Soul Freedom – To Want What You Do, Or To Do What You Want

A skillful fiddler caused a large crowd of pedestrians to clap their hands and tap their feet as he played lively tunes in the center of the town’s square. Unable to hear the music, a deaf passerby stopped to observe the strange spectacle. As he watched the people bounce and swirl in the middle of the plaza, he wondered to himself: “What has gotten into these people, why in the world are they acting so bizarre?”

On the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nissan over 3,000 years ago the Children of Israel were liberated from their protracted bondage by the mighty hand of G-d. A relentless series of shock and awe style occurrences had finally weakened the iron resolve of the wicked Pharaoh and the cruel Egyptian tormentors, causing them to let the people go. The event serves as the cornerstone and birth of the Jewish nation and religion.

Throughout history, Jews have observed G-d’s command to commemorate this event with the celebration of Passover – one of Judaism’s most momentous holidays. The Seder and its exotic rituals and traditions is indeed a central component of Jewish creed and culture. But what is the inner message behind the symbolisms of this important festival?

Our sages declare: “In each and every generation one must view himself as though he had himself gone out of Egypt.” This Talmudic passage has in fact been included as part of the text of the Haggadah narrative that we are each obligated to recite during the Passover Seder.

Our sages were certainly aware that none of us have ever been enslaved in Egypt, why then would they have us make such an absurd statement? The Chassidic explanation is that the Hebrew word for Egypt “Mitzrayim” means “constraints.” True, we haven’t experienced Egyptian bondage per se; however, we each have our personal Mitzrayim – constraints and limitations, due to both external and internal phenomena.

The essential message of Passover is hence about personal freedom. But what does personal freedom mean?

The Talmud states: “One cannot be considered “free” unless he is preoccupied with the study of Torah.” But how is this to be understood? What does Torah have to do with freedom? To the contrary, the Torah is replete with what many would refer to as restrictions – thou shalts and thou shalt nots – how can the Rabbis in all honestly call this freedom? The Torah’s idea of freedom is obviously very different from the secular and colloquial definition.

The secular definition of freedom is “to do what you want.” To do what you want is easy, it requires no thought or self-discipline; it is the path of least resistance. However, while it is easy to do what you want the rewards are rather short lived, as the saying goes “The path of least resistance is all the way down hill.”

This is to say that while in the short run it feels good to do what we want, after the immediate impulse and gratification has worn off it usually does not feel nearly as good. More often than not we end up regretting, having succumbed to our raw urges and impulses, as goes the lyric of a song that dates back to the 70’s: “I hate myself for loving you.”

By contrast, the Torah’s definition of freedom is “to want what you do.” To want what you do is to feel good about the choices we make and things we do in the long run, well after the initial pleasure has worn off. It is to be comfortable with who we are and the life we lead.

The latter requires a measure of self-discipline. It likewise requires the wisdom and guidance of a higher moral code, hence the assertion that “One cannot be ‘free’ unless he is preoccupied with the study of Torah.” The Torah’s definition of freedom is not just freedom of the bodies, but freedom of the soul as well.

The reason why it is so important to achieve freedom of the soul is because our significance as humans transcends the scope of animal existence. Because man is more than a physical entity, he must nurture more than his physical self.

The pursuit of spirituality and higher purpose is not a matter of luxury – it is not merely an exercise for those who are naturally inclined to ponder the deeper reality of things. It is rather a human necessity. This notion is portrayed in an analogy offered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe:

Freedom is clearly a subjective phenomenon which varies in accordance with the needs of each particular entity. A plant, for example, derives its contentment through conditions that are most conducive to organic growth such as water, air and light. Plants have no need or desire for such things as mobility and the like.

To the animal however, the plant’s level of freedom and comfort is anything but satisfactory. An animal can never be contented with water and air alone while constrained to a distinct location. An animal requires the independence of mobility. Freedom in its eyes must contain the ability to roam freely from place to place.

By the same token, what might be considered optimum conditions for the animal can be very restrictive to the human being. Should man, for instance, be granted all his material needs but be denied any form of intellectual nourishment, he would no doubt find the situation highly repressive. As an intellectual creature, freedom in man’s eyes must include the ability for intellectual stimulation and development.

The same is true, albeit less conspicuous, with man’s need for higher spiritual purpose. This is to say that all the non-spiritual matter in the world cannot satisfy the cravings of man’s soul. The higher spiritual dimension within man will only reach completion when its spiritual aspirations are nurtured.

In summary, an essential component of the human composition is his spiritual consciousness. This consciousness has its own set of needs. To ignore our spiritual dimension is no different than to ignore the bodily needs for food and water or to neglect the human necessity for intellectual stimulation. Man can never be truly free if he does not care for his higher essence – his soul.

The lesson of Passover is that in each and every generation, each and every one of us must make the journey out of Mitzrayim – constriction. We must acquire freedom not just of the body but of the soul as well. Pesach is a highly apropos and auspicious time for this endeavor.

May we all experience true freedom, physically and spiritually. May we merit the ultimate freedom that will take place with the coming of the righteous Moshiach.