By Marco Del Monte
In the second of the two parashot read this Shabbat, we retrace the forty-two stages that the people of Israel travelled from the Exodus from Egypt until their entry into Eretz Israel.
Rabbi Yoram Abargel ZZ"L explains in his book *Imrei Noam* (Parashat Masei), in the name of the Baal Shem Tov Hakadosh, that these stages represent every passage that has taken place, takes place and will take place from birth until the ascent to the upper worlds.
They represent the journey of each one of us. As explained in Masechet Niddah, with which the Sefer HaTanya begins, the soul takes an oath before Hashem before "descending" into this world, to be a Tzaddik and not a Rasha. The journey therefore represents a path of descent in order to be able to ascend again. The Rebbe explains (Torah Lessons, pp. 344-345) that the beginning of the journey is Egypt, Mitzraim, which can also be read as Metzarim, narrowness; the coveted destination is Eretz Israel, also called "the Good and Broad Land" (Shemot 3:8). We thus move from a condition of narrowness (mitzraim) to a condition of greatness, breadth, and expansion (Eretz HaKodesh). The Rebbe continues to explain that this transition is also found in the verse of Tehillim (118:5): "Min hametzar karati Y-a, anani bamerchav Y-a" ("Out of my narrowness I called upon Y-a; Y-a answered me in the place of breadth"). I like to imagine this phrase, these stages, this journey, through the image of the Shofar: a horn into which one blows from a narrow part, a limited starting point, to arrive at and emerge from a wider opening—a path of development: this is the sound of life. The sounds of the Shofar are indeed of three types: "Tekiah", a smooth, straight sound; "Shevarim", as the word itself says, a broken sound; "Teruah", a tremulous, weeping sound. In the passage of life, there are smooth moments like the Tekiah, moments of breaking like the Shevarim, and extreme moments of trembling and weeping like the Teruah. Rabbi Nachman tells us that this journey of life is compared to a very narrow bridge; the important thing is to move forward, not to deviate, and above all not to be afraid. It is no coincidence that these parashot are read precisely during the period of Bein HaMetzarim, that is, the period between the "narrownesses" (Metzarim and Mitzraim-Egypt are spelled the same way). But all this will lead to entering a place called Israel, which can also be read as "Yashar-E-l", meaning a straight path towards Hashem, as straight as the Tekiah. Moreover, as is the tradition in Rome, the candle that will be used for Tisha B'Av—the one with which we will read about the destruction of the Temple—will be used to kindle the Chanukah light, that of the Inauguration of the Temple.
And just as the Prophets have assured us, even the hardest and most difficult days will be transformed into Yom Tov, into days of celebration and joy!
Have a good journey!
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
Translated from the Italian with Google Gemini. The Italian text is the original.