What is freedom?
Mishnah, Pesachim 10:5
בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים שנאמר (שמות יג) והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא לאמר בעבור זה עשה ה' לי בצאתי ממצרים לפיכך אנחנו חייבין להודות להלל לשבח לפאר לרומם להדר לברך לעלה ולקלס למי שעשה לאבותינו ולנו את כל הניסים האלו הוציאנו מעבדות לחירות מיגון לשמחה ומאבל ליום טוב ומאפילה לאור גדול ומשעבוד לגאולה ונאמר לפניו הללויה:
In every generation, one is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt, as it is said (Exodus 13), “And you will tell you son on that day, saying, ‘Because of this that God did for me when I left Egypt.’” Therefore we are obliged to thank, praise, glorify, extol, exalt, beatify, bless, etc., etc. to the One who did all these miracles for our ancestors and for us: Who brought us out from slavery to freedom, from sadness to joy, from mourning to festivity, from darkness to great light, from servitude to redemption. And we say before Him, Hallelujah. [Soncino translation]
What is freedom and why does the story of Pesach say God gave it to us?
(ו) לָכֵ֞ן אֱמֹ֥ר לִבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֘ל אֲנִ֣י יְהוָה֒ וְהוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֙חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם וְגָאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבִשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים׃ (ז) וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִתַּ֖חַת סִבְל֥וֹת מִצְרָֽיִם׃
The Traditional Answer
(6) Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am Adonai. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. (7) And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, Adonai, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians.
(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה רְאֵ֛ה נְתַתִּ֥יךָ אֱלֹהִ֖ים לְפַרְעֹ֑ה וְאַהֲרֹ֥ן אָחִ֖יךָ יִהְיֶ֥ה נְבִיאֶֽךָ׃ (ב) אַתָּ֣ה תְדַבֵּ֔ר אֵ֖ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲצַוֶּ֑ךָּ וְאַהֲרֹ֤ן אָחִ֙יךָ֙ יְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה וְשִׁלַּ֥ח אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאַרְצֽוֹ׃ (ג) וַאֲנִ֥י אַקְשֶׁ֖ה אֶת־לֵ֣ב פַּרְעֹ֑ה וְהִרְבֵּיתִ֧י אֶת־אֹתֹתַ֛י וְאֶת־מוֹפְתַ֖י בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (ד) וְלֹֽא־יִשְׁמַ֤ע אֲלֵכֶם֙ פַּרְעֹ֔ה וְנָתַתִּ֥י אֶת־יָדִ֖י בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם וְהוֹצֵאתִ֨י אֶת־צִבְאֹתַ֜י אֶת־עַמִּ֤י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בִּשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים׃ (ה) וְיָדְע֤וּ מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ כִּֽי־אֲנִ֣י יְהוָ֔ה בִּנְטֹתִ֥י אֶת־יָדִ֖י עַל־מִצְרָ֑יִם וְהוֹצֵאתִ֥י אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מִתּוֹכָֽם׃
How can we be free if God still intervenes?
(1) Adonai replied to Moses, “See, I place you in the role of God to Pharaoh, with your brother Aaron as your prophet. (2) You shall repeat all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh to let the Israelites depart from his land. (3) But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that I may multiply My signs and marvels in the land of Egypt. (4) When Pharaoh does not heed you, I will lay My hand upon Egypt and deliver My ranks, My people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with extraordinary chastisements. (5) And the Egyptians shall know that I am Adonai, when I stretch out My hand over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from their midst.”
The Time for Our Freedom
Rabbi Ebn Leader, Hebrew College, Boston, MA
The freedom that we gather around tables to celebrate on the first night of Pesach is the freedom that comes of accepting such grace. It is the joyous acknowledgment that we humans do not control everything; all is not dependent on us. Can you tell the story of setting out on a journey in which you do not have to decide the route, the rest stops or the pace, and in which food, water, and shelter are all provided by someone else? Can you enjoy that story and experience God’s love in it? The most important instruction for the Seder night is – lean back. Recline. There are enough other times in life when you have to lean in…
The memory of our slavery on the first night of Pesach functions differently than throughout the year. On all other nights (and days) the memory of our enslavement is a call to action, a moral demand not to allow others to experience the oppression that we did. But on the first night of Pesach, the memory of slavery serves as a contrast to highlight and intensify our appreciation and joy in God’s redemption. Even the eating of Marror (bitter herbs) is part of the celebration.
Like Shabbat, this experience must also ebb and flow. By the end of the second Seder we are back in counting mode, beginning to count the days until we are ready to receive Torah. The experience of basking in God’s love must have some impact on our daily lives, we must ground it in the reality that we are responsible for. So on the first night of the Omer we begin our avodah at the highest reach of love or as the mekubalim call it – Hesed Sh’beHesed. Then slowly, one day at a time, carefully and meticulously we trace the tracks of that love, finding ways for it to manifest in our lives, until after forty-nine days we have totally grounded it in our reality – Malchut Sh’bemalchut. Then we are ready to receive Torah.
Similar to the relation between Shabbat and weekday practice, here too, the capacity to celebrate this particular freedom on Pesach is dependent on the commitment to the practice of the Omer that follows it. Without the commitment to the process of the Omer, it may indeed feel self-indulging to celebrate freedom rather than focus on oppression. But particularly for those who live with constant awareness of our obligation to fix, one night of freedom may be a tremendous gift of love.
Rabbi Ebn Leader, Hebrew College, Boston, MA
The freedom that we gather around tables to celebrate on the first night of Pesach is the freedom that comes of accepting such grace. It is the joyous acknowledgment that we humans do not control everything; all is not dependent on us. Can you tell the story of setting out on a journey in which you do not have to decide the route, the rest stops or the pace, and in which food, water, and shelter are all provided by someone else? Can you enjoy that story and experience God’s love in it? The most important instruction for the Seder night is – lean back. Recline. There are enough other times in life when you have to lean in…
The memory of our slavery on the first night of Pesach functions differently than throughout the year. On all other nights (and days) the memory of our enslavement is a call to action, a moral demand not to allow others to experience the oppression that we did. But on the first night of Pesach, the memory of slavery serves as a contrast to highlight and intensify our appreciation and joy in God’s redemption. Even the eating of Marror (bitter herbs) is part of the celebration.
Like Shabbat, this experience must also ebb and flow. By the end of the second Seder we are back in counting mode, beginning to count the days until we are ready to receive Torah. The experience of basking in God’s love must have some impact on our daily lives, we must ground it in the reality that we are responsible for. So on the first night of the Omer we begin our avodah at the highest reach of love or as the mekubalim call it – Hesed Sh’beHesed. Then slowly, one day at a time, carefully and meticulously we trace the tracks of that love, finding ways for it to manifest in our lives, until after forty-nine days we have totally grounded it in our reality – Malchut Sh’bemalchut. Then we are ready to receive Torah.
Similar to the relation between Shabbat and weekday practice, here too, the capacity to celebrate this particular freedom on Pesach is dependent on the commitment to the practice of the Omer that follows it. Without the commitment to the process of the Omer, it may indeed feel self-indulging to celebrate freedom rather than focus on oppression. But particularly for those who live with constant awareness of our obligation to fix, one night of freedom may be a tremendous gift of love.