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Freedom
in This Season
by Rabbi David Zaslow
April, 2003
As
we know, there are many levels of freedom. One person is free
on the outside and bound on the inside. Another is bound in
chains and free in her soul. Passover in Hebrew is "pesach"
and the word has its etymology in the leaping or skipping
movement of lambs. The translation "passover" is
not really the correct translation. "Leaping Over"
might be a more accurate translation for the festival.
Leaping
implies that the obstacle is still there. The journey from
here to there, from slavery to freedom is one that we all
make. Sometimes we don't eliminate our obstacles, we simply
leap over them. Maybe the term "a leap of faith"
comes from this notion. How do I get out of my chains, habits,
negative attitudes? How to I remove myself from the forces
of the Pharaoh that I grew up with? How do I get out of my
private Egypt which in Hebrew is "mitzrayim" meaning
tight, bound, and narrow place?
The
answer may be in our biologies. Birth requires the infant
to make his first major journey. From the womb into the realm
of gravity the infant must travel through her first narrow
place. From birth on, movements and changes will not be so
easy. Yet the remembrance of our birth will shape our destiny;
will be a determinant factor in the way we handle problems
and challenges throughout our lives.
I
do not like the term "birth trauma" as much as "birth
template." Birth and death are the two most powerful
experiences in our lives. They bookend both beginning and
end. All issues in between (i.e. during life) will be placed
upon the template of what we remember from birth and how we
anticipate death.
Pesach,
the season of our liberation. All the images in the book of
Sh'mot (Exodus) come into play during the springtime. We want
to get outside. We need to get outside. We want to be free,
liberated. We yearn to fall in love. The festival of Passover
is a marker for what is already happening biologically and
in nature. The seder dinner is not just a reenactment of a
historical event, but a dress rehearsal for what we are each
going to do in our lives the morning after the celebration.
During
Yom Kippor we dwell on our sins. We chant "ahl chayt"
or "I have sinned." We take inventory of all that
is inside. We mark each internal item with a label, "keep,"
"discard," "change." We make new vows,
dissolve the old ones, and methodically make a file of all
transactions. It is a careful, a care-full process. Not so
during Passover. Pesach is a care free, an almost care-less
process. It requires action quickly. We need to act NOW.
The
angel of death will ride over our homes at midnight. Quick.
Clean house. Quick. Take the lamb of our innocence and steak
its blood (our own anguish) on the doorposts. Quick. The dawn
is coming. We leave in a hurry. No time for inventory and
careful filing or analysis. Now is the time to make the leap,
to make the skip.
Have
a problem? Skip over it! Have a old habit that you want to
change? Skip over it! Have a negative behavioral pattern?
Skip over it! Don't analyze. Don't think about your problems
too much: just make the change. The words from the Torah describe
God as having taken us out of Egypt "...with an outsretched
arm and a mighty hand." What a metaphor! It means that
we're not alone. If we take the first step God will lead us
to freedom.
In
the springtime there is "nothing to do" to make
liberation happen. It just seems to happen by itself. Something
invisible in the universe will take care of it. Not all the
time. Not during the Autumn, but yes, now, during the spring
this is possible.
A
wonderful Christian once asked Reb Zalman if Jews were saved
by grace or works? The Rebbe answered, "From Yom Kippor
to Purim (autumn through winter) we're saved by works. From
Passover to Rosh HaShanah (spring through summer) we're saved
by grace."
It's
a funny answer, but it's true. Judaism sees a balance between
our actions (works) and G*d's actions (grace). We need both
grace and works. We're the ones who make the preparations
for a long winter. Food and supplies are prepared and stored.
But during springtime? We feel the hand of G*d's grace descending.
There's nothing to do. Just wait and the bounty of the land
and trees will feed us like living angels of the Holy One.
It's
not a choice of grace or works. It's both. And each one in
its time and proper season. Doing it yourself: that's the
"works" of Autumn. Leaving it to G*d: that's the
grace of Springtime. It happens all by itself. Liberation
is not something to strive for. It happens automatically.
It's built into the hard drive of the seasons, of our biologies.
There's nothing to do, just BE! So, when the moment comes
and you hear G*d's voice say "make the change,"
LEAP.
Blessings
to each of you for a kosher, meaningful, and dynamic Passover.
So,
what does all this temporal measuring and sentimental reminiscing
have to do with the upcoming High Holidays? Everything, I
suspect. Everything. After all, what is autumn all about if
not for returning and remembering? If not for looking back
and looking forward? If not for the most personal, personal
examination of missed opportunities, successes. The High Holidays
isn't just for the big stuff - the major sins of commission
and omission that we commit. The High Holidays is not necessarily
about the maco-dramas of our lives. No, it seems to be about
all the small stuff. All the small stuff that when collaged
together form a picture - a picture of our fragmented lives
during the year that has just passed.
In
Autumn the leaves begin to fall, and internally we begin to
fall as well. The days grow colder, and we grow colder as
well. Nature returns to it's Source and we return to that
same Source as well. The four step program of the Jewish sense
of time follows the rhythm of nature: the public gratitude
we express to Hashem on Rosh HaShanah; the private yet communal
inwardness we experience during Yom Kippor; the outwardness
we live during Sukkot, and the synthesis of the inner and
outer during Simchat Torah. Together all four holidays form
a single picture, a mirror of our lives.
By
taking the time to experience all four of the high holidays
we are saying, "Yes" to the Creator. "Yes,
create a new person within each me. Yes, may I examine the
past so that I may be present in this moment. And may my presence
in this moment give me the courage and momentum I need to
reach my tomorrow." May the Holy One bless each of us
with good memories and changes that are as natural as the
seasons themselves.
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