Photo by Rafael Pol on Unsplash
Many of us struggle with feelings of inadequacy. We look around, compare ourselves to others, and quietly tear ourselves down.
Why is this? I’ll leave that to the psychologists among us. But what can we do about it? This week’s double Torah portion, Matot-Masei, offers a powerful perspective. At the start of Masei, the Torah outlines the journeys of the Jewish people from Egypt to the Promised Land, a total of 42 stops. Some were brief; others lasted for years. But the wording the Torah uses to introduce them is curious: “These are the journeys of the Israelites who left Egypt.” Journeys - in the plural - as though every one of the 42 stops was part of leaving Egypt. But practically speaking, they left Egypt at the very beginning. Once they crossed the border, they were no longer in Egypt. Why describe the entire journey that way? And more importantly, what’s the lesson for us? Because if it’s in the Torah, there is a lesson. That’s what the Torah is: timeless guidance for life. Egypt, as a country, is a location. They left it physically as they crossed the border. But in Hebrew, the word for Egypt, Mitzrayim-מצרים, also means boundaries or constraints. Egypt isn’t just a place. It’s a mindset. It’s everything that holds us back or makes us feel small. Our job is to leave that Egypt. Not just once, but over and over again. Every time we stretch past a limitation; whether emotional, spiritual, or practical, we’re taking another step on our personal journey out of Egypt. And as soon as we’ve broken through one boundary, that new space becomes our new normal… which means it’s time to grow again. So if you’re feeling inadequate, measuring yourself against someone else’s accomplishments and feeling like you fall short, remember this idea. G-d never intended the journey from Egypt to Israel to be a single leap. It was always meant to unfold step by step. Each of us has our own “Egypt” to leave. Our own boundaries to outgrow. And our own milestones to reach. If you’ve taken a step forward, that’s what matters. Instead of measuring yourself against someone else’s finish line, look at how far you have come. How many inner Egypts have you left behind? And even if, at times, you’ve taken a step backward, that too is ultimately part of the journey. The Torah doesn’t ignore the low points. Among the 42 journeys are stops marked by sin, rebellion, and failure. And yet - they’re still counted. Still part of the path toward the Holy Land. The main thing is to keep going. And keep growing.