Jewish World Review

Escaping ‘Toward’ a Goal

By Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski

A passage in this week's Bible reading that might well be dismissed as sloppy editing, actually provides profound psychological insight — if we bother to notice

“These are the journeys of the Children of Israel, who went forth from the land of Egypt …Moses wrote their goings forth according to their journeys at the bidding of G-d, and these were their journeys according to their goings forth.”

  —   Numbers 33:1-2

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Many commentaries try to explain the changing in the wording and obvious reversal of the sequence of terms: ''Moses wrote their goings forth according to their journeys …and these were their journeys according to their goings forth.''

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808 -1888) observes that when G-d made the Israelites break camp, the purpose was always to reach a fresh goal. Each journey was a progress toward a goal. But to the people it was the reverse. They were generally dissatisfied wherever they stayed. They just wanted to leave. It did not matter where they were going to next. Hence, to G-d it was ''their goings forth according to their journeys,'' whereas to the Israelites it was their ''journeys according to their goings forth.''

The Maggid of Dubnow (1741-1804) enlightens us with a parable. A young man suffered much abuse from his stepmother, and looked forward to the day that he would be able to leave home. When he was of age, his father suggested a match for him with a fine young woman from a good family in another city that he'd almost certainly want to marry.

As they traveled, the young man kept on remarking how far they had gone from home. The father, on the other hand, kept on remarking how much closer they were to their destination.

The young man, the Maggid says, had no idea what awaited him, so he was much more pleased with the distance he was putting between himself and his abusive stepmother. The father, on the other hand, having met the young woman and her family, knew that his son would be received with warmth and love.

So it was with the Israelites, said the Maggid. They had no concept of the kedushah (holiness) of the Promised Land. All they appreciated was that they were away from the cruel enslavement in Egypt, hence for them the emphasis was their ''journeys according to their goings forth.'' From G-d's perspective, however, the goal of entering the Promised Land was primary, hence ''their goings forth according to their journeys,''

When we are dissatisfied with something, we may try a ''geographic cure,'' without giving serious thought to why things should really be different in the new location. If our problems are within us, we take them along wherever we go. It is far better to consider the possible merits of a new location, and to see if there is indeed valid reason why the change should alleviate our problems.