Self-improvement

These are the journeys of the Jewish people with which they came out of the land of Egypt" (Numbers 33:1). "The question is well known, the Jewish people left Egypt with a journey, from Raamses to Succoth: if it only takes one journey to leave the land of Egypt, why does the Torah mention journeys in the plural?

The Hebrew word for Egypt is "Mitzrayim," which is spelled the same as "meitzarim," meaning "boundaries." Although one can leave "Mitzrayim" with a single journey—that is, one can achieve self-improvement with a single step—there are, however, many levels of self-improvement. This is why the Torah refers to the "journeys"—in the plural—through which the Jewish people left Egypt.

The Torah is eternal in every generation, particularly the concept of the Exodus from Egypt (meitzrayim, boundaries), as our sages say in the Mishnah (Pesachim 10:5): "One should see oneself as if one had come out of Egypt today." The teaching is that even when one is at a higher level than before, it is not enough; one must continue to advance constantly.

Even when one has completely distanced oneself from evil, one must know that the work is not finished, because there is always a higher level that can be reached, and from the perspective of this higher level, one is still connected to evil. The proof of this is that, regardless of the level we are at, we continue to see negative attitudes in others. The founder of the Hasidic Movement, Baal Shem Tov, explains that when one sees the negative characteristics of another, it is a sign that those same characteristics are present within oneself, at least subtly.

On the other hand, the lesson of the journeys the Jewish people undertook to leave Egypt is that one should never give up. Regardless of the situation one finds oneself in, one must know that with just a The journey begins with leaving Egypt. Not only that, but we today have more advantages than the Jews at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, given that we were given the Torah, which gives us the strength to improve ourselves day by day and not give up.

Extracted from Likutei Sijot, vol. 2, p. 348