Masei (Journeys)
(Sefer Bamidbar) Numbers 33:1 - 36:13

33:51-  Speak unto the children of Yisrael, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Yarden into the  

       land of Canaan;
     52-  Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their 

       pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
     55-  But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass,   

       that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and  

       shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
    56-  Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.
  35:6-  And the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall

       appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee there: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
     12-  And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he

       stand before the congregation in judgment.
     15-  These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Yisrael, and for the stranger, and for the

       sojourner among them: that every one that kills any person unintentionally may flee there.
     16-  And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall

       surely be put to death.
     17-  And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the

       murderer shall surely be put to death.
     18-  Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a  

       murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
    19-  The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meets him, he shall slay him.
    20-  But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;
    21-  Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death;

         for he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meets him.
    25-  And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the

       congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it

       unto the death of the Kohain HaGadol, which was anointed with the holy oil.
    30-  Whoso kills any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one

       witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

    31-  Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he

       shall be surely put to death.
    32-  And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come

       again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
    33-  So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defiles the land: and the land cannot be

       cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
    34-  Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I YHVH dwell among the

       children of Yisrael."

Masei Summary:
1.   Remaining in a Place of Refuge, Reserved for the Accused:

        As the children of Yisrael would soon leave the "comforts" of the wilderness, parasha Masei includes detailed provisions for those needing asylum across the Jordan.  Following the instructions on matters regarding territorial divisions for the nation are the specifics describing what to do when an individual's ultimate boundary is crossed: namely, the slaying of a man.  Synonymous with the command to aggressively subdue the enemy, Hashem foresaw the inevitable personal conflicts ahead for His people.  In these battles there would be a litany of  allegations facing those who were free from malevolence.  Indeed, as the soul who had unwittingly contributed to another's fall was promised refuge, six select cities situated beside the Levites would speak prophetically of that spiritual safe zone offered to souls who found themselves hotly pursued by their adversaries.  Resigned to dwell among those who could claim no earthly inheritance, the refugee could find rest.  Pointing us to the supernal protectory of confident repose, Psalms 46:1-2 reassures us that,
   "Elohim is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear,

     though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."
        Clearly, certain  arising tempests along our journeys would stimulate our  awareness for such  a refuge.  Elucidated in  Exodus 40:38, Elohim's defensive Presence, has always been our confidence:
   "For the cloud of YHVH was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of

    all the house of Yisrael, throughout all their journeys."

As in the days of old, the Everlasting One continues to offer shelter from the storm, as Isaiah 4:5-6 foretells:
   "And YHVH will create upon every dwelling place of mount Tzion, and upon her assemblies,

    a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory

    shall be a defense.  And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the

    heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain."

        Calling us to consider the freedom that only comes from Kohain HaGadol's death, the city of refuge sings in overtones of Mashiyach's melodic emancipation from the serpent's opportunistic advances.  A tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, the Wisdom of Torah identifies the borders of unavengeable security  from the Destroyer; Psalms 91:1-2 urges us under HaShem's umbra of authority, as it is written:
   "He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
    I will say of YHVH, He is my refuge and my fortress: my Elohim; in Him will I trust."
2.   The Avenger of Blood, Restoring Judgment in the Land:
        Unlike the accidental killing of another, the intentional slaying of a man as confirmed by more than one witness warrants no protection from penalty of law.  Without room for interpretation, the rulers of the people must respond to Deuteronomy 19:11-13 as it says:
   "But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him

    mortally that he die...Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him there and deliver him into

    the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shall put

    away the guilt of innocent blood from Yisrael, that it may go well with thee."   

From the beginning, the Torah is very clear regarding the act of murder; Genesis 9:6 pronounces the just verdict of capital punishment, namely:
   "Whoso sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of Elohim made He man."

         Sadly, the lack of this Heavenly Justice is becoming globally pandemic.  In a so-called sophisticated manner, the State of Yisrael rejected HaShem's ways after the Nuremberg Trials, and the result of such arrogance has fostered a carte blanche behavioral killing spree among the enemies of the Jewish nation.  Of a certainty, Psalms 79:9-10 offers counsel to the waywardness of a people, suffering in their stubbornness:

   "Help us, O Elohim of our salvation, for the glory of Thy name: and deliver us and purge away our

    sins, for Thy name's sake. Why should the heathen say, Where is their Elohim? Let him be known

    among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of Thy servants which is shed."

        Essential to a nation's stability is the evidence that the government will resolve villainy, and judgment will be executed.   The blatant lack of enforcement against undisputed murderous acts of terrorism will not go unchecked.   Though humanistic man refuses to restore justice,  Elohim the Judge will have the final word.