Expanding the Narrow Places: What We Carry Inside
The book of Exodus opens the story of our exile, but it also invites us to notice something deeply human; the way fear and insecurity, when left unexamined, can slowly narrow the heart and shape how people treat one another.
The Jewish people were flourishing in Egypt but the Egyptians were disgusted because of the Children of Israel. (Ex. 1:12). A simple reading suggests that the Egyptians were disgusted with the Jews but Rashi says that the Egyptians were actually disgusted with their own lives.
Their revulsion did not begin outwardly, it began inside themselves. Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlop (1882-1951) explains that the Torah here is revealing a psychological and spiritual truth: A person cannot embitter someone else’s life unless he is already embittered within himself. Someone who is at peace with himself doesn’t need to crush others.
In Hebrew, the translation of “Egypt” is Mitzrayim, which is derived from meitzarim, which means narrowness. Egypt was not only a place of physical oppression but also a description of an inner emotional state. When a person’s inner world is constricted by fear, resentment, or insecurity, that constriction eventually flows outward into their relationships.
The Egyptians saw the Jewish people growing, hopeful, spiritually vibrant — and instead of drawing strength from that vitality, they felt threatened by it. Their fear hardened into resentment, and resentment into oppression. Their behavior toward others was the overflow of their own inner turmoil.
Chovos HaLevavos (11th century) observes that the traits living inside a person inevitably shape the way he or she will treat others. Character defects dwelling in the heart— envy, anger, arrogance, or humility—never remain hidden and will eventually be expressed either in speech or how one acts toward others. Orchos Tzaddikim (16th century) finds a positive counterpart of this concept relating to humility; One who possesses inner humility and calm is slow to anger, patient with others, and treats every person with kindness and honor.
Our hidden thoughts are never retained. Bitterness or discontent can lead to harsh behavior or even cruelty. You might not inflict bodily damage but acting cold, ghosting, negative talk or gossip are ways of causing damage and even destroying careers and relationships.
Inner dignity tends to become outward compassion.
In modern psychological terms, this process is often called projection — when a person feels internal discomfort or conflict and unknowingly directs those feelings outwardly toward others. Rashi’s comment, written about 1000 years before modern psychology, becomes deeply revealing because it demonstrates how the Egyptians projected their inner bitterness onto the Jewish people. They were not disgusted because the Jews were inherently threatening but because their own inner world was fragile and constricted. The oppression they inflicted outwardly reflected the turmoil they carried inwardly.
The Torah’s insight challenges us to look inward before we look outward. When fear, resentment, or insecurity narrow the heart, they will eventually spill into our relationships. However, when we cultivate inner calm and humility, we create space for kindness, empathy, and respect to flourish. May we learn to expand the narrow places within us so that the soul has more room to shine outward, inspiring us to widen our inner world and become sources of blessing to those around us.
Good Shabbos.
[Sources: Mei Marom (Shemos 1:12); Chovos HaLevavos, Shaar Cheshbon HaNefesh); Orchos Tzadikim Shaar Ha’Anavah; Rabbi Avi Shafron]