Turning the Wheel | Parshas Matos-Masei

Yes, 42. That's the number of stops the Jews made in the desert as the parsha tells us. Rashi asks, why does the Torah list every single stop? What's the point of recording every encampment, every place of failure, every location of a struggle and pain? Why not just tell us where they started and where they ended? And Rashi answers with a parable. A king whose son was ill. The king took him on a journey to find healing. On the way home, the king listed every single stop. He said, "Here is where you had a fever, here is where you couldn't sleep, here is where we almost had to turn back." Not to shame his son, >> [music] >> but to show him how far he had come. To say, "Look at every single place you survived. Look at everything you came through in order to get here." This is why the Torah lists every [music] single one of the 42 journeys, because every single stop matters. Even the painful ones, even the places of failure, even the detours [music] that felt like they had no purpose. Hashem is saying, "I was there and at every single one, and none of it [music] was wasted." Rav Shimshon Dovid Pinkhas zt"l was killed in a terrible car accident along with his wife, [music] Rebbetzin Chaya, and an 18-year-old daughter. Three other children were injured at the scene. His son, Eliyahu, just 30 years old, had to make decisions [music] in the immediate aftermath that no human being should ever have to face. He was asked [music] how the family found the strength to continue. And he said something that I have never forgotten. He said, "Their mission in this world is not complete. Their task was [music] to increase spirituality in the world. Whoever continues with that mission is assured that the souls of the departed will assist them." He didn't let the most painful stop on the journey become his last stop. He picked up his father's torch. He continued the journey. >> [music] >> And Rav Pinkhas's Torah, Seforim, his recordings, and his teachings continue to transform lives across [music] the world to this day. The painful stop did not end the journey. It became fuel for the next leg of it. And this is the message of Matis Miller say for every single person watching this. Your 42 journeys are not a list of your failures. >> [music] >> They are a map of everything you survived and Hashem has been at every single stop recording everyone saying, >> [music] >> "I was there. I see how far you've come. Your journey is not over. It was never over. And if you're watching [music] this and you feel like you're stuck at a painful stop with no way forward, please reach out because the next [music] leg of your journey is waiting and you do not have to take it alone. This is turning the wheel because the road to healing isn't straight, but no one [music] should have to travel it alone. Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos.