MaseiBamidbar (numbers)

Synopsis of the Exodus
The Torah continues to chronicle the preparations for the people’s entry into the Land of Israel. Now that the people had reached their final stop on their trek through the desert and were poised to enter the Promised Land, the narrative summarizes this chapter of their history by briefly reviewing the 42 stations on the journey. These are the journeys of the Israelites who left Egypt, organized by tribal troops,¹Exodus 12:51. under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

Moses recorded their starting points of their journeys according to the word of GOD, and these were their journeys with their starting points.²There are 41 starting points, the 42nd location being the final destination, the plains of Moab.

They journeyed from Rameseis³Exodus 12:37. in Nisan, the first month, specifically, on the 15th day of the first month; on the day following the Passover sacrifice, the Israelites left triumphantly⁴Ibid., 14:8. in full view of all the Egyptians.

The Egyptians were busy burying their dead, because GOD had struck down their firstborn.⁵Ibid., 12:29. GOD also destroyed their deities.⁶Ibid., 12:12.

The Israelites journeyed from Rameseis and camped at Sukot.⁷Exodus. 12:37.

They journeyed from Sukot and camped at Eitam, at the edge of the desert.⁸Ibid., 13:20.

They journeyed from Eitam and returned to Pi HaChirot, which faces Ba’al Tzefon, and camped before Migdol.

Crossing the Sea of Reeds
They journeyed from Penei HaChirot (an alternative name for Pi HaChirot) and crossed in the midst of the sea to the desert.¹⁰Ibid., 14:22. They walked for three days in the desert of Eitam and camped at Marah.¹¹Ibid., 15:22–23.

They journeyed from Marah and arrived at Eilim, and at Eilim there were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees, and they camped there.¹²Ibid., 15:27.

They journeyed from Eilim and camped by the Sea of Reeds.

They journeyed from the Sea of Reeds and camped in the Sin desert.

They journeyed from the Sin desert and camped at Dofkah.

They journeyed from Dofkah and camped at Alush.

They journeyed from Alush and camped at Refidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink.

At Mount Sinai
They journeyed from Refidim and camped in the Sinai desert.

They journeyed from the Sinai desert and camped at Kivrot HaTa’avah.

They journeyed from Kivrot HaTa’avah and camped at Chatzeirot.

They journeyed from Chatzeirot and camped at Ritmah. The word ritmah means “slander”; this place was so named because it was here that the spies slandered the Land of Israel.

They journeyed from Ritmah and camped at Rimon Peretz.²³This and the following 16 stations are not mentioned explicitly in the historical chronicle (see above, 20:1).

They journeyed from Rimon Peretz and camped at Livnah.

They journeyed from Livnah and camped at Risah.

They journeyed from Risah and camped at Keheilatah.

They journeyed from Keheilatah and camped at Mount Shefer.

They journeyed from Mount Shefer and camped at Charadah.

They journeyed from Charadah and camped at Makheilot.

They journeyed from Makheilot and camped at Tachat.

They journeyed from Tachat and camped at Tarach.

They journeyed from Tarach and camped at Mitkah.

They journeyed from Mitkah and camped at Chashmonah.

They journeyed from Chashmonah and camped at Moseirot.

They journeyed from Moseirot and camped at Benei Ya’akan.

They journeyed from Benei Ya’akan and camped at Chor HaGidgad.

They journeyed from Chor HaGidgad and camped at Yotvatah.

They journeyed from Yotvatah and camped at Avronah.

They journeyed from Avronah and camped at Etzyon Gever.

They journeyed from Etzyon Gever and camped in the desert of Tzin, at the city of Kadeish.²⁶Above, 20:1.

They journeyed from Kadeish and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of Edom.

Aaron’s Death
Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at GOD’s bidding and died there “by God’s kiss,” on the first day of Av, the fifth month, in the 40th year of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.

Aaron was 123 years old when he died at Mount Hor.

Amalek Attacks
The Amalekite king of Arad, disguised as a Canaanite, who dwelt in the south of Canaan, heard that Aaron died when the Israelites came to Mount Hor, and therefore attacked them.

