BS"D
HEBREW TEXTS . HEBREW LANGUAGE . JUDAISM
Moshe describes laws related to vows. The Israelites fight the Midianites. The tribes of Reuven and Gad ask for territories outside Israel, good land for raising livestock; Moshe agrees, on the condition that they fight for the conquest of territories west of the Jordan along with their brothers.
Texts
Matot-Masei 5784
Parashat Matot reminds us of the eternal values that have distinguished our people throughout the centuries. It begins with the leader’s words about the promises and oaths we make. It instructs us on the value of our word and how we must guard what comes out of our mouths, understanding that with our words we can build or destroy.
Matot 5783
The Torah portions of this week, because we read two portions together, Matot and Masei, bring us a moment of the people where it seems like they never stop, like they are always on the move. Of course, that's not the case. Although they moved from one place to another, as the narrative describes, there were 42 stops made in the desert during the 40 years. But the way the story of each stop is told in this section, that they stopped here and stayed for so long and then continued on and stopped in another place, 42 times, 42 locations, is like a way to show us how exhausting that journey must have been.