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Masei
As each place along the journey is mentioned in the Torah the
same formula is repeated: “They journeyed from ... and they camped
in …” This pattern alludes to how all process and progress works in
a dynamic ebb and flow of starts and stops, activity and rest, taking
the initiative and passively receiving. This same dynamic forms
the basic structure of Jewish time as six days of work are followed
by Shabbat and six years of agricultural work are followed by a
Sabbatical year.
In Kabbalah this energetic ebb and flow is referred to as “run and
return,” a phrase borrowed from the vibrant movement of the angels
in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1:14). The dualistic pulsation of run and
return manifests in countless ways throughout creation: from the
contraction and expansion at the very origins of the universe to the
beating of our hearts and the pulse of the blood running through
our arteries and veins; from the exhalation and inhalation of breath
to the highs and lows of human emotions; from the cycles of the
seasons to the ebb and flow of the tides; from the give and take of
relationships to the cycle of life and death mirrored by the pulsating
rhythm of motion within every cell and atom. The journeys and
encampments in the desert allude to a further manifestation of
this dynamic: the ongoing cycles of exile and redemption that have
formed the parameters of Jewish history and left a deep impression
on all Jews.

A beautiful remez to the pulse of life encoded in these journeys
is found in the numerical value of the very word “masei,” which
is 180 (ten times eighteen). Eighteen is the numerical value of the
Hebrew word for life (chai), and ten times a number symbolizes the
activation of that word or concept’s inherent potential. Thus, this
portion’s journeys represent the manner in which the Jewish people’s
latent potential became activated and realized when Israel became a
nation. This activation of potential also holds true for each person as
he or she makes their way through life’s journeys.

The inverse construction of the verse introducing the journeys, as
well as the juxtaposition of journeys and encampments, provides us
with deep insight into the nature of process and progress, especially
when viewed retrospectively. Sometimes, those very periods in life

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