They journeyed from Mount Hor and camped at Tzalmonah.

They journeyed from Tzalmonah and camped at Punon.

They journeyed from Punon and camped at Ovot.³³Above, 21:10.

They journeyed from Ovot and camped by The Ruins of the Passes, on the Moabite border.

They journeyed from The Ruins of the Passes and camped at Divon Gad.³⁵Above, 21:12; it is not mentioned there by name.

They journeyed from Divon Gad and camped at Almon Divlataimah.³⁶Above, 21:13; it is not mentioned there by name.

They journeyed from Almon Divlataimah and camped at The Mountains of the Passes, in front of Nebo.³⁷Above, 21:32; it is not mentioned there by name.

At the Threshold of the Land of Israel
They journeyed from The Mountains of the Passes and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, opposite Jericho.

They camped along the Jordan River; their encampment extended from Beit Yeshimot to Aveil, the plain of Shitim, in the plains of Moab, a distance of 24,000 cubits. From this chronicle, it is clear that God did not exhaust the people by making them wander continuously during the 38 years between the sin of the spies and the entry into the land. Of the 42 stations, 14 occurred between the Exodus (15 Nisan 2448) and the decree (9 Menachem Av, 2449), and 8 between Kadeish (1 Nisan 2487) and the plains of Moab (after Tishrei 2488). The people spent 19 years at Ritmah (from 2449 to 2468), so, in the remaining 19 years (between 2469 and 2487), they camped at only 20 stations. They thus spent an average of a year at each of these stations.

Occupying the Land
GOD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, opposite Jericho, saying:

“Although you have already told the people that they will have to expel the present population from Canaan,⁴¹Exodus 23:27–33, 34:11 ff. speak to the Israelites now and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan River into Canaan,

you must do so with the express intention to drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, or else the water of the Jordan will inundate you. You must destroy all their marble-floored temples, destroy all their molten idols, and demolish all their sacrificial platforms.

If you indeed clear out the land of its present inhabitants, you will successfully settle it, for I have given you the land to take possession of it.

You will be privileged to give the land as an inheritance to your families by lot, as I have told you: you will give a larger inheritance to the large tribe and you will give a smaller inheritance to the small tribe; wherever the lot falls for a person, that will be his inheritance; you will inherit according to the tribes of your fathers who came out of Egypt, and furthermore, you will inherit the land in 12 districts, according to the tribes of your fathers.

But if you do not completely drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those whom you leave over will become as vexing as spikes in your eyes and will cage you in like a hedge of thorns on all your sides, and they will harass you in those areas of the land in which you settle,

and I will do to you what I had intended to do to them.’”

The Boundaries of the Land
GOD spoke to Moses, saying:

“Command the Israelites and say to them, ‘When you arrive in Canaan, this is the land that will fall to you by lot as an inheritance, Canaan according to its borders. As you know, there are certain commandments that you are obligated to fulfill only within your land but not outside of it. It is specifically within the following borders that you are obligated to fulfill those commandments. It will fall easily to you, for I have incapacitated the guardian angels of the seven nations that occupy it.

Your land’s southernmost side will be from the desert of Tzin, which is alongside Edom, westward, as follows: The southern border will begin from the southernmost edge of the Salt Sea, i.e., the Dead Sea, to the east, i.e., on the southeast shore of the Dead Sea.

The border will then turn southward and pass to the south of Ma’aleih Akrabim and pass toward Tzin. Its southernmost extension will be to the south of Kadeish Barnei’a, because it will extend to Chatzar Adar and from there pass toward Atzmon.

The border will then turn northwest from Atzmon and continue to the Stream of Egypt, following it, and its end will be where the Stream of Egypt flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

Your land’s western border will be the Great Sea – the Mediterranean – and the islands close to the shore will also be within this border. This will be your western border.

This will be your northern border: From the Great Sea draw a slanting line from the seaward extension of Mount Hor⁴³This is not the same Mount Hor where Aaron died (above, 20:22). – where the northwest border begins – to Mount Hor itself.

