- "I was framed for a crime I didn't commit and am currently in prison. I spend my time writing poetry and letters to my family. It passes the time and I really enjoy it. Soon enough they'll realize I'm innocent and let me go."
- "I really hate my job. But it pays well, so I stick with it. I have a nice car, a nice suit, the best phone... but I need to buy that house on the corner before any of my coworkers do. There is nothing that matters more to me than that house."
- "I'm looking for a new job. My boss at my old job kept me at work too long and I could never see my friends. Even though I'm unemployed for the moment, I'm so much happier. I feel like myself again."
בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג), וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם.
In every generation a person must regard himself as if he personally had gone out of Egypt, as it is said: “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: ‘It is because of what Hashem did for me when I came out of Egypt.’”
Why do we need to celebrate our freedom every single year? We remember the story!
How are we supposed to feel as if we ourselves left Egypt? How can we possibly try and relate to that?
(יג) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וְהִתְיַצֵּ֖ב לִפְנֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֑ה וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו כֹּֽה־אָמַ֤ר ה' אֱלֹקֵ֣י הָֽעִבְרִ֔ים שַׁלַּ֥ח אֶת־עַמִּ֖י וְיַֽעַבְדֻֽנִי׃
13. Hashem said to Moshe, "Wake up early in the morning and stand firm before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'So said Hashem, the G-d of the Jews, "Let My people go so that they can worship Me [literally: serve Me].
(נה) כִּֽי־לִ֤י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ עֲבָדִ֔ים עֲבָדַ֣י הֵ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־הוֹצֵ֥אתִי אוֹתָ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲנִ֖י ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(55) For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am Hashem your G-d.
Hashem freed us from Egypt, but now we're servants to Him. Why is that any different? It doesn't sound like we're free...
Maybe we're not really understanding what freedom is. So what is freedom?
(יד) וַיְמָרְר֨וּ אֶת־חַיֵּיהֶ֜ם בַּעֲבֹדָ֣ה קָשָׁ֗ה בְּחֹ֙מֶר֙ וּבִלְבֵנִ֔ים וּבְכָל־עֲבֹדָ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה אֵ֚ת כָּל־עֲבֹ֣דָתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־עָבְד֥וּ בָהֶ֖ם בְּפָֽרֶךְ׃
(14) And they [Egypt] ruthlessly made life bitter for them [the Jews] with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field.
את כל עבודתם אשר עבדו בהם בפרך אמר רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר רבי יונתן שהיו מחליפין מלאכת אנשים לנשים ומלאכת נשים לאנשים
The verse concludes: “with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field.” (Exodus 1:14). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that Rabbi Yonatan says: The meaning of "with harsh labor" is that the Egyptians would switch the responsibilities of men and women, giving men’s work to women and women’s work to men, requiring everyone to do work to which they were unaccustomed.
(י) וּפַרְעֹ֖ה הִקְרִ֑יב וַיִּשְׂאוּ֩ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֨ל אֶת־עֵינֵיהֶ֜ם וְהִנֵּ֥ה מִצְרַ֣יִם ׀ נֹסֵ֣עַ אַחֲרֵיהֶ֗ם וַיִּֽירְאוּ֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַיִּצְעֲק֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־ה' (יא) וַיֹּאמְרוּ֮ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה֒ הַֽמִבְּלִ֤י אֵין־קְבָרִים֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם לְקַחְתָּ֖נוּ לָמ֣וּת בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר מַה־זֹּאת֙ עָשִׂ֣יתָ לָּ֔נוּ לְהוֹצִיאָ֖נוּ מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃
(10) As Pharaoh drew near, the Jews caught sight of the Egyptians advancing upon them. Greatly frightened, the Jews cried out to Hashem. (11) And they said to Moshe, “Are there no graves in Egypt that you brought us out to die in the desert? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt?
ספורנו, שמות י"ד:י"א
יש לתמוה איך יירא מחנה גדולה של שש מאות אלף איש מהרודפים אחריהם ולמה לא ילחמו על נפשם ועל בניהם?
התשובה כי המצרים הוי אדונים לישראל וזה הדור היוצא ממצרים למד מנעוריו לסבול עול מצרים ונפשו שפלה. ואיך יוכל עתה להלחם עם אדוניו?
Sforno, Exodus 14:11
It is astonishing that the Jewish people were so frightened by the Egyptians who were chasing them; there were six hundred thousand Jews but only a few hundred Egyptians! So why didn’t they just stand up and fight to protect themselves and their children?!
The answer is that the Egyptians were masters over the Jews, who had a slave mentality. This was the generation of Jews who had left Egypt, so they had all grown up accustomed to the rulership of Egypt. The Jewish people had broken souls from their years of slavery, and therefore they didn’t have the strength and willpower to now fight their former masters.
The difference between a slave and a free person is not a matter of social position. We can find an enlightened slave whose spirit is free, and a free man with the mentality of a slave. True freedom is that uplifted spirit by which the individual — as well as the nation as a whole — is inspired to remain faithful to his inner selfta, to the spiritual attribute of the Divine image within him. It is that quality which enables us to feel that our life has value and meaning.
A person with a slave mentality lives his life and harbors emotions that are rooted, not in his own essential spiritual nature, but in that which is attractive and good in the eyes of others. In this way, he is ruled by others, whether physically or by social conventions.
Vanquished in exile, we were oppressed for hundreds of years by cruel masters. But our inner soul is imbued with the spirit of freedom. Were it not for the wondrous gift of the Torah, bestowed upon us when we left Egypt to eternal freedom, the long exile would have reduced our spirits to the mindset of a slave. But on the festival of freedom, we openly demonstrate that we feel ourselves to be free in our very essence. Our lofty yearnings for that which is good and holy are a genuine reflection of our essential nature.
Cheirut (freedom): The injection of positive purpose and value into one’s life. The individual who enjoys cheirut, by choosing to pursue a higher goal, actively frees himself from servitude to the surrounding world and its potentially enslaving forces. Cheirut cannot be granted by another but must be attained by an individual himself.
ואומר (שמות לב טז): "והלחת מעשה אלקים המה והמכתב מכתב אלקים הוא חרות על הלחת", אל תקרא חרות אלא חֵרות, שאין לך בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתלמוד תורה.וכל מי שעוסק בתלמוד תורה הרי זה מתעלה, שנאמר (במדבר כא יט): "וממתנה נחליאל ומנחליאל במות".
It says (Exodus 32:16): "And the tablets are the work of G-d, and the writing is G-d's writing, engraved on the tablets;" read not "engraved" (charut) but "liberty" (cheirut) --- for there is no free individual, except for he who occupies himself with the study of Torah.
(ג) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם. שֶׁלּא עָשנִי עָבֶד.
(3) Blessed are you, Hashem, our G-d and king of the world, who did not make me a slave.