Rescue From the Narrow Places

Mitzraim in Hebrew means "the two Egypts" or "the narrow places," referring to the fact that the arable land of Egypt is confined to a small fringe along the banks of the Nile, made fertile until the Aswan Dam was built by the annual flooding of that long river, seen in the accompanying photograph from space. The modern borders, presumably, were drawn, not photographed.

The Psalmist wrote mi-mitzraim galatanu, adonai elohenu, which translates, "From Egypt he has saved us, the Lord our God."

Jews celebrate their Passover, or Pesach, this week, and Christians their Pascha, which has the same origin and celebrates redemption from sin and death.

Each of us is trapped in a "narrow place," from which it may seem there is little chance of escape. Each of us is enslaved, whether by unforgiving taskmasters or by the darkness in our own heart.

This is the season of rebirth, of rescue and redemption. In the past year, what has enslaved us, and from what have we been rescued? What still enslaves us, from which we even now require rescue?

Once rescued, as the upper right corder of the image shows, there is plenty of desert for us to wander in, until we (or our children) reach the promised land.