All Free Today – Pesach
Pesach has many names. Chag HaPesach, Chag HaMatzot, Chag HaAviv, Chag HaKneidlach … and Zman Cheiruteinu, the time of our freedom.
In this shiur I would like to explore the concept of freedom and why Pesach specifically is given this synonym and not any another chag, like Yom Kippur, Shavuot, etc.
We are living through troubled but exciting times. Since the 7th of October, Am Yisrael have been left with a gaping wound. Over 133 of our hostages, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, remain in the clutches of a barbarous enemy. If I were to ask you "What is the opposite of freedom?" the answer would very likely be "What our hostages are currently experiencing in Gaza!"
What defines freedom?
There are three main categories of freedom - "Freedom of thought"; "Freedom of choice"; "Freedom of action".
Under these main categories we find many sub-categories, like "Freedom of movement"; "Freedom of speech"; "Freedom of religion"; etc.
The question I would like to pose is - "For human beings, is there such a thing as absolute freedom?"
The answer is "No!"
While many may live under the illusion that they have absolute freedom, it is precisely that – an illusion. Anyone living in this physical world can never attain absolute freedom. Whether we like it or not, we are bound by natural laws, such as gravity, for example. It is all very well to say "I would like to fly like a bird and defy gravity", but humans are not made that way. Birds are born with wings and can fly, but humans are not. Conversely, a bird cannot compose a symphony or paint a Mona Lisa, they are not made that way. Humans can.
Since the dawn of time, mankind has strived to challenge their physical human limitations – run faster, dive deeper, climb higher, etc. The Guinness Book of World Records is filled with such feats. Mankind has used their intelligence to defy natural laws and expand their freedoms – building airplanes to fly in the air, rockets to travel into outer space, microscopes and telescopes to see beyond the capability of the naked eye, computers to make calculations almost at the speed of light, medicines to cure disease and increase longevity. It is part of human nature – to push the limits. When someone is told "You cannot do this!" it only spurs them on further to try defy the limitation. This is what the passuk means when it says וּמִלְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁהָ (בראשית א, כח).
There is one limitation that humans can seemingly never overcome – we all die eventually. Theoretical "absolute" freedom, includes the freedom of immortality. Since humans can seemingly never achieve that, humans can never attain absolute freedom.
That is not the way HKB"H created humans though. When Adam and Chava were created, they were immortal. Even so, they were not created with absolute freedom. HKB"H placed limitations on them "Do not eat from this tree!" Human nature being what it is, the first two humans in history tried to push their physical limits. However, by attaining freedom to eat what they wanted, they forfeited freedom of immortality.
This is the blueprint of the human species – in order to acquire a new freedom, you must forfeit another freedom in order to attain it. This is the way HKB"H created His world, that humans would not have absolute freedom.
If we examine the three main categories of freedom listed above, HKB"H gave us humans all three. We are free to think, we are free to choose and we are free to act as we please. HKB"H seemingly gave us absolute freedom, but this is not the case.
HKB"H also gave us the Torah, which limits our thought and our actions. Yes, we are free to choose whether to follow the Torah or not. Many don't and they mistakenly believe by shedding the shackles of the Torah they gain greater freedom, but this too is merely an illusion. They are simply trading one master for another. Humans either serve HKB"H or they serve their yetzer harah.
Humans cannot be "masterless". The human being is an empty vessel that must be filled with something. Either we fill ourselves with נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים (the Torah), or we are filled with the yetzer harah. This is the underlying principle of matza and chametz. Matza is diligently following the Torah, not permitting any vacuum to exit. If, however, we are remiss in observing the Torah, a vacuum is formed and in steps the yetzer harah – chametz, and takes control.
When someone breaks free of the shackles of the Torah, they might consider themselves to be more free – free to do what they want, eat what they want, say what they want, whenever they want … but this is an illusion. They think it is they who are freely making the decision what to do, eat, say, etc., but in fact it is the yetzer harah directing them in all the above. They become slaves to their desires until they are in fact less free than if they followed the "strict" laws of the Torah. There are other addictions besides drugs and alcohol, people can also become behavioral addicts, slaves to bad habits prompted by desire.
We tend to regard our slavery In Egypt as physical in nature. That we were forced to perform back-breaking labor, but it is not as simple as that. Am Yisrael, just prior to יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם had almost completely assimilated. They were practically indistinguishable from the Egyptians. This is what the שַׂר of Egypt complained while Am Yisrael were crossing the Red Sea, he said "Why are they any different to the Egyptians? They are both idol worshippers!" Am Yisrael were at the lowest level of the 49 levels of impurity and if they would have remained in Egypt one second more, they would have been irredeemable!
In fact, four fifths ended up being irredeemable and perished during the plague of darkness (either they physically died or they were spiritually lost to Am Yisrael, see shiur on Pesach 2023).
