HIDDEN KINDNESSES IN OUR JOURNEY

Dear Family,

I hope that everyone is well.

Mazal Tov to Hirshy whose birthday is today. Wishing you a year of much happiness and achievement Hirshy in both material and spiritual.

And following 2 days later in the same home is the birthday of Sophia. Mazal Tov Sophia. Wishing you to give much nachas to your parents, and to do well in school! Wishing you all much celebration.

In the Masei part of this week's Sedra, all the 42 JOURNEYS of Bnei Yisrael are listed through the 40 years in the desert.

This was supposed to be a punishment from Hashem, but if one looks more closely, we can see the HIDDEN KINDNESSES OF HASHEM. (As pointed out by Rashi 33:1)

The 42 journeys as decreed and mentioned, gives one the impression that we were wandering about having to camp and move each time with much upheaval and no rest.

So Rashi points out that it wasn't like this. He makes a true calculation, and shows that there were only 20 journeys in the entire 38 years, and Rabbi Gordon pointed out that at one place they were actually camped for 19years. - "..to make us aware of the (hidden) kindnesses of Hashem.."

Of course there were many challenges, pain and hardships throughout those '40' years and '42' journeys, as we have learnt about over the past Sedras in Bamidbar.

The Baal Shem Tov explains to us that Torah is not coming to give us a history lesson of the list of journeys that happened 3300 years ago. What relevance would this be to us? It is coming to give us an important lesson. There is nothing in the macrocosm that does not also exist in the microcosm. Therefore those 42 journeys of the Jewish people, are coming to show us how they are re-enacted in the life of every one of us, from the moment we are born until our last day on earth."

We go through various stages in life, challenges, better times, worse times, personal relationships and developments ups and downs etc. So the Baal Shem Tov tells us that all of these come from Hashem. It is not coincidence. They are journeys designed specifically for each of us, precisely according to our needs AND WITH MUCH CARE. We need to remain connected and understand that everything that we go through on our journey is for a reason AND WE SHOULD REMAIN STRONG IN OUR FAITH THAT IT IS ALL FOR OUR GOOD. Until we will eventually understand this and see the picture clearly.

Gut Shabbos to all