By Rabbi Yosef Y. Jacobson
The Biblical account of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt has been one of the most inspiring stories for the oppressed and enslaved throughout history. From the American Revolution to the slaves of the American South, to Martin Luther King’s Let Freedom Ring, the narrative of the Exodus provided countless people with the courage to hope for a better future.
Moses’ first visit to Pharaoh demanding liberty for his people only brought more misery to the Hebrew slaves; the Egyptian monarch increased their torture. The Hebrews now would not listen any longer to the promise of redemption. Now let us pay heed to this seemingly strange biblical verse.
So G-d spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and He commanded them to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh the king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 6:13)
G-d is charging Moses with two directives: command the people of Israel and then command Pharaoh the king. However, the verse is ambiguous: What did G-d command Moses to instruct the people? The message for Pharaoh is clear: Let the children of Israel out of Egypt. But what is it that Moses is supposed to command the people themselves?
The Jerusalem Talmud says something profoundly enigmatic: G-d instructed Moses to command to the Jewish people the laws of freeing slaves.
The Talmud is referring to a law recorded in Exodus, If a Jew sells himself as a slave, the owner must let him go after six years. This was the law Moses was to share with the Israelites.
But what does the commandment to the Jewish people that they free their slaves one day in the future have to do with the mission to Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free?
Who Is Free?
The answer to this question is vital to the understanding of liberty in Judaism.
Before Pharaoh can liberate the Jewish slaves, they must be ready to become free. You can take a man out of slavery, but it may prove more challenging to take slavery out of a man.
What is the first and foremost symptom of being free? That you learn to confer freedom on others.
The control freak, or the abusive spouse or parent does not know how to give others freedom. Outwardly he attempts to appear powerful, but inwardly his power is a symptom of inner misery and insecurity.
When I do not confront the parts in me that are wounded, my animal-soul consciousness which has developed coping mechanisms, and belief systems to keep it in control, it will be running my inner operating system.
Pharaoh may set you free physically. People who were abused sometimes become abusers themselves.
The first Mitzvah the Jews had to hear from Moses even before he could go to Pharaoh to let them go free was: One day you will be free. Remember that freedom is a gift; use it to free others.
As it turns out, this is a remarkable Talmudic insight. Don’t internalize what the Egyptians have done to you. Find the spark of freedom, the inner Divine core, that no trauma can tarnish or paralyze; that part which has remained free all along, celebrate it and cherish conferring it upon others.