When we were set free from Egypt, it was not merely a physical freedom, it was also a spiritual freedom. We were liberated from the conceptions that had become ingrained during our period of slavery.
However, some in Am Yisrael misunderstood this newly acquired freedom, they thought that the Exodus meant absolute freedom. When they discovered that they had simply switched their Egyptian masters with another Master (HKB"H), they rebelled. זָכַרְנוּ אֶת הַדָּגָה אֲשֶׁר נֹאכַל בְּמִצְרַיִם חִנָּם (במדבר יא, ה). We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for "free" – the Sifri says "free from commandments". This small group were not yet fully liberated from their prior misconceptions.
What does it mean that Pesach is Zman Cheiruteinu? It does not mean that we acquired absolute freedom. It means that we reacquired the level of freedom that HKB"H intended for us when He created us, the level of freedom that Adam Harishon was created with. Not absolute freedom, but freedom from the yetzer harah.
This is why we were forbidden to eat chametz when we left Egypt, because chametz is the yetzer harah. It is something that rushes into the void created when we do not diligently follow the Torah, just like chametz is formed in dough that is not diligently being worked on.
יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם was the equivalent of a fast action replay of the Creation. The Ten Plagues reflected the six days of Creation (see shiur on Va'eira 2021). It was the beginning of the reset of the world to HKB"H's original blueprint, the intended blueprint of freedom, the freedom we celebrate on Pesach.
In our modern age, a new stream of thought is sweeping the world – progressive liberalism. This philosophy focuses primarily on the individual and seeks to increase individual rights, strip away boundaries and strive for absolute freedom. In this "utopian" world, there cannot be a G-d, or religion because religion, by definition, means abolishing many of the freedoms they strive to attain. Not surprisingly, few progressive liberals are devout followers of (any) religion.
In the Torah, we first encounter this life philosophy after the Exodus from Egypt. It is called Amalek. The cornerstone of Amalek's philosophy is that G-d is not involved with anything here on earth. Down here on earth – anything goes, absolute freedom to do whatever you like, whenever you like, however you like.
This is why Judaism is the arch-enemy of Amalek, and why antisemitism exists in the world, because we are a constant reminder that G-d is an integral part of the fabric of our world. This is why in order for the Geulah to come, we first need to eradicate the philosophy of Amalek. As long as the philosophy of Amalek exists, HKB"H's name will never be complete., as it says וַיֹּאמֶר כִּי יָד עַל כֵּס יָ-הּ מִלְחָמָה לַה' בַּעֲמָלֵק מִדֹּר דֹּר. As long as the Amalek philosophy exists it will be כֵּס instead of כִּסֵּא (missing an א) and יָ-הּ instead of י-ה-ו-ה (missing ו-ה). This is why in order for the Geulah to come we need כִּי בָחַר ה' בְּצִיּוֹן אִוָּהּ לְמוֹשָׁב לוֹ. The word אִוָּהּ are the missing letters. This is why HKB"H chose Am Yisrael as His people, because it is our responsibility to supplement the missing letters so that HKB"H's throne and name will once again be complete and His blueprint for the world will be restored.
True utopia is not absolute freedom, it is freedom from the yetzer harah and full control of our desires. That is true freedom.
When Adam Harishon sinned, according to the סִפְרֵי הַקַּבָּלָה, his neshama was split into רפח נִיצוֹצוֹת, 288 "sparks". To achieve the tikkun for Adam Harishon's sin, these רפח sparks had to be "repaired".
When Am Yisrael left Egypt during the Exodus, 202 of the 288 sparks were repaired when the עֶרֶב רַב left with them. רַב in gematria is 202 (אריז"ל).
In order for the Geulah to commence, we need to repair the remaining 86 sparks.
86 in gematria is מֹחַ וְלֵב. In order for HKB"H's name and throne to be complete, we need to repair our hearts and minds. We need to achieve control over our hearts and minds, the very aspects of our human nature that the Amalek philosophy has perverted.
Pesach has an integral role to play in this. To complete HKB"H's name and throne, we need to replace the missing letters אִוָּהּ, which in gematria is בדו. As everyone knows, there is a rule that Pesach can never fall out on the days בדו, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Pesach, more than any other chag, is a symbol of our control over our yetzer harah (chametz). This is why Pesach davaka is called Zman Cheiruteinu and not Yom Kippur or Sukkot, for example.
However, that is not all. אִוָּהּ in gematria is also י"ב. To merit redemption, the Twelve Tribes need to be united as one.
Finally, אִוָּהּ in gematria is גּוֹג. This is the final stage prior to the Geulah, when the last remnants of Amalek and their philosophy are finally eradicated from the world.
Chag Kasher Ve'Sameach
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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