Rabbi Posner writes about the 42 stops that are cited in the text. Why is this information so important? He analyzes the timing: 14 stops during the first year, before the people were punished; 8 during the last year; therefore 20 stops during the 38 years in between. In recounting our own journeys, we learn that things aren’t always as bad as we thought. Additionally, when we reach the goal, we find new meaning in the journey.
Jill Levy writes about the difficulty in reading this text—the killing of the Midianite men, capturing women and children, plundering, and then killing all women of the age of intimacy. She proposes that a study of such challenging texts can enable us to navigate the disturbing realities of our own world. For instance, while Moses was angry at Reuben and Gad for choosing to remain on the east side of the river. However, they did not deny their responsibility to the people, but were traumatized by war and needed to protect themselves.
Blood vengeance, that can decimate an entire community, has plagued society for centuries. The cities of refuge were established to ensure that the blood vengeance ended when the legal authorities have ruled. The text stipulates that those who had committed manslaughter had to stay in one of these cities until the death of the High Priest in order to remain safe. Why is the death of the High Priest relevant? The Talmud holds the High Priest culpable in the act of killing since if he had prayed enough, it would not have happened. Suffering was necessary in order for the victim’s family to feel that justice was done. Maimonides wrote that the death of the High Priest caused a collective grief that allowed people to let go of their desire for revenge; no guilt or culpability was involved.