Why, in the final weeks of his life, did Moshe Rabbeinu gather all of Klal Yisrael and retell the story of their years in the wilderness? The Torah they had received, the trials they had endured, the sins they had stumbled through - all of it reviewed again, before they crossed the Jordan. What was the purpose?
Two answers lie within Rashi's commentary on Parashas Massei (במדבר לג א). Firstly, the journeys are recorded to reveal chasdei HaMakom - the lovingkindness of the Omnipresent to Klal Yisrael. Although Hashem had decreed upon them forty years of wandering, the list of the travels in the wilderness shows that the Yidden were not in constant, unrelenting upheaval. In truth, of those forty years, the journeys numbered only forty-two - and when you subtract the stations from before the decree (14) and of the last year (8), the total shrinks considerably - twenty stations in thirty-eight years. Hashem's decree was far gentler than it appeared.
The second explanation is quoted from Midrash Tanchuma, and is given in the form of a mashal. A king's son fell gravely ill. The father, driven by love for his son, carried his son over great distances, traversing challenging terrain and enduring hardships, in hopes of restoring his child's health. As they begin their return journey, the father recounts each stop they made along the way. He says, "Here we found a place to sleep, though it was only for a short while. Here, the biting cold made it hard for us to rest. And here, I recall how your head ached, making the journey even more arduous." This heartfelt enumeration serves to illustrate the depth of the father's love. He reflects on both the pleasant and uncomfortable moments of the journey, emphasising that every part of their shared experience held significance. Even the struggles and discomforts are remembered fondly because they were endured together.
And so it was with Moshe Rabbeinu. He gathered Klal Yisrael and traced every station back for them - every moment of falling and rising, every sin and every forgiveness - not to shame them, but to reveal a truth about their journey. Every place where they had stumbled was a place where a loving Father had carried a sick child toward healing. What had seemed, in the moment, like distance from Hashem was, in truth, the very path of their refuah.
