Numbers · Weekly Torah portion
Parashat Maseiמַסְעֵי
Torah reading
Numbers 33:1-36:13
Haftarah
Jeremiah 2:4-28, 3:4
Sephardic: Jeremiah 2:4-28, 4:1-2
What happens in Masei
Numbers ends with the itinerary: forty-two encampments from Egypt to the plains of Jericho, each one named — the whole journey remembered stop by stop. The parsha maps the land's boundaries, assigns Levite towns, and establishes six cities of refuge, where someone who killed accidentally is protected from vengeance until fair judgment. The daughters of Tzelophechad return as their case is refined, and the book closes at the edge of the promised land.
Big themes
- Honoring the whole journey
- Justice with refuge
- Arriving at the threshold
If this is your bar or bat mitzvah portion
Forty-two stops, each recorded — because journeys deserve remembering, including the campsites you'd rather forget. A student can map their own 'encampments' on the way to the bimah. And the cities of refuge show the Torah engineering mercy directly into its justice system.
Learning to chant Masei?
Ready 13 builds a verse-by-verse practice plan for this exact portion — chanted reference audio, karaoke highlighting, trope games, and a countdown that keeps the big day on track.
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