בס"ד

"True Freedom"


            Now that Passover is over we are free. After all, Passover is the holiday where we celebrate not only our emancipation from slavery, but also our freedom to become more than what we were previously.
            Let us look back to the weeks of cleaning, days of cooking and eight days of celebrating. What lesson have we taken with us? Nothing in Judaism is symbolic. Passover is not there just to remember, but rather to relive the experience. As we dissect the various aspects of Passover, we will walk away with many a lesson to carry us to the next Passover. 
            Sunset, Pyramid, CamelThe freedom we enjoy on Passover is unlike the freedom that is understood by the common man. Freedom is a broad word, subject to many translations. Our founding fathers wrote that freedom is the pursuit of happiness. Two hundred and thirty years later, people will tell you that this pursuit and self gratification is at the expense of anyone. Somewhere between 1776 and 2006 things have gone wrong. While I am sure that the founding fathers wanted freedom from tyranny, you can be sure it was not to be at the cost of society at large. People have the freedom to be an individual while still have responsibilities towards the community.
            The Torah says, that if you truly want to be free, you must follow in the ways of the Torah. This seems to be quite the opposite of what we understand freedom to be. Stop a man on the street and he will tell you that freedom is doing whatever and whenever you want.
            The first Chabad master, Rabbi Schnuer Zalman explains the Torah´s perspective like this. If a person succumbs to every desire and whim, then he is in fact in servitude. Such a person is a slave to his heart´s desires. This person is no different than any other creature who's whole existence is to satisfy its every desire. A MAN must strive to overcome his physical desire and work toward a more spiritual life. Only then is he free to be a MAN. A person
with the Godly gift of intellect and common sense. With this outlook he will realize that instant self gratification is not a good thing. Chassidim of old used to say, "What is forbidden you can not do. what is permissible, you do not need to do".
            Let me me borrow some concepts from Passover to explain myself. On Passover we have the commandment to eat matzah - unleavened dough, which we are told instantly negates chometz - leavened dough. What is it about chometz and matzah that is so vastly different, that they can not coexist?
            Chometz-levened dough, is all about inflated ego invested in the world. In oder to make bread you must leave the dough to rise for a certain amount of time. Matzah - unleavened dough, on the other hand is given no time to rise. Rather it is placed in the oven flat, as soon as it is made. This ensures that the dough will not rise. The matzah represents humility and transcending the concept of time.
            When one wants to go from one plane to another i.e. Egypt to the Holy Land, he must examine himself. This examination will only lead to the realization of how much he has yet to accomplish. Meaning a show of humility. Not egotism, meaning what he has already accomplished.
            So now we can understand why it is so important to rid ourselves of chometz before we eat matzah. Simply put, humility and egotism can not coexist. Either you are about looking past yourself, or you are all about yourself.
            The lesson from Passover is simply to be free. You have the freedom and ability to transcend time and become something spiritual. Leave that self serving mentality behind and become free from it. Why not live the Passover lesson tonight. Go home and be with your family instead of being a slave to the physical laws of money. Like we learn from the Torah, "six days you shall work,
and the seventh day you shall cease from work - Be Free".