Matot-Masei And Rosh Chodesh Av
Rosh Chodesh (R”Ch) Av falls on Shabbat in 11.51% of years. The Torah reading on Shabbat R”Ch Av is Matot–Masei (M&M) 7.64% of the time, like this year, and Masei on its own 3.87% of the time.
M&M-R”Ch is a two-Torah Shabbat, the reading of which consists of 244 pesukim for the double sedra (112 for Matot and 132 for Masei) plus another 7 pesukim for the Maftir for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh – making it the longest Torah reading of any Shabbat, with 251 pesukim.
There are seven pairs of sedras that are combined in some years and separated in other years. The frequencies of combined and separate vary among the seven pairs, with Matot–Masei being by far the most often combined sedras. They are combined 89.5% of years in Chutz LaAretz (Chu”l), and 79.5% of years in Eretz Yisrael.
When Pesach is Shabbat-to-Friday in Israel, we resume Parshat HaShavua on the 8th day of Pesach in Chu”l. When this happens in a Shana M’uberet (a 13-month, two-Adar year), Israel and Chu”l go “out of sync” for Parshat HaShavua for 15 Shabbatot. M&M are combined in Chu”l, and we split it so that we are back in sync for Shabbat Parshat Devarim, which is Shabbat Chazon.
This year, M&M are combined all over the world.
I found an interesting numeric hint for M&M being the most-often combined double sedra. The gematria of the whole first pasuk of Matot – “Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: ‘This is the thing Hashem has commanded’” – is 3,324. And the whole first pasuk of Masei – “These are the journeys of the children of Israel who left the land of Egypt in their legions, under the charge of Moshe and Aharon” – is also 3,324. This links them in a numeric way. No other sedra’s opening pasuk matches any other’s.
An observation: Of the 54 sedras, there are five whose names have had the letter hei at the beginning of a word truncated. This week’s Matot occurs in the beginning of the sedra as “HaMatot.” As you are reading this, try to come up with the other four before you get to the next sentence. And make a riddle for your Shabbat table challenging everyone to find the five sedra names missing the hei hay’di’a (the hei at the beginning that means “the”).
Ready? The five sedras are: (Ha)Mishpatim, (Ha)Shemini, (Ha)Metzora, (Ha)Matot, and (Ha)Devarim. Fun Torah trivia to share with your children, grandchildren, and guests.
Speaking of numbers – which this column is all about – aside for the censuses of Parshat Bamidbar and Parshat Pinchas, which would justify our calling the Book of Bamidbar “Numbers,” we find a different kind of counting in Parshat Matot. After the victory over Midiyan by the army of 12,000 men, 1,000 from each tribe, we find the command to count the number of human captives and the numbers of the different animals that were taken as spoils of war.
And there are a lot of numbers. They start in Bamidbar 31:26 – “Take a count of the plunder of the captive people and animals, you, together with Elazar HaKohen and the paternal leaders of the community… Divide it equally between the warriors and the rest of the People…” The tax from the soldiers is to be 1/500 (0.2%) and from the rest of the People, 1/50 (2%).
And then the numbers overflow: 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, 32,000 captive women… Followed by puzzling further numbers, consisting of half of each category: 337,500 soldiers, tax: 675; 36,000 cattle, tax: 72; 30,500 donkeys, tax: 61; 16,000 captive women, tax: 32. Followed by the listings of the other halves: 337,550; 36,000; 30,500; 16,000.
Loads of numbers here – and why can’t we do the math on our own? We know how to divide by 2 and how to divide by 500. The Ramban offers an answer: This listing comes to highlight a miracle that occurred – that all during the period of counting and dividing everything up and giving the tax amounts to the Kohanim (the 1/500 from the soldiers) and Levi’im (the 1/50 from the rest of the nation), not one person of the multitude of Bnei Yisrael died.
Which brings us to Parshat Masei. The first notable number is 42. That’s the number of places in which Bnei Yisrael encamped, from the time they left Egypt until they stood poised at the threshold of Eretz Yisrael. If you count the places, you will need to include the place they left Egypt from (Ra-m’seis) among the 42 places. And of course, the last place is Arvot Moav, the Plains of Moav, on the east side of the Jordan River, opposite Yericho (Jericho). If you number the places from 0 to 41, rather than from 1 to 42, then the 25th place of encampment is Chashmona, and the play-on-words with the Chashmona’im makes this one of several remazim (hints) to Chanukah in the Torah. Chanu kaf-hei – they rested at place #25.
Another significant number connected to Parshat Masei is the pasuk (Bamidbar 33:53) that the Ramban cites as the source of his Mitzvah #4 –Mitzvat Yishuv Eretz Yisrael, the mitzvah to live in the Land of Israel. Famously, the Rambam does not number living in Israel among his list of the 613 (Taryag) mitzvot. Although that fact is often used as an excuse given by some religious Jews for nor seriously considering making aliyah – “If it were really a mitzvah, the Rambam would have included it too” – without going into the reasons for its not being on the Rambam’s list of mitzvot (which beyond the scope of this column), suffice it to say that the Rambam, in his monumental halachic work Mishneh Torah, echoes the Gemara in saying that a person shall always live in Israel, even in a city the majority of whose inhabitants are idol-worshipers, rather than live in Chutz LaAretz, even in a place the majority of who inhabitants are Jewish.
Yet another significant number from Masei is 2,000, the number of amot (cubits) outside a city designated for Levi’im (there being 48 such cities throughout Eretz Yisrael – the six Cities of Refuge (Arei Miklat) plus 42 other cities contributed by the other tribe to the Levi’im) as being included in the city’s boundaries. Our Sages decreed that the T’chum Shabbat, the maximum distance one may walk outside his place of residence (be it a stand-alone home with no nearby neighbors, a small village, a town, or even a large city) on Shabbat – is 2,000 amot (about a kilometer or about .62 miles, varying with the different opinions as to the length of an ama).
A final word on Rosh Chodesh Av and the Nine Days that begin with it. The Mishna in Taanit states: “Mishenichnas Av (when Av enters), we diminish our joy.” (If that statement brings to mind that opposite sentiment for Adar – “Mishenichnas Adar Marbin B’Simcha” – just know that the Av statement came first. It’s in the Mishna, and the Adar statement is found later in the Gemara.) However, it’s important to keep things in perspective – Menachem Av has 30 days in our fixed calendar, the first nine and a half (or sometimes the first ten) of which are days of mourning the Churban. Thus, two-thirds of the month focus on nechama, comfort in the promises and prophecies of the geulah, and serve as an introduction to the month of Elul (Av is an acronym for Elul Ba) and the Yamim Nora’im that follow.
Shabbat Shalom, Chodesh Tov, and may we soon be privileged to celebrate the Yom Tov of Tisha B’Av, bimheira v’yameinu.
