Slavery and Freedom

Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, teaches that there is a true freedom and a counterfeit freedom. For many the journey to true freedom seems impossible. Many people find bondage to be pleasant, like the Hebrew slave who declares: “I love my master… I will not go free” (Shemot 21:5). But the spark of holy freedom which we inherited from our holy Forefathers cannot be extinguished and we are able to distinguish between real and false freedom and find the power to break free from illusions of true freedom. Rabbi Kook states that the power of liberty which shines upon us in our Holy Land will gradually return us to our great spirit of freedom of old.

Rabbi Kook writes:

“It is difficult to grasp the concept of slavery in its entirety, to understand how to free oneself from its shackles and stand upon the expanse of freedom, to shake off the cursed status of the slave and acquire the blessedness of the free man. It is also difficult to fully comprehend the concept of freedom and commit oneself to genuine freedom rather than the counterfeit freedom more dreadful and base than any slavery. This difficulty applies to every individual, with his unique character, his active physical and intellectual life, and it applies in a higher and more general manner to the Nation as a whole” (“Essays, pgs.163-164).

In simple terms, Rabbi Kook is informing us that true freedom is not what we may think it is. People may think they are free while being enslaved to many hidden forces. Our task is to distinguish between the true and the counterfeit and to uproot the falsehoods darkening our souls. Rabbi Kook continues:

“When we search for chametz by candlelight, we also search the chambers of our hearts in an effort to incinerate the chametz of slavery adhering to our souls. Thus we may enter the brilliant realm of our Festival of Freedom with an exalted spirit. We are cleansed of all stains of bondage, both overt slavery which degrades the glory of the soul and pollutes the nobility of our spirits, and also that hidden bondage dressed up in the fraudulent colors of superficial second-rate freedom which fools the blind masses.”

What are some examples of superficial second-rate freedoms? If a person is infatuated with the dogmas of democracy, socialism, communism, and the like, this can distort his understanding of his mission as a Jew. Or if a person believes that social status and material wealth are the measures of success in life, other holier values can be overlooked. Or if a person is addicted to celebrity news on the Internet this can create a barrier which prevents him or her from knowing their own true inner self. Similarly, a Jew who lives in a foreign land may not recognize that he is invisibly enslaved to the alien culture, spirit, and aspirations of that land. It turns out that, without realizing it, a person can be subjugated to a plethora of counterfeit ideas and lusts, yet believe he is free.

Rabbi Kook continues:

“When we were in bondage, we were subjugated under the hand of oppressors, but the radiance of our noble freedom — inherited by virtue of our holy lineage from the Patriarchs, divine princes among the nations — could not be totally extinguished. Our life of slavery was bitter. Yet, through the power of this hallowed legacy, we are able, even now, to distinguish between slavery and freedom, between that which befits our pure spirit and that which has penetrated our life through constant subjugations and exiles.

“Let us endeavor to rejuvenate all of our resources through the power of liberty being created within us upon this Holy Land, where we are fully justified in feeling the greatness of our freedom in its refined, natural state. And on this sacred festival, the time of our freedom, the lights of freedom will shine upon us in their purity, distinguishing between slavery and freedom, between pure, genuine freedom and counterfeit freedom, whose very essence is stamped with the seal of slavery. Now the voice resounding from all of the House of Israel on the exalted Seder night, emerging from the depths of the heart with joy and with yearning — ‘Now we are slaves; next year we shall be free men’ — is heard also among us residents of the Land of our Nation. This great voice shall awaken the collective voice of the entire Jewish Nation, in all its dispersions, to proclaim from the depths of the soul, ‘Now we are here; next year we shall be in the Land of Israel!’”

[Translation of Rabbi Kook by Rabbi Pesach Yaffe from the book, “Celebration of the Soul.”]