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Bahaloscha: Part of the Journey

There are two pesukim in this Parsha that aren’t where they belong. The pesukim of ויהי בנסוע הארון, which deal with the travels of the Mishkan and the Shechina, are surrounded by two backwards letter nun. This is to let us know that these pesukim really belong fifty pesukim earlier, together with similar pesukim detailing Bnei Yisroel’s travels.

Rashi quotes the medrashim that the reason these pesukim were moved here was to break up some of the פורענות, the trouble that Bnei Yisroel started getting into. But why were these specific pesukim chosen to interrupt the troubling stories?

The pesukim of ויהי בנסוע and ובנוחה יאמר give us a sense of a complete picture. True, we often see the Mishkan being packed up, and the Shechina on its way out. But we know they will not be gone long. Soon, Hashem’s presence will be felt in a new place. The end of one part of the story should never be mistaken for the end of the story.

The journey, both of the Jews in general and each one of us in particular, is a long one. It has many starts, stops, and pitfalls. But it won’t be over until we get to where it is that we need to go.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום