Timeless Torah

The Torah is commonly referred to as the Five Books of Moses. This week, we conclude the Fourth Book of Bamidbar which details each of the 42 journeys by which the Israelites left Egypt and came to the borders of the Chosen Land. The opening verse of this account reads, “These are the journeys by which they went forth out of the land of Egypt.” This sentence raises a well known difficulty. Only the first of the journeys mentioned constitutes “going out of Egypt.” The others were all made well outside Egypt, mostly in the desert. Why then, does the passage use the plural, “journeys”?
In truth, Egypt is not merely a geographical location, but a state of mind. Mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for Egypt also means confinement. Throughout our lives we encounter many Egypts from which we must escape. At one level it may be our limited Jewish education. At another, the strictures placed upon us by our contemporary society, or the narrow scope of our intelligence as it seeks to rationalize our faith. This is why all 42 journeys, not merely the first, were a “going forth out of Egypt.” As a Jew moves towards his spiritual goal he passes from the straits of inner conflict to the open spaces of serenity. Each and every stage he reaches is spacious in relation to the level he has left (his personal Egypt, if you will) yet at the same time restricted to the new level towards which he is heading.
The journeys of the Israelites from Egypt also serve as a warning against two kinds of errors into which a Jew may fall. The first is to believe that one has arrived. One may think, “Having traveled so far in my Judaism, I can rest content.” But the truth is that we were not created to stand still. There is always a new journey awaiting. The other mistake is to despair. One may feel, “I know so little that my religious efforts are in vain.” Nevertheless, our Torah assures us that even a single journey liberates us from our personal and spiritual Egypt.
In conclusion I would like to quote an old , respected Chassid: Always imagine yourself in the middle of the journey. The amount of time and effort to reach your next goal is the same as the amount of energy one would have to expend to retreat. Only a fool would go back.