Journeying From Level To Level
בפסוק אלה מסעי כו' אשר יצאו מארץ מצרים תלה הכ' ביציאת מצרים כשם שיצ"מ הי' ישועה לדורות לכן מצוה לזכור בכל יום יציאת מצרים כמו כן המסעות במדבר הכנה לדורות כמ"ש למוליך עמו במדבר כל"ח
On the verse "These are the journeys... which went out from the land of Egypt" (Bamidbar 33:1), the verse links the journeys to the Exodus from Egypt. Just as the Exodus from Egypt was a deliverance for all the generations, which is why there is a mitzvah to remember the Exodus every day, so too the journeys in the wilderness were a preparation for all the generations, as it is written, "To Him who led His people through the wilderness, for His kindness endures forever" (Tehillim 136:16).
The Sfas Emes notes that the Torah ties the wilderness journeys to the Exodus. Just as the Exodus is a permanent source of deliverance worth remembering daily, the journeys too were prepared as an enduring source of help for every generation.
כי השי"ת הכין בדור הראשון עזר לבנ"י הן בסור מרע והן בעשה טוב כי עיקר האדם שנקרא מהלך ללכת ממדריגה למדריגה עד שיתקרב אל הבורא ית"ש וכל זמן שאדם נאסר ומקושר בגשמיות אין הנפש יכול להתפשט ולילך ממדריגה למדריגה ולכן הוציאנו הקב"ה מן המיצר ואחר כך היינו כתועים כמ"ש תעו במדבר כו' דרך
For Hashem prepared in that first generation a help for Bnei Yisrael, both in turning away from evil and in doing good. For the essence of a person is that he is called a "goer" (mehalech) — one who must travel from level to level until he draws near to the Creator, may His Name be blessed. And as long as a person is imprisoned and bound up in physicality, the soul cannot expand and travel from level to level. Therefore the Holy One, Blessed is He, brought us out from the straits (meitzar), and afterward we were like those who wander astray, as it is written, "They wandered in the wilderness... finding no path" (Tehillim 107:4).
Hashem set up in the first generation a means for Bnei Yisrael to grow in both avoiding evil and doing good. Since a person's purpose is to keep advancing from level to level toward Hashem, He first freed us from the constraints of physicality, after which we were left wandering and in need of direction.
ואז הוליך אותנו הקב"ה במדבר ועשה אותנו מהלכים
And then the Holy One, Blessed is He, led us through the wilderness and made us into "goers" — those who travel from level to level.
After taking us out, the Holy One, Blessed is He, then guided us through the wilderness and turned us into people who are constantly moving upward from one spiritual level to the next.
ללכת לעיר מושב
To travel to a city of settlement (Tehillim 107:4).
The goal of all this movement is to arrive at a settled destination — a place of rest and permanence in our closeness to Hashem.
וזהו עיקר החירות כמ"ש בגמ' דרור זה חירות שמדייר בי דיירא ומוביל סחורה לכל מדינתא
And this is the essence of freedom, as the Gemara expounds: "Deror" — this means freedom, for it refers to one who dwells (medayer) in a dwelling and carries his merchandise throughout the entire country.
True freedom, as the Gemara teaches on the word "deror," is the ability to dwell freely and move about wherever one wishes — the spiritual capacity to travel unhindered from level to level.
וז"ש ולא אמרו איה ה' המעלה אותנו כו' המוליך כו'
And this is the meaning of "And they did not say, 'Where is Hashem who brought us up... who led us through the wilderness'" (Yirmiyahu 2:6).
This is why the navi rebukes Bnei Yisrael for failing to remember Hashem as the One who led them through the wilderness — that leading was itself a great act of deliverance worth recalling.
פי' שבעת צרה יש לאיש ישראל לזכור ביצ"מ ובהילוך המדבר ובזה יוכל להיות נושע לעולם ולכן פרשה זו נקראת בין המצרים:
The explanation is that in a time of distress a Jew should remember the Exodus from Egypt and the journeying through the wilderness, and through this he can be delivered forever. Therefore this parsha is read during the days of Bein HaMetzarim (between the straits).
When a Jew faces hard times, he should recall both the Exodus and the journeying through the wilderness, for these are eternal wellsprings of salvation. This is precisely why the parsha falls during Bein HaMetzarim, the time of distress.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the Torah deliberately connects the wilderness journeys to the Exodus, because both were prepared by Hashem as enduring sources of deliverance for all generations. The essence of a person is to be a "goer," constantly advancing from one spiritual level to the next toward closeness with Hashem; but physicality imprisons the soul and prevents this movement. Therefore Hashem first freed us from the straits of Egypt and then led us through the wilderness, transforming us into people capable of traveling upward — the true definition of freedom, as the Gemara teaches on the word "deror." The navi rebukes those who forget that Hashem's leading them through the wilderness was itself a deliverance. In a time of distress a Jew should recall both the Exodus and the wilderness journeys, drawing eternal salvation from them — which is why this parsha is read during Bein HaMetzarim.