From Mount Hor draw a slanting line eastward until the entrance to Chamat, which is Antioch, and the end of this leg of the northern border will extend to Tzedad.

From there, an additional leg of the northern border will extend to Zifron, and its end will be Chatzar Einan; this will be your northern border.

You will then draw a slanting line for the eastern border, from Chatzar Einan to Shefam.

The border will descend southward from Shefam toward Rivlah, passing to the east of Ayin. Then the border will descend further southward and hit the eastern shore of Lake Kineret.

The border will descend further southward along the Jordan River, and its end will be the Salt Sea, i.e., the Dead Sea; this will be your land according to its borders all around.’”

Moses commanded the Israelites, saying, “This is the land that you are to apportion for inheritance by lot, which GOD has commanded to give to nine-and-a-half of the 12 tribes.

For the tribe of Reuben’s descendants according to their fathers’ house, the tribe of Gad’s descendants according to their fathers’ house, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already taken their inheritance.

These two-and-a-half tribes have taken their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho.”

Inheriting the Land
GOD spoke to Moses, telling him to say to the people:

“The following are the names of the men who must assume possession of the land on your behalf and then divide it among you, under the leadership of Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.

You must take one prince from each tribe to assume possession of the land and then divide it among you.

These are the names of the men: For the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Yefuneh.

For the tribe of the descendants of Simeon, Shemu’eil son of Amihud.

For the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Kislon.

The prince for the tribe of the descendants of Dan, Buki son of Yogli.

For the descendants of Joseph: the prince for the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh, Chani’eil son of Eifod;

and the prince for the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim, Kemu’eil son of Shiftan.

The prince for the tribe of the descendants of Zebulun, Elitzafan son of Parnach.

The prince for the tribe of the descendants of Issachar, Palti’eil son of Azan.

The prince for the tribe of the descendants of Asher, Achihud son of Shelomi.

The prince for the tribe of the descendants of Naphtali, Pedah’eil son of Amihud.

These are the ones whom GOD commanded to assign the Israelites their estates in Canaan.”

Levite Cities
GOD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan River, opposite Jericho, saying,

“Since the tribe of Levi will receive no portion of the land, command the rest of the Israelites that they give the Levites cities in which to dwell from their hereditary estates, and tell them also: ‘You must give the Levites open spaces around the cities, which are not to be used for residential purposes.

These cities must be theirs for dwelling in, and their open spaces must be for their cattle, their property, and for all their other needs.

The areas of open space around the cities that you must give the Levites for pasture must extend from the wall of the city outward, one thousand cubits all around. In addition, you must give them another thousand cubits in each direction for cultivating crops.

Thus, you must measure from outside the city 2000 cubits on the eastern side, 2000 cubits on the southern side, 2000 cubits on the western side, and 2000 cubits on the northern side, with the city in the middle; this will be their cities’ extended open spaces.

The cities you must give the Levites must include the six cities of refuge whose function will be described presently, which you must provide as places to which a murderer can flee. In addition to them, you must provide the Levites with 42 other cities.

Thus, all the cities you must give the Levites will number 48 cities; give them to them together with their open spaces.

And as for the cities that you must give the Levites from the Israelites’ estates, you must take more land from a tribe with a larger land-inheritance and less land from a tribe with a smaller one, so that each tribe gives of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the estate that it will eventually take possession of.’”

Cities of Refuge
GOD now gave Moses the laws of the cities of refuge.⁴⁷See Exodus 21:13. He spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan River, into Canaan,

you must designate six cities for yourselves that will serve as cities of refuge for you: a murderer who killed a person unintentionally but nonetheless is guilty of negligence must flee there from the close relative of the murdered person who, in such a case, is allowed to avenge the victim’s death, as will be explained presently.

These cities must serve you as a refuge for the unintentional murderer from this avenger, so that the unintentional murderer not die until he stands in judgment before the community’s judges.

