The Journeys of Life

The Baal Shem Tov taught that the forty-two journeys of Bnei Yisroel in the Midbar correspond to the journeys of every person's life. A person begins by leaving his mother's womb, which corresponds to the Exodus from Egypt, and he moves from stage to stage until he reaches Eretz HaChaim in the upper worlds after his passing. The Torah recorded these journeys to teach each Jew how to walk his own path, from one destination to the next, all the days of his life.