Parshas Vayak'hel-Pekudei

With only a few weeks between us and Pesach, where we celebrate the transition from slavery in Egypt to freedom, it is worth taking a moment to discuss how the Torah views the concept of freedom. A good place to begin is with the question: what is freedom?

Hashem overturned the natural order with plagues and miracles to take us out of Egypt. He lit up the skies with fire and split the roaring sea so we would no longer have to serve the evil Pharaoh. But does it stop there? Is that all Hashem sought to do? If that were true, then why us? Why did Hashem free us when many times in history people were unfairly oppressed and Hashem did not split the sea to save them? The answer to this question challenges how many people view the idea of freedom.

Imagine your 12-year-old child says to you “I want to go to a baseball game. Can I drive your car there?” While the red-blooded American in you says “of course! Who am I to put the brakes on your freedom?” the parent in you screams at you not to. Why? Because the parent in you knows that freedom is only good when it is used as a way to better oneself. And there is no way that 12-year-old can do that with your car.

This is exactly the vision of freedom the Torah gives us. In the Shema, we say “I am the Lord your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt.” But we continue with “in order to be your G-d.” The liberation and its purpose are bound together in the same declaration. Freedom is not the destination. It is the vehicle.

Hashem did not take us out of Egypt simply because He felt bad for us. He took us out because He had a mission for us that required a new and higher level of freedom. The slavery in Egypt had forged us into a people ready to receive the Torah at Sinai. When Hashem first spoke to Moshe at the burning bush, He already told him the destination: when you take the people out, you will serve G-d on this mountain. The finish line was never the banks of the Yam Suf. It was always Sinai.

So as we sit down at the Seder this year, it is worth asking ourselves not just “what are we free from?” but “what are we free for?” That is the question Pesach is really asking us. And it is the most important question we can bring to our table.