Travels of the Jewish People

In Parshat Masei, Moshe Rabbeinu recounts the numerous journeys of the Jewish people. When he referred to a place where they had sinned, it was alluded to by way of רמז, hinting.

This was said during the last week’s of Moshe’s life, just before they had reached their long awaited destination, of entering the Promised Land.

Moshe wanted the people to remember the hardships that were involved at getting to that point. They tested Hashem with their rebelliousness on ten different occasions. Their forty years in the desert actually decreased their population rather than increase it. The various plagues and punishments, prevented the growth in population.

We see this same phenomenon in America today. Because of the plague of intermarriage and assimilation, the number of Jews in America, still hovers at around six million Jews, after at least fifty years. Contrast this with Israel whose total population was six million in 1988, but is around ten million in 2026, with 7.7 million being Jewish.

Moshe Rabbeinu wanted us to go back in history so that we could learn from our mistakes. We must do this all of the time so that past mistakes are not repeated.

One lesson that must not be ignored is the lesson of anti-Semitism. When it is there, it is real and doesn’t go away. The solution is to get out before it gets unbearable. And thankfully, we now have a homeland where all Jews are welcome. It is clearly time to come home.