For most of human history, travel was difficult, dangerous, and often transformative. People rarely ventured far from home, and those who did could never be sure where the journey would lead. As Bilbo Baggins tells Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, "It's a dangerous business, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."
In Parshat Masei, Moses recounts the forty-two stages of Israel's trek through the wilderness. Why does the Torah devote so much space to recording every stop along the way?
We may answer based on a teaching of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who once observed that “to be a Jew is to be on a journey.” History bears this out. The Jewish story has been shaped by a series of journeys: Abraham's journey from Mesopotamia to Canaan, the Israelites' travels from Egypt to the Land of Israel, and, over the past two millennia, sojourns to diaspora communities across the globe. More recently, the story has come full circle with the establishment of the State of Israel.
We have been formed through journeys, many forced upon us by persecution and exile. But each one changed us in profound and lasting ways. They have given us languages such as Yiddish and Ladino and customs as different as the Moroccan post-Passover Mimouna feast, Sephardic and Yemenite pre-wedding henna ceremonies, and distinctive melodies and cuisines.
On a personal level, the Hasidic master Rabbi Mordechai Leiner teaches that every stage of Israel's wilderness journey foreshadows the spiritual odysseys each of us embarks on. The Torah's itinerary is not only the story of our ancestors but, in a mystical sense, a map of our own lives.
Nowadays, we often experience our journeys through the lenses of our phones, treating them as moments to document rather than opportunities to be changed. But Parshat Masei invites us to recover a very different understanding of travel. The journeys of our ancestors remind us that the deepest purpose of travel is not simply to see new places, but to become different people. If we remain open to the places we visit and the people we encounter, our journeys may leave an imprint on us that no photograph ever could.
Rabbi Dr. Jeremy Bruce is Director of Programming at The Rabbi Sacks Legacy, where he oversees many of the key projects that have been developed since the Legacy was established, including the Sacks Scholars international programme, and the Torah v'Chochmah programme in North America. This role follows a successful period for Rabbi Bruce as Head of School of the Hebrew High School of New England and Principal of the Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School in Cleveland, Ohio.
Rabbi Bruce received his semicha from Yeshivat Hamivtar, Efrat. He holds a BA in International History and Politics from the University of Leeds, a Masters in Educational Management from King’s College London, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. Born and raised in London, he has worked for over 20 years in the educational field in the UK and the US, and was also an adjunct lecturer at the London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS), where he regularly taught Bible and Jewish philosophy.
This essay was written as part of our collaboration with The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Sacks Scholars.
