The Time of Our Freedom

Freedom is a slippery concept. What one generation struggles to achieve, another may take for granted. What one group considers a privilege, another considers to be a basic right. How can we define true freedom?

Pesach is also called z’man cheiruteinu in Hebrew, literally Time of Our Freedom. There are many freedoms that we celebrate on Pesach, but there are two for which we give particular thanks: Freedom from slavery and the freedom to worship. Thousands of years ago, when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, it was with a specific goal in mind. The Israelites were not simply looking to end their servitude, but rather to go and worship God in the way that their tradition demanded. An end to oppression was useful inasmuch as it led to a positive expression of what could be done with that freedom. If the Torah told us that the Exodus was brought about and the Egyptians harshly punished so that we might all be free to shop wholesale, the story and the lesson would not have the same power. Freedom from is measured in value by what freedom to do it leads.

Yet, without an extinguishing of the oppression, the freedom to do any variety of things is of questionable value. For instance, the freedom to vote in our country doesn’t mean very much to most of our citizens. As products of schools, families, or life experiences that don’t emphasize this essential piece of citizenship in a democracy, at least half of the eligible voters in any given election won’t show up at the polls. This fundamental burden of ignorance or apathy must first be lifted from the shoulders of our fellow citizens.

In every generation, we are charged to experience the freedom of the Exodus anew. We are to look at ourselves as if we personally had made the journey out of Egypt and into freedom. In this day and age we are not likely to feel the personal sting of slavery, or know too many who do. Yet there are other forms of oppression that harm those around us, and affect us as well.

We know that in the last twenty years the gap between rich and poor has grown dramatically. Those struggling just to make ends meet are an ever growing number. In our nation of riches, poverty is that greatest enslavement, because with it comes a host of other ills and problems. This year, by the time Pesach comes, our national political debate has been framed. Perhaps as we sit around our Seders this year, we can all consider what we would do to break the chains that restrain so many of our neighbors and fellow Americans. We can be the ones to ensure, that regardless of political persuasion, that it is a national concern to unflinchingly face the root causes, the perpetuating institutions, and the paths out of American poverty. It is a national shame that in the midst of our riches, so many go without. In this year of decisions, we should all consider the meaning of freedom for ourselves, and envision the kind of society our nation could build if freed of some of the chains that hold it back.