Parshat Matot-Masei: The long & winding road

The Torah, the spiritual roadmap for the Jewish people, speaks to us not only through its content, but by way of its form, too. The reams of parchment, the carefully crafted letters, the amount of spaces between sections, the way the ink and scrolls of parchment are crafted – all these, and the traditions around them, come to teach us spiritual messages.

The same holds true for the number of lines of text appearing in a Torah scroll. The Talmud states: “Regarding the lines [in a Torah scroll], a reason was given: they correspond to the journeys, which are forty-two” (Sofrim 2:6). It is this week’s Torah portion that lists those 42 journeys, or legs of travel across the desert, referred to in the Talmud.

Yet when codified in Jewish law, the number of lines per parchment in the Torah scroll is a matter of debate, dating back to the medieval period. R. Jacob ben Asher in his magnum opus the Arba’ah Turim Tur (YD 275) records two positions: Maimonides (Hilchot Sefer Torah 7:10), who advocates for 48, and R’ Judah ben Barzillai of Barcelona, who suggested the number 42. Aside from aesthetic appearance or logistical convenience, what might these numbers be coming to tell us? Furthermore, how does Maimonides advocate a position against the Talmud?

R’ Yehoshua Falk, in his commentary to Tur entitled “Perisha” (275:14) suggests that there are multiple ways to count the stops along the journey towards the promised land. As Rashi (s.v. Eleh Mas’ei, Bamidbar 33:1) notes, counting up the stops recorded in the Torah indicates that there were 42 legs to the trip – making 42 a fitting number of lines to include in a Torah scroll. For the Torah is our guide through our journeys in the world, and its 42-line pages remind us that just as God led us in the desert, God leads us along all our journeys.

But what, then, is the significance of 48? Here, R’ Falk offers an astounding explanation. While Parshat Mas’ei records a total of 42 stops along the journey, here the Torah only records the journey forwards. Yet a careful read of the verses in Bamidbar and Devarim leads Chazal (Yerushalmi Sotah 1:10, cited by Rashi to Devarim 10:6)  to conclude that the Jewish people, fearing the Canaanite attack on the camp following the death of Aharon, retreated back towards Egypt. A full account of the journey to the land of Israel, then, amounted not to 42 stops, but 48.

What might be seen as a minute, fairly inconsequential detail of the laws of writing a Torah scroll actually reflects a crucial message for us, especially as we face the three weeks and the upcoming fast day of Tish’a B’Av. Maimonides’ view, as understood by the Perisha, insists that when considering the journey to the promised land, we include in our collective memory the setbacks along the way.

The Torah is not merely a map or a guidebook, for, if so, there would be no reason for the journeys to be enumerated in our parsha. The Torah is our spiritual Waze – aware of our capacity to go astray and capable of rerouting us when we’ve lost our way.

In the journey of life, we have so much to learn from the way forward, yet a great deal to learn from the setbacks and challenges as well. If we learn from these setbacks, then they cease to be setbacks. Rather they become detours through which we achieve focus, and ultimately help us reach our goals and destinations.

This past year has certainly showcased the importance of learning from the moments that go awry. For all that has been lost and damaged in our physical lives and in our national consciousness, great heroism and solidarity have also been demonstrated across the board. Major national questions that have been swept under the rug for decades are finally coming to light, and the brokenness that has befallen us has been translated into resilience and a desire for change.

Our country’s and our society’s failures do not justify retreat, but the reality we face calls for course corrections, to redeem our fate and sanctify our lives through lessons learned. And as this week’s parsha reminds us, we need to embrace those course corrections and remain committed to our journey. Then our long and winding road is always propelling us forward.