Parshat Matot-Masei: Putting First Things First

In Parshat Matot-Masei, the Jewish people are standing on the edge of a long-awaited transition. After years in the wilderness, they are preparing to enter the Land of Israel. But just before the whole people crosses the Jordan River, two tribes — Reuven and Gad — come to Moshe with a request. They have a lot of livestock, and they notice that the land on the eastern side of the Jordan is good grazing land. So they ask: can we stay here? Can this be our portion instead?

At first, Moshe is angry. He worries that they are abandoning the rest of the people at the very moment when everyone needs to move forward together. Reuven and Gad then clarify: we are not walking away. We will go first into battle. We will help the rest of the people settle, and only then will we return to our families and homes. But embedded in their words is a subtle and revealing detail. They say, “We will build enclosures for our flocks and towns for our children.” Rashi, the great medieval Torah commentator, notices the order. First they mention the animals, then the children. First the property, then the people. And Moshe corrects them: build towns for your children and enclosures for your flocks. In other words: do not confuse the main thing with the supporting thing.

This is not because the flocks do not matter. They do. They provide needed livelihood, food, and stability. Indeed, the Mishnah in Avot teaches, “If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour.” In plain English: without material sustenance, spiritual life cannot flourish. But without spiritual purpose, material success loses its soul. The Torah is not asking us to pretend that practical needs are unimportant. It is asking us to place them in right relationship. The question is not whether we should care about logistics, money, space, food, childcare, schedules, and systems. The question is whether those things serve the life we are trying to build — or become the life itself.

Every community has to ask this question again and again: what is our ikar, our core? What is the essential center around which everything else should organize? A community can have many needs, many tasks, many programs, many WhatsApp threads, many decisions, many urgent things tugging at the hem of its attention. But if everything is the priority, nothing is. Parshat Matot-Masei reminds us that our true priorities are revealed not only by what we say we value, but by what we protect first, what we build first, and who we make sure is held first. The work of Jewish life is not to have no competing commitments. It is to become clear enough, brave enough, and honest enough to keep putting first things first.

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Welcome to Torah in Harlem! As we move through each week, we’ll explore the stories and insights of the weekly Torah portion—the ancient text at the heart of Jewish life—and let them inspire conversation in our community. Our hope is to cultivate a gathering place where learning belongs, reflection brings joy, and we can all grow together. Want to hop into the conversation? Join our Torah in Harlem Whatsapp Group.

Artwork by Hillel Smith.