Passover Equates Freedom, How Do We Define Freedom?

March 2021 Charlotte Jewish News

By: Rabbi Yossi Groner, Congregation Ohr HaTorah

Passover by all measures is a monumental and wellknown holiday. Whatever the level of observance, Jews from most backgrounds know that this holiday is important to us as a people.

We could categorize three approaches to Passover: 1) philosophical and conceptual, 2) emotional and sentimental, and 3) practical and ritual. I would like to start from the third category and journey to the first category.

The practical is what most people are engaged in, as actions speak louder than words. The mere thought of Passover brings to mind all the extensive preparations necessary to ensure a proper and kosher Passover, such as cleaning, scrubbing, and ridding the house of all things chametz. Add to that all the shopping for kosher Passover foods and all the cooking and prep. Along with that come the rituals of the night of Pesach with the matzah, wine, and all the seder needs.

The emotional part of Passover is centered on family and friends who gather annually to celebrate the holiday together. For centuries, the Passover seder served as the multigenerational event of the year, absent Bar/Bat Mitzvahs or weddings. There is a high sentimental value placed on these family gatherings, as the structure of the seder is to have the children involved by asking the four questions or deal-making with the afikomen.

The philosophical aspect of Passover, which is the driving force of the holiday, is the idea of freedom. After all, Passover marks the liberation of the ancient Israelites from their Egyptian bondage some 3,300 years ago. The concept of liberation and freedom is thematic throughout the Haggadah and also forms the basis for many of the rituals observed on the night of Passover.

The first passage of the Haggadah after the four questions begins with the words “Avadim Hayeenu L’Pharaoh b’Mitzrayim: We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and G-d took us out with a mighty hand.” The text continues, that if not for this miraculous act of G-d, we would have still been enslaved to the Pharaohs in Egypt. The miracle of Passover was the first event that allowed for the abolishment of slavery, which broke the chains of bondage of the ancient Israelites and eventually of slaves in later generations.

Later in the Haggadah we say that in each and every generation we are mandated to see ourselves as being liberated from slavery and experiencing freedom as if it were just granted to us. In other words, Passover breaks the oppressive act of human slavery. Every year on the night of Passover, we need to reflect on the concept of freedom and be thankful to G-d for granting us this basic human right of being a free people.

Freedom comes in two forms: freedom from external control and freedom from internal slavery. Both freedoms are important, as true freedom can only be achieved when we are free externally and perhaps most importantly, free internally. Academics refer to this as personal freedom. This is achieved when a person realizes that he or she is under the influence of society and decides to rise above it by reaching deep within and being authentic with the inner soul.

People can be free externally yet completely enslaved internally. Others can be enslaved externally yet free internally. Two examples from the 1970s come to mind, and although a bit extreme, they highlight the difference between the two freedoms quite well.

Howard Hughes, one of the richest and most influential people in the world, had all the material riches imaginable at his fingertips. Yet he was enslaved to his own fears and phobias to the point that he lived as a recluse in his later years.

On the other side, Natan (Anatoly) Sharansky, famous Refusenik, who was incarcerated by the Soviets for his pro-Israel activities and was sent to the infamous Gulag, saw himself as the most liberated person in the world. His actions and behavior reflected this sense of independence even when he was locked up in solitary confinement. Sharansky proudly displayed his Jewish ideals and did not see the chains of prison as a hindrance to express himself freely and to live accordingly. In some ways, he was more free than Howard Hughes.

Internal freedom is achieved when a person is free from inner apprehension that restricts them from following the call of their inner soul. Internally free people are not driven by what their peers will say. When a Jewish person pursues their Jewish fulfillment with clarity and confidence and are not deterred by peer pressure or “What will my neighbors say,” they are living the freedom ideal.

Internally free people are honest with themselves, are authentic to their core, and do not live lives solely to impress others. Personally free people have a healthy self-awareness of who they are and are realistic in their self-assessment of what they can or cannot do.

On Passover night we declare our freedom, not only from external oppression, but also from internal slavery. How does one reach this level of freedom? Judaism points us to our souls, the

G-dly entity within us, the inner core of me, which is the authentic me.

Our goal in Judaism is to sync our soul and its spiritual pursuits with our body and our materialistic pursuits. By harmonizing our divine spirit that dwells in our soul with our physical needs, we come to a balanced way of living that helps us thrive and soar in an unrestricted manner.

This is the freedom we strive to celebrate on Passover. Happy and kosher Passover to all.