The cities that you provide will function as cities of refuge only when all six cities of refuge have been designated for you.’” Thus, even though Moses later⁴⁸Deuteronomy 4:41. designated three cities in Transjordan as cities of refuge, they did not begin to function as refuge cities until the three in Canaan were also designated.

God foresaw that there would be a similar number of incidences of unintentional murder on both sides of the Jordan River, even though only two and a half of the 12 tribes settled on the east side, so He told Moses to tell the people, “You must provide three of the cities in Transjordan and three of the cities in Canaan to serve as cities of refuge.

These six cities will provide refuge for both the Israelites and for the convert and resident alien among them, so that anyone who unintentionally kills a person can flee there.

Intentional Murder
Now, these cities do not offer asylum for an intentional murderer: If the assailant struck the victim intentionally with an iron instrument of any size and he died, he is a full murderer; such a murderer must be put to death.⁵⁶Exodus 21:12.

If he struck him with a fist-sized stone, which is large enough to be deadly, and he dies, he is a full murderer; such a murderer must be put to death.⁵⁷Ibid., 21:18.

Or if he struck him with a fist-sized wooden instrument, which is large enough to be deadly, and he dies, he is a full murderer; such a murderer must be put to death. (If, however, the stone or wooden instrument was not large enough to cause death normally, but the victim died of the blow anyway, the assailant is not guilty of intentional murder.)

Once the intentional murderer has been tried and found guilty,⁵⁹V. 30, below; Mishneh Torah , Rotzei’ach 1:5, 5:7. the blood avenger – the close relative of the victim – will be allowed to kill the murderer; he may kill him wherever he meets him, even inside a city of refuge.

Similarly, if, out of hatred, the assailant pushed the victim or threw something at him in ambush, and he died,

or if he maliciously struck him with his hand and he died, the assailant must be put to death; he is a full murderer, and the blood avenger may kill the murderer wherever he meets him, even inside a city of refuge.

Inadvertent Murder
The law is different, however, in the case of inadvertent murder. If the assailant pushed the victim down accidentally, without malice, or threw an object in a downward motion at him and not in ambush,

or he killed him with any stone that is large enough to be deadly, that is, without seeing his victim he threw it down at him and it killed him, but, in all these cases, he was not his enemy and bore him no malice,

then the community’s judges must judge between the assailant and the blood avenger, on the basis of these judgments: If the murder happened as just described, the assailant is considered guilty of negligence and may be killed by the blood avenger unless the assailant has fled to a city of refuge. However, if the assailant killed the victim by throwing something up at him, or by means of any other upward movement, this is considered unnatural, so the assailant is not considered guilty of negligence. The victim’s close relatives may not avenge his blood, and the assailant does not have to flee.⁶¹Rashi on v. 23; Mishneh Torah, Rotzei’ach uShemirat Nefesh 6:12.

If the assailant must be removed from the city of refuge in order to stand trial, the community must protect the murderer from the hand of the blood avenger, and – if he is judged guilty of unintentional murder by negligence – the community must return him safely to the city of refuge to which he had fled. He must remain there even after the victim’s close relatives have calmed down⁶³Cf. Deuteronomy 19:6. and no longer seek to avenge his blood. For even then, the victim’s close relatives are required to kill the assailant if he leaves the city of refuge.⁶⁴V. 27, below. This obligation devolves upon them until the high priest, who was anointed with the sacred oil, dies.

But if the murderer goes beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he had fled,

and the blood avenger finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, the blood avenger must slay the murderer, for it is as if he is already dead and has no blood.⁶⁵Makot 11b–12a.

Rather, the unintentional murderer must remain in his city of refuge until the high priest dies, and only after the high priest has died may the murderer return to the land which is his estate.

These laws will be a rule of justice for you, for all your generations, in all your dwelling places, even outside the Land of Israel: a minor court (of 23 judges) may try capital cases as long as the Sanhedrin (of 71 judges) is functioning in the Land of Israel.

