Passover Means All Kinds of Freedom

Yesterday morning, I gave a presentation at a retirement center about the holiday of Passover. I talked about how the teaching is that we were ALL slaves in Egypt, we were ALL freed by God, and we ALL stood at Sinai receiving the law that was to govern our community, previously just a family but now to be a nation. It therefore becomes our responsibility to remember that we were once slaves and are now free, and to look around the world and make sure that others can be free, too – the stranger in the land, the person with less opportunity who is making his or her way, the oppressed here and everywhere.

At the end of the presentation, I threw the session open to questions from the audience, whereupon one woman got up and asked me if we ever speak about other kinds of enslavement and liberty – psychological enslavement, for example. I said that I can only speak for myself and I had not thought about that previously, but I couldn’t guarantee that no rabbi had not ever spoken about this issue. And I thanked her and told her I would give it some thought and perhaps even write about it.

So consider with me the other kinds of slavery that there might be. A person could be a slave to his or her addictions. A person could also be a slave to his or her mental script – that tape loop that is constantly running in our heads, all too often telling us bad things about ourselves, things that ultimately define our self-image. A person could be trapped in an unhealthy relationship and not see any way out of it. I’m sure that you can think of other ways in which we might be enslaved.

I have been teaching Mussar for three years and studying and practicing it for several years before that. This is the practice of refining our character traits so that we get through the events of our lives and our interactions with others more successfully. The traits covered include humility, patience, equanimity – all of which combine to keep us on an even keel, reacting to others thoughtfully and respectfully rather than blurting something out without thinking first, and making our lives smoother and more enjoyable. They also have the very strong effect of contributing to our living in a sacred community that values all of its members. The common thread running through all of Mussar is mindfulness. If it is you personally who are enslaved by your thoughts or emotions, making an effort to be fully present in each moment rather than sleepwalking through your life can be a big help. Mindfulness meditation has been tremendously valuable to me in this endeavor. Of course, medications and therapy and other approaches are also available to you.

When you encounter others who are enslaved in some way – even if they initially caused it themselves but are now helpless to see their way out of their situation – Mussar teaches us to respond with compassion and honor. Honor in particular is a tremendous help when you are dealing with anybody who is different from yourself; reminding yourself that this person too was created in the image of God and is no more nor less than you are can help you receive their words and actions respectfully. In this world that is rapidly becoming less civil, a world where people feel free to attack one another with vicious words and deeds, reminding yourself that this person too has a holy soul and that this person came to his or her beliefs sincerely through his or her own experiences and learning, just as you did with your beliefs, can enhance the level of interaction between the two of you markedly. I am not talking only about people who are trapped by prisons of their own hearts or minds, but even people who stand tall and proud and merely happen to differ from you on something you believe in passionately. This too has the effect of creating a sacred community where all can live in a feeling of security and freedom.

Where I am now, we are currently enjoying the most beautiful month of our year – a time of glorious warmth with no real humidity, flowering trees and plants, blue skies and fluffy white clouds. A time to feel hopeful for the destiny of our planet and of all of our fellow human beings.

Passover truly represents the birth of Judaism. It is not just by chance that most of our liturgy refers to God not as the one who created the universe and everything within it, but the one who brought us out of slavery and into freedom. May you celebrate this season and the freedom that is yours, and may you always be sensitive to those less fortunate than yourself, those who are locked into circumstances of poverty or brutal government, and also those imprisoned by their own minds or bodies or hearts.