The second of our two Torah portions this week, Masei, opens with the words: “These are the journeys of the Children of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt.” It says “journeys” in the plural, even though with the very first journey—from Raamses to Sukkot—they had already left Egypt.
The Torah is teaching us here that there are many levels of “Egypt”, and even someone who has already left “Egypt” and reached a place of expansiveness must still continue traveling and departing from “Egypt.”
An example of this is prayer, which elevates a person from below to above. Prayer is a “ladder set on the earth with its top reaching the heavens”—during prayer, a person ascends from the narrow straits to expansiveness. Within the prayer itself, there are many stages of ascent, one after the other. In each ascent, the person leaves their previous state, but they do not settle for the level they’ve reached; they must continue rising higher and higher.
Preparation for Prayer
The first stage is preparation for prayer. Before a person stands in prayer before the Infinite G-d, they must separate and purify themselves of material matters. As the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) states: “Before prayer, one should relieve oneself and wash their hands.” First, they must remove the obvious and inner waste, and then rid themselves of the impurity which is less apparent.
Now they begin to pray, and here too there are stages. First, “Hodu L’HaShem”—“Give thanks to G-d”—they acknowledge that G-d’s existence is the only true reality, and the human sense of self is merely an illusion. In this way, they transcend the limitations of their personal reality and rise to a higher spiritual level, which is considered a “departure from Egypt.”
Levels within Prayer
Even within prayer itself, there are many levels and advancements, generally divided into four stages, until one reaches the highest level—the Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei) prayer. In this prayer, the person completely transcends their sense of personal existence and stands in a state of total nullification before G-d, like a servant before their master. That’s why before reciting Shemoneh Esrei we request, “O Lord, open my lips,” because due to the overwhelming sense of self-nullification, we are unable even to speak with our own strength before G-d.
We reach an extremely high level of “leaving Egypt,” and yet, when the next day comes, we must begin the entire process anew—from preparing for prayer, through saying “Hodu,” all the way to the Amidah. Because no matter how high the level we reached yesterday, today that level is considered “Egypt,” and we must leave it and ascend to an even higher level.
Do Not Stop or Despair
This is the lesson we learn from the parsha of the journeys, Masei: A Jew who has reached a high spiritual level and thinks it is enough is told that they must continue to ascend and move forward. A Jew must be a “traveler,” not one who “stands still.” If they stop at any point—no matter how high—that means they are not fulfilling their purpose.
On the other hand, a Jew who is in a low state must not despair. From Parshat Masei we learn that even from “Egypt,” the lowest spiritual depths, one can rise and be freed—until reaching “the Jordan at Jericho,” the complete and true redemption through our righteous Moshiach.
(from the teachings of the Rebbe, Likkutei Sichot, vol. 2, translated from Sichot HaShevua)
