Leaving Narrow Places: Thriving in Newfound Freedom
Dr. Robyn Faintich
ר ו ד ו ר ו ד ־ ל כ
ב In Every Generation
“ You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”— Deuteronomy 10:19
Each year at the Seder we retell the story of leaving Egypt. The Haggadah teaches:
“ In every generation a person must see themselves as if they personally left Egypt.”
But the Hebrew name for Egypt— Mitzrayim— contains another layer of meaning. It shares a root with the word meitzar, meaning a narrow or constricted place.
Egypt was not only a physical location. It was also a place of confinement, fear, and limited possibility.
Many of us have experienced our own versions of narrow places, moments when life felt restricted or uncertain, when the future seemed unclear, when we felt trapped or alone.
The Exodus story reminds us that leaving a narrow place is only the beginning of the journey.
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