וְהָיָה־שָׁ֞ם מַסְל֣וּל וָדֶ֗רֶךְ וְדֶ֤רֶךְ הַקֹּ֙דֶשׁ֙ יִקָּ֣רֵא לָ֔הּ לֹֽא־יַעַבְרֶ֥נּוּ טָמֵ֖א וְהוּא־לָ֑מוֹ הֹלֵ֥ךְ דֶּ֛רֶךְ וֶאֱוִילִ֖ים לֹ֥א יִתְעֽוּ׃
Di sana akan ada jalan raya, ya, sebuah jalan, dan jalan itu akan disebut Jalan Kekudusan; orang yang najis tidak akan melintasinya; jalan itu adalah bagi mereka; orang yang menempuh jalan itu, bahkan orang-orang bodoh sekalipun, tidak akan tersesat.
Midrash Tanchuma
(Numb. 33:1:) “These are the stages of the Children of Israel.” [The matter] is comparable to a king whose son was ill.4Numb. R. 23:3. He brought him to a certain place to heal him. When they returned, his father began recounting the stages, “Here we slept. Here we cooled off. Here you had a headache.” Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Recount to them all the places where they provoked Me.” It is therefore stated (in Numb. 33:1), “These are the stages....” Another interpretation: Why did all these stages (places) merit to be written in the Torah? Since they received (accommodated) Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, will give them their reward in the future. It is so stated (in Is. 35:1-2), “The arid desert shall be glad.... It shall blossom abundantly, it shall also exult....” And if the desert [will receive] such for receiving Israel; one who receives a Torah scholar into his home, all the more so [will he be rewarded]. You find that in the future the desert will be a settlement and a settlement will be a desert. [That] a desert will be a settlement, as it states (Is. 41:8), “I will make a desert into a lake of water.” And where is it shown a settlement will be a desert in the future? It is so stated (Mal. 1:3), “And I have hated Esau....” Now there are no trees in the desert, but there will be trees there in the future, as stated (Is. 41:19), “I will put cedar and acacia in the desert....” Now there is no path there, as it is all sand and the caravan can only travel it at night with the light of the constellation.5To determine the direction of the journey, since there is no marked path. But there will be a path there in the future, as stated (Is. 43:19), “I will place a path in the desert.” And it is written (Is 35:8), “And there will be a highway there, and it shall be called the Sacred Way....”
Bamidbar Rabbah
“These are the journeys” – why did all these journeys merit to be written in the Torah? It is because they3The destinations. received Israel, and the Holy One blessed be He is destined to give their reward, as it is written: “Wilderness and wasteland will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like the lily. It will blossom and rejoice…” (Isaiah 35:1–2). If it is so for the wilderness because it received Israel, for one who receives Torah scholars in his home, all the more so.
You find that the wilderness is destined to become a settlement, and the settlement is destined to become wilderness. From where is it derived that the settlement is destined to become wilderness? It is as it is stated: “But I hated Esau, and I rendered his mountains desolation” (Malachi 1:3). From where is it derived that the wilderness is destined to become a settlement? It is as it is stated: “I will render the wilderness a pond of water” (Isaiah 41:18). You find that now there are no trees in the wilderness, but they are destined to be there, as it is stated: “I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle and [pine] trees in the wilderness” (Isaiah 41:19). Now there is no path in the wilderness, as it is all sand, but there is destined to be a path there, as it is stated: “I will place a path in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). And it says: “There will be a way and a path, and it will be called the path of holiness; the impure will not cross it. It is for them; wayfarers and fools will not go astray” (Isaiah 35:8).
You find that the wilderness is destined to become a settlement, and the settlement is destined to become wilderness. From where is it derived that the settlement is destined to become wilderness? It is as it is stated: “But I hated Esau, and I rendered his mountains desolation” (Malachi 1:3). From where is it derived that the wilderness is destined to become a settlement? It is as it is stated: “I will render the wilderness a pond of water” (Isaiah 41:18). You find that now there are no trees in the wilderness, but they are destined to be there, as it is stated: “I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle and [pine] trees in the wilderness” (Isaiah 41:19). Now there is no path in the wilderness, as it is all sand, but there is destined to be a path there, as it is stated: “I will place a path in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). And it says: “There will be a way and a path, and it will be called the path of holiness; the impure will not cross it. It is for them; wayfarers and fools will not go astray” (Isaiah 35:8).