators blame the hardships in Jacob’s life to the fact, that he was in no hurry to fulfill the vow he made to God.

And so, we can learn that our speech is powerful, and that the promises we do not keep could even be dangerous. Yeshua teaches us that vows are holy. Likewise, an oath must be fulfilled. Now, what happens when you take a vow, but are not able to fulfill it? Who will pay the price then?Jephtah from Gilead had to pay the price. had to sacrifice his daughter!

Yeshua teaches us to take a step back, to work on our credibility and our integrity. Our yes must be a yes. Building trust between people begins with us and with the words that come out of our mouth.

Yeshua teaches:

God created us in a unique way, by giving us the ability to express ourselves and to communicate through speech. We can describe situations and feelings.

By means of speech we can plan our future. We can set a date and decide what will happen on that date. In that way we shape our reality. This reality will happen if all parties involved will keep their word.

In society, our strength is based on our word. The Hebrew language contains many expressions about speech and words. For example:

“Yesh lo mila”, literally: he has a word, means: ‘he can be trusted’. And: “hu natan li mila” - ‘he gave his word’, means: someone promised. “hu omed ba mila” - ‘he stands by his word, means: he keeps his promises.

From this angle, we understand another layer of Yeshua’s words:

The Torah stands upon our relationships with others, and on our relationship with God. Now, words are an important ingredient of these relationships. God used words to create, as He commanded: “Let there be light!”, and there was light. God spoke a word, and it was fulfilled in our material world.

Our society is built upon words, agreements and the mutual trust that we will keep our promises. When we do not keep our word, and do not live up to our commitments, it causes the social relationships to crumble. It makes us dependent on written and signed agreements and on an enforcement system to force us to keep our word - our commitment.

And so, Yeshua emphasizes that each of our empty words actually add to a disintegration of trust and the crumbling of our society.

In addition to the practical meaning of words intended to create reality, our words also have the power to influence our surroundings. For example, a good salesman can cause us to buy a product.

Somebody, with words can encourage me, making me feel good about myself. Furthermore, I can use my words, to pray to God and praise Him.

Yeshua says that the words that come out of our mouth are an internal indication of what’s inside of us, showing the condition of our heart.

The New Testament teaches us that a person who trains himself to speak well, to speak words of blessing, is a person who also trains his or her body to act accordingly: to be a light and a blessing to those surrounding.

In conclusion: a vow is holy, and stands between you and God. And, what about relationships between others and ourselves? Yeshua teaches us that building trust begins with us. Our yes must be a yes, our word must be our word.

Here we conclude the book of Numbers. Next week we begin the book of Deuteronomy.