He comes upon a torch to light his way and is now able to avoid thorns, sword-like growths and pits. But he is still in fear of beasts and bandits and uncertain of his direction. When the light of dawn appears he is safe from the beasts and bandits who slink back to their lairs but he is still uncertain of where he is heading. Only when he reaches a familiar crossroads is he finally free from all the dangers which have threatened him. Life in this world is compared to a journey through darkness.
Man is composed of body and soul.
The body performs the mitzvot , while the soul, which encompasses man's intelligence, is occupied with the intellectual activity of Torah study. In man's physical existence there are three major obstacles to security and perfection. The sword-like growth represents the sword of the enemy and the pits symbolize the sudden death of sickness and accident. Performing mitzvot with our physical powers is similar to the torch and the merit of these physical actions achieves for us physical security. But man is also threatened in regard to his spiritual security.