Parashas Mattos - Masei

Our Parsha this Shabbos is a double Sedra of Mattos-Masei. 
Mattos starts out by talking of the Laws of Vows and Oaths ,Commanded by HaShem through Moshe to the Children of Israel via the Tribal Leaders of Israel , which teaches us that our words must always be honest and true and what we speak,must not be idle words,but we must do as we say we will do and be like Avraham who promised little but did a lot ,for he offered the Angels who visited him a morsel of bread (a small amount ) ,yet lavished them with a hearty full and delicious meal.Our Torah teaches that one should rather not Vow ,then Vow and not fulfill our word Chas Ve Shalom . The Torah then tells of the battle against Midian and their five Kings who were defeated.Moshe sends Pinchas out to this battle and it is in this battle that Bilaam is killed. Moshe is angry when the Children of Israel , after this battle , bring to him the spoils , their animals and their women and children,as it was some of these women who caused the men of Israel to sin.Moshe Commands what is to be done to them.
The spoil is then divided.
It is after this that the Tribes of Reuvein and Gad request to be given land on the Eastern Side of the Jordan.Moshe objects and these two tribes assure him they would still assist their brothers , the Children of Israel , in their conquest of Canaan.Moshe then agrees that they could be given this part with half the tribe of Manasseh.Our Rabbis feel they should have rather accepted areas in Canaan and later on in history, when the land gets invaded, it is the areas the two and a half tribes took, that gets attacked and lost first.
In the Sedra of Masei ,where the word 'Masei' means 'Journeys,' it begins with a list of the Journeys , the Children of Israel took from the time of leaving Mitzrayim till they came to Canaan and arrived at the River Jordan, which they finally crossed with Yehoshuah.Our Sages compare the listing of each place HaShem watched over Israel as they Journeyed, to a Father and Son who take a trip together, where each part of that trip is memorable to the Father ,the same as each part that HaShem watched over us as we the Journeyed,was special and memorable to HaShem and so , is each place here listed. 
HaShem then enumerates the surrounding Borders of what will be Israel's Territory.
The Sedra then discusses the 48 Cities for the Levites,that were to be set aside for them among the portions of the other Tribes of Israel,for the Levites were not to receive regular portions of land,for their portion, was the work of HaShem in His Service.The Torah instructs how these cities for the Levites were to be set up and HaShem Commands that 6 of these cities were to be designated as 'Arei Miklat,' - 'Cities of Refuge,' for a person who committed unintentional murder, to flee from the 'Goel Hadam,' - 'The Redeemer of the Blood,' a member of the murdered person's family who would take revenge on the unintentional murderer for his slain relative.Once in a City of Refuge, the Goel Hadam could not hurt the person sent there. The unintentional Murderer would have to remain there till the death of the Kohein Gadol, who also had a responsibility for the murder that was committed, for as the representative of the Community, his morals too affected the very air around him and so, caused an affect (seeing as he was a leader), on the spiritual morals and actions of the Community he served.
The Sedra ends with the heads and elders of the Tribe of Manasseh,the children of Gilead, being concerned about the daughters of Tzelaphchad who inherited among their tribe and the concern that should they marry other tribes, the inheritance due to Manasseh, might pass to another tribe.HaShem Instructs Moshe to tell the daughters of Tzelaphchad that they are to only marry into their own tribe and so the Tribal land heritage would thus remain within the Tribe's portion allotted to that Tribe.It is here, that this Sedra ends and so ends the Fourth Book of the Torah , the Book of Bamidbar.
The Sedra of Mattos as I said ,starts out with the Command to the Tribes 'Mattos,' about Vows and Oaths. The Command is first given to the Tribal Leaders for, as Men of High Station, they were able to annul Vows under certain respects.The Tribal Leaders as heads of the Tribes were to be of impeccable character, for they represented their Tribe and as the lesson teaches,of the City of Refuge ,which would house the unintentional murdered till the death of the High Priest, who was the representative of the Nation's Morals,so are all leaders responsible for those they serve. 
