Salvation Within Distress

במדרש גדולי עולם ברחו ובנ"י במדבר לא הנחתי אתכם לברוח כו' ע"ש

The Midrash teaches: "The great ones of the world fled, yet as for Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness, I did not allow you to flee," and so forth (see there).

The Midrash contrasts the great figures of the world, who escaped their troubles by fleeing, with Bnei Yisrael, whom Hashem deliberately kept in the wilderness rather than letting them flee.

דכתיב עמו אנכי בצרה ולכן איש ישראל צריך לבטוח בה' להיות נושע תוך הצרה כמ"ש מן המיצר קראתי ולא לברוח מן המיצר וזהו בחי' יעקב דכתיב בי' ויצר לו

For it is written, "I am with him in distress" (Tehillim 91:15), and therefore a Jew must place his trust in Hashem to be saved within the very distress itself, as it says, "From the straits I called out" (Tehillim 118:5) — and not to flee from the straits. This is the level of Yaakov, of whom it is written, "and he was distressed" (Bereishis 32:8).

Hashem is present with a person inside his distress, so the proper avodah is to trust Hashem and be redeemed from within the trouble itself rather than escaping it — the trait embodied by Yaakov, who was saved while still inside his distress.

ולכן הוקבע פרשה זו בין המצרים שבימים האלה נסגר הבריחה מבנ"י וצריכין לזכור במסעות האלה להיות נושע תוך המיצר עצמו וע"ז כתיב ולא אמרו אי' ה' כו' המוליך אותנו כו' בארץ צי' כו'

Therefore this parsha was fixed to be read during the Bein HaMetzarim, the days between the straits, for in these days the avenue of flight is sealed off from Bnei Yisrael, and they must remember through these journeys to be saved within the constraint itself. Concerning this it is written, "They did not say, 'Where is Hashem who brought us up... who led us through the wilderness, in a land of desert,'" and so forth (Yirmiyahu 2:6).

Parshas Masei is read during the Three Weeks because that is precisely the time when escape is blocked; the journeys of the wilderness teach us to find salvation within the constriction, the failing for which Yirmiyahu rebuked the generation that did not seek Hashem.

כי בודאי הי' הזמן מוסתר לאותו הדור, אבל אם היו זוכרין ביצ"מ ובמסעות האלה היו נושעים תוך המיצר

For surely the time was concealed for that generation, yet had they remembered the exodus from Mitzrayim and these journeys, they would have been saved within the very constraint.

That generation could not see Hashem because the moment was hidden from them, but had they recalled Yetzias Mitzrayim and the wilderness journeys, they too would have been saved from within their straits.

ובכל עת שנסגר הדרך בפני איש ישראל

And at every time that the way is sealed off before a Jew,

Whenever a Jew finds every path of escape closed before him,

הכל רק כדי שיסתכל האדם כלפי מעלה לשעבד הלב לאביו שבשמים:

it is all only so that a person should look upward, to subjugate his heart to his Father in Heaven.

the entire purpose is to compel him to lift his eyes Heavenward and submit his heart to his Father in Heaven.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that while the great ones of the world saved themselves by fleeing their troubles, Hashem kept Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness so they would learn a higher avodah: to be saved from within the very distress, not by escaping it. This is rooted in "I am with him in distress" and in the level of Yaakov, who was redeemed while still inside his straits. Parshas Masei is therefore read during the Bein HaMetzarim, when every avenue of flight is sealed, to remind us that salvation comes through trust in Hashem within the constriction itself. Ultimately, when every path is blocked before a Jew, the whole purpose is to make him look upward and subjugate his heart to his Father in Heaven.