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Masei
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£The Ever-Changing Borders The Ever-Changing Borders The Ever-Changing Borders
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of the Lof the L
of the Land of Israeland of Israeland of Israel

The idea that processes are dynamic in nature, as reflected by the
journeys and encampments in the beginning of this portion, is also
apparent in the biblical borders of the Land of Israel delineated, for
the first and only time in the Torah, later in this portion. Although
there are scholarly disagreements over where exactly these borders
are on the map, the Torah’s description is quite detailed. Rabbi
Yitzchak Ginsburgh notes that over the course of Jewish history
there were actually five different sets of borders:

1) The borders described in our portion of Masei.
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2) The borders established by conquest by those who entered the
Holy Land with Joshua.
3) The borders of those who returned from the Babylonian exile.
4) The borders promised to Abraham in the book of Genesis (from
the river of Egypt to the Euphrates), which far exceed the above
three.
5) The borders promised in the Messianic era of which it is stated:
“In the future the land of Israel will spread [and encompass] all the
lands [of the earth]” (Pesikta Rabbati).
When contemplating the deeper meaning of these changing
borders, we realize that just as the journeys and the encampments
in the desert were part of an ongoing process of change and growth,
so too are the borders of Israel. They are not static; rather, they are
pulsating and ever-changing. The truth of this statement is borne
out by the last fifty years of the twentieth century when the borders
of modern Israel changed many times.

The second paragraph of Shema, which is recited twice daily
(Deuteronomy 11:13-21), contains both the literal peshat as well as
the deeper sod (secret) of how the borders are set in each generation.
If we follow God’s word and observe His commandments we will

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