If the leader's Morals are without question, so will be their subjects.An immoral society has always suggested immorality within the ranks of its leaders.
We learn from those above us in station and position . Morality is reflected spiritually through a Community and its Leaders.
One also has to remember that it is HaShem Who puts people in the position of leadership for Holy Torah Causes to give them an opportunity to prove their worth and if they abuse that opportunity,by hurting others and subjecting others to insult and disrespect,HaShem Sees all.That leader may feel totally confident or even arrogant in believing they are too big to be questioned,but HaShem is Bigger and the Biggest and All-Encompassing .The position these kind of leaders hold is given by HaShem and if they abuse that position and others, HaShem Takes Action in His Own Sweet Way . The same is also true between Husband and Wife .We see this thought in how a Jew is instructed to treat an Oved,a Slave.We are to treat them as members of our own household.Our Gemorrah tells us,for example ,that if we only have one cushion,we are to give it to our worker to use and go without . HaShem reminds us that we were slaves in Egypt and so,are we to treat those who are below us in position and those that work for us,with respect and honour.A Leader must be a shining example of patience and holiness and understanding and compassion to the needs of those in our employ or in our care,for that is exactly what a leader is,not one to enjoy his power,but one designated by HaShem to care for those HaShem puts in his or her care.That is a Leader.That is emulating HaShem , for HaShem looks after each and every one of us with love and care and caring.So must a leader do likewise.They must remember that they are in a position to work for HaShem and so , must be a model example of holiness and compassion and then, those whom they 'Serve' ( note ,not who serves them,for HaShem put them in the position to 'Serve' their Community) , will give of their hearts and souls, to emulate the goodness of such a Leader and so,will they also emulate HaShem and it will be a Community who doesn't sin .
Throughout the Sedra of Mattos and the Sedra of Masei, the Tribal Leaders and Tribal Elders are repeatedly mentioned, for they are the mainstay of the morals of their Tribe and of the Community as a whole . But we must never forget that it is HaShem Who is our True Leader through all things and the 'Masei ' - 'Journeys ' through Life we are to take.HaShem requests of us to Emulate Him and by doing this, our Moral Levels will remain pure and high.
In the Sedra of Masei ' (which means 'Journeys'), the Journeys of the Children of Israel are shown , also so we can know how HaShem monitors all we do and how much of every step, HaShem is with us and how much we mean to Him and meant to Him through our travels in the 'Bamidbar ' - ' Wilderness' .Though we have Leaders and Heads of our Community, we must never forget that our True Leader is HaShem .A true Community Leader is one who follows the Correct Journey Path toward HaShem. When , later in history ,the Children of Israel asked for a King like the other nations had, the prophet Samuel was upset, for we should know that only HaShem is the King , the King of Kings.
HaShem is our only True Leader and it is to Him only that we should bow and serve.HaShem gives us Leaders to help carry out His Word and these Leaders are to always follow His Torah.Though HaShem goes every step of the way with us and no matter what we do unintentionally, HaShem is always ready to enclose us in a place of Holy Surroundings like the City of Refuge, in which priests lived.But at the end of the day, it is up to us and us alone to 'Masei,' - 'Journey' the right path, toward HaShem,for we need to be our own 'leader,' representing HaShem , in every step we take.
Every step we do take, must be a step toward G-D, Who is our Life. A step away , Chas Ve Shalom , is a step away from Life .
The word 'Mattos, has within it , the word 'Mateh,' which means 'Staff,' or 'Generations,' which shows that to follow HaShem, is a single line purpose of responsibility going right back generations and it is to these generations to whom we also owe faithfulness to stay with HaShem and never to deviate from HaShem's Path , so we can 'Masei,' ' Journey' back to the closeness, we had at the Beginning with HaShem.
With love to HaShem,I wish HaShem with Love, a Sweet and Holy Shabbos Kodesh with Love and to all, a sweet and holy Shabbos Kodesh with love.