Commentary for Numbers 33:2

ויכתוב משה, he wrote down the name of the places towards which they were setting out, as well as the name of the places from which they had started that particular journey. [this unusual sequence would justify the Torah mentioning first מסעיהם before מוצאיהם at the end of our verse. Ed.]

ויכתב משה את מוצאיהם, Moses recorded their departures, etc. What precisely did the Torah want to teach us with this verse? We did not need to be told that it was Moses who recorded this as Moses recorded the entire Torah and the journeys are part of the Torah. Besides, the Torah ought to have written that Moses recorded את מסעיהם, "their journeys." What was the point in recording their "departures?" Furthermore, what is the meaning of the words ואלה מסעיהם למוצאיהם "and these are their journeys according to their departures?" Why did the Torah change the order in which it mentioned departures from מוצאיהם למסעיהם, to מסעיהם למוצאיהם?

Their departures for their journeys. Afterwards, Scripture reversed the order and wrote, these were the journeys for their departure. This is because some of their journeys were forward, towards Eretz Yisrael, and some of them were in reverse. Most of their journeys were forward and were not backtracking, and therefore it says, according to Adonoy’s command when it says their departures for their journeys, because these were the majority, in the forward direction. When they traveled in reverse, due to their sins, it was not according to Hashem’s command, and it was called journeys for their departure, since they turned back and journeyed towards the place from which they had departed.

'את מוצאיהם למסעיהם על פי ה,, “their departures and their journeys to the next locations at the direct command from the Lord;” This has already been spelled out in Numbers 9,20. (B’chor shor) [At that point it had been an instruction, but had not yet been carried out. Ed.]

The departures. We learn from this that the names of these places that are mentioned here are not the actual names that they had before. They are in fact the names that were given them as a result of the events that took place when Yisroel camped there. That, in my opinion, is what was meant when Scripture says: “Moshe recorded their departures for their journeys.” He recorded all of the events that befell them on all of their journeys. That is in of itself why he mentioned afterwards the names of their encampments, because the names themselves describe the events that took place.

The reason why we find sometimes the objective mentioned first and other times the place of departure, is due to the fact that sometimes the people were glad to get away from a certain place where unpleasantness had occurred, whereas other times they were merely glad to arrive at a new destination hoping for a pleasant stay in their new encampment. One of the most vexing aspects of all these journeys was that the new objective had never been announced beforehand, so that the people were always in the dark about what the next day would bring. In spite of all these uncertainties they never refused to follow the cloud and break camp at a moment’s notice when required. The reason that both the breaking of camp and the making of camp are mentioned separately is because both entailed a considerable amount of discomfort.

It appears that the Torah wanted to inform us that Moses did not record all these journeys on a single day, but that he recorded them as and when they occurred. He commenced recording when he had received instructions to make the Israelites depart from Egypt. He wrote in his booklet the date on which the Israelites departed from Raamses up until the word שפטים at the end of verse 4. Once the Israelites made camp at Sukkot, Moses wrote verse 5. When the Israelites made camp at Eytan, Moses wrote what had transpired as verse 6. In this manner Moses recorded each and every journey as it occurred until the people arrived at ערבות מואב. At that point G'd told Moses to include these private notes he had made in the Torah in the order in which he had previously recorded it. This is what was meant by: "Moses recorded their departures, i.e. starting from the day the Israelites departed from Egypt. This referred to the two lines from "they journeyed from Raamses until the word שפטים." When the Torah speaks of למסעיהם it refers to Moses listing all the Israelites' journeys from the day they left Egypt until the end of all their journeys. It adds the words על פי השם, "at G'd's command," to inform us that the very first recording already was at the command of G'd, i.e. that G'd had told Moses to record and to keep recording. When the Torah repeats ואלה מטעיהם, "and these are their journeys," this means that these are the journeys which G'd commanded Moses to record למוצאיהם, as and when they occurred, i.e. every time the Israelites broke camp. What the Torah describes in our chapter is a copy of all the notations made by Moses throughout all these years.

Additionally, another reason is based on the question: Why does it say (v. 3): They journeyed from Ra’meses and then, on the day after the Pesach, Bnei Yisroel left triumphantly? The first phrase refers to the “mixed multitude,” who fled from Egypt at night, and about them it says (Shemos 14:5): “The king of Egypt was told that the people had fled.” Bnei Yisroel, in contrast, left triumphantly, in broad daylight. When it says, They journeyed from Ra’meses in the first month, it speaks of the mixed multitude, and afterwards it says (v. 5): Bnei Yisroel journeyed from Ra’meses, because the mixed multitude went first, since they fled, and were followed by Bnei Yisroel.

That is why it says, Moshe recorded their departures for their journeys according to Adonoy’s command — referring to the journey of Bnei Yisroel, the People whose foundation was the Holy Land, and therefore they always turned away from “their departure” — Egypt, from where they departed. Their goal was the journey to their destination, to enter the Land promised to their forefathers. However, regarding the mixed multitude, whose source was in Egypt, and who did not leave by command of Hashem, it says, these were the journeys for their departure because they always wanted to return to Egypt, their roots.