Although the victim’s close relatives are allowed (and required) to kill the murderer if he leaves the city of refuge, and no further trial is necessary, this is not the case with an intentional murder: Whoever, as a blood avenger, seeks to kill a person for having intentionally killed his close relative, will be allowed to slay the murderer only on the testimony of at least two witnesses that the accused was warned and acted intentionally. The testimony of a single witness must not be accepted to convict a person of the death penalty.

No Ransom
You must not accept monetary ransom for the life of an intentional murderer who is guilty of death, for he must be put to death.

Similarly, you must not accept ransom for one who has killed inadvertently and fled to his city of refuge, to allow him to return to live freely in the land before the high priest has died.

You must not, by trying to circumvent these laws, render the land in which you live culpable, for the blood of the murdered renders the land culpable, and the blood that is shed in the land through murder cannot be atoned for except through the blood of the one who shed it or the death of the high priest, as stated previously.

You must not defile the land where you reside, in which I dwell, for this will cause Me to dwell in defilement, inasmuch as I am GOD, who continues to dwell among the Israelites even if they are defiled.”

The Laws of Inheritance
The paternal heads of the family of the sons of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, one of the families of the sons of Joseph, approached and spoke before Moses and the princes, the paternal heads of the Israelites, when they were all assembled for study. They asked Moses about the law and addressed the princes as litigants.

They said through one of them who spoke for them all, “GOD commanded you, my lord, to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites, and you, my lord, were commanded by GOD to give the inheritance of Tzelofchad our brother to his daughters.⁶⁷Above, 27:7.

Now, if they marry a member of another tribe of the Israelites, their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, for their sons will inherit them, and they will be part of their fathers’ tribes. Thus, their inheritance will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.

Even if the Israelites will observe a Jubilee year after these women die⁶⁹Leviticus 25:8–13. – in which land returns to its original owner – their inheritance will still remain in their sons’ possession and be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, for only sold land returns to its original owner in the Jubilee year, not inherited land. And in any case, the Jubilee is observed only when the majority of the Jewish people are living in the Land of Israel,⁷⁰Mishneh Torah, Shemitah veYoveil 10:8, from Leviticus 25:10. and this may not always be the case. Thus, their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers’ tribe.”

Moses’ Response
Moses commanded the Israelites according to the word of GOD, saying, “The tribe of Joseph’s descendants speak justly.

This is the word that GOD has commanded regarding Tzelofchad’s daughters: Let them marry whomever they please, but they must marry only someone from the family of their father’s tribe.

Thus, the inheritance of the Israelites will not be transferred from tribe to tribe, for each Israelite person will remain attached to the inheritance of his fathers’ tribe. (The only exception to this is the fact that Joshua’s and Caleb’s children were given the land-inheritances of the other spies’ children.⁷¹See above, 14:38 and 26:55. Likutei Sichot, vol. 8, p. 175, note 28.)

Every daughter from the tribes of the Israelites who inherits property because her father had no sons must marry a member of a family of her father’s tribe, so every Israelite inherit the property of his forefathers

and no inheritance will be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for each person of the tribes of the Israelites must remain attached to his own inheritance.”

Tzelofchad’s daughters did as GOD had commanded Moses.

The Daughters Marry
Tzelofchad’s daughters – Machlah, Tirtzah, Choglah, Milkah, and No’ah, in this order, the order of their birth – married their cousins.

They married into the families of the sons of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained with the tribe of their father’s family.⁷²Their husbands were apparently not from the clans of Machir or Gilead, who received inheritances on the east side of the Jordan. See above, on 32:33, Joshua 17:4, and Likutei Sichot, vol. 23, p. 189, note 45.

These are the commandments and the ordinances that GOD commanded the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan River, opposite Jericho. While the Israelites were encamped in the plains of Moab, a number of Canaanites came and, being afraid of being conquered and killed, asked to convert. Moses accepted them but stipulated that they serve as woodcutters and water-drawers.⁷³Deuteronomy 29:10; Rashi ad loc.; Likutei Sichot, vol. 14, pp. 114–117; ibid., vol. 23, p. 286.