Beth HaDerech; Messianic Jewish Congregation, Toronto, Canada

Parasha Overview: Matot – Masei (Videos)

The year is 2448 and the 40 years in the desert are drawing to a close. Miriam and Aharon have passed on, and Yehoshua has been appointed as the successor. In these last two portions of Sefer Bamidbar, Matot - Masei, HaShem begins to wrap things up. Pay attention to the laws selected to end the 4th Sefer. Parshat Matot is always read during the three weeks of mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temple, an event which plugged the Jewish people into a physical and spiritual exile from which they have not yet recovered. It is not surprising therefore, that the name of the Parsha contains a message of inspiration which helps us overcome the adversities of exile. Matot, Mattot, Mattoth, or Matos (מטות — Hebrew for “tribes,” the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 42nd weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the book of Numbers. It constitutes Numbers 30:2–32:42. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in July or early August. The name of the forty-second reading from the Torah is Mattot (מטות), which means “tribes.” The name is derived from the words of Numbers 30:1, which says, “Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel.” Numbers 30 discusses the laws of vows and...