Is Passover about Freedom?

Passover is known as the time of our freedom.  However, it goes a little deeper than this.  It is actually about the transition from slavery to freedom.  Can we go from slave to free man overnight?  Is it really that simple?  We are human and need time to transition from one mode of thought to another. 

The street definition of freedom is to do what we want when we want but, is this true freedom?  There is a lot of slavery built into this definition of freedom whether we know it or not.  A new movie comes out so we have to go see it, we get a coupon in the mail so we have to take advantage of it.  The freedom comes in saying no to things, the freedom comes from being in control, from having boundaries.  It sounds bizarre but its the truth.  We have been taught that freedom is to have abundance, to have the big home with an entertainment room that you pay someone else to clean. 

I am still living in the town I grew up in.  Back in the 70's there was not much here and I vowed to leave one day and go where there was more activity.   We had a hardware store, a bank, a food store, Carvel Ice Cream, a card store,  a shoe store, a small post office, a library and a diner (yes a real old fashioned diner which is still here).  We also had a store called Spur n' Spar.  I can still remember the smell of it, the creeking of the floor and the feel of the leather saddles and jackets, the cowboy hats.  If you bought something they gave you a wooden nickle.  We had a train run through town also.  So hickish yet I yearn for it now.  Why?  Because now there are so many choices and so many places to go and things to do that that it can get out of control, it can interfere with our freedom.  We can forget our purpose and let life take over.  We can lose our focus and our happiness, true happiness, the kind that comes from within because we can't connect to it anymore-we're to busy living.  So what does our town offer now?  All of the old farms are torn down or burned down.  Rite Aid and Home Depot, Walmart and Kohls,  5 banks,  6 pizza places at least, strip malls galore, multiple restaurants, etc...etc...you get the point. 

So what does this personal rant have to do with Passover?  Passover is about our transition from slavery to freedom.  Was our liberation without a purpose, a goal, and end result or were we floundering about not knowing what was coming next?  

We had a goal then and we still do now.  Mt. Sinai.  We left Egypt with a purpose, we were going to serve G-d!  How were we going to serve G-d?  By accepting the gift of Torah from Him.   Serving someone, even a diety, does not sound like freedom.  However, we were being offered something we couldn't refuse.  We were being given our purpose, our instructions, our inner joy.  It was exciting, it was exhilarating, it was scary.  But what did we say?  We said we will do it, we didn't even know what "it" was.  After we agreed we listened.  This is a true love for G-d, to say we will do it and then ask what "it" is.  If a dear friend or our spouse, someone very close to us asked us to do them a favor we would say yes before asking what it is.  This is a true bond, a true love. 

Wait a minute.  What about the golden calf?  We weren't such a great people, we complained, we moaned and groaned, even tried to cheat.  This is why we speak of transition.  We can not change over night.  We are human.  G-d knows this. 

All of the items we use to celebrate Passover are actually representations of this transition.  We can use these items to look back to where we came from and forward to where we are going, yes in many areas of our lives we are still working our way to freedom. 

Wine.  It is red and represents the blood we shed when we were beaten in slavery.  When we look at the redemption it still symbolizes blood, but this time it is blood we put on the doorposts that saved us from the angel of death. 

Salt Water.  This represents our tears during slavery.   In freedom it represents the salty sea we crossed (yes, we made the move-we crossed it, G-d didn't cross it or us) to be liberated. 

Matzoh.  In slavery it was the bread of affliction.  However, it now represents our leaving slavery, they pushed us out of Egypt so fast our bread didn't have time to rise. 

Bitter Herbs.  These represent the bitterness of slavery.  We eat it now to show something sweet comes afterwards.  If you use romaine lettuce, it is actually the stalk that is bitter, not the leaf.

Charoset.  represents the mortar made for the bricks, but now the sweetness of it is associated with our freedom afterwards. 

The bone and the egg are actually connected to the Holy Temple representing the sacrifices and the meal.  We have a hope in a future permanent Holy Temple. 

We have freedom in the Torah we accepted at Mt. Sinai, it is a part of us, and a key to our true inner happiness.  However, it is easy for us to still live in a type of bondage today, to still be in "Egypt."  This is why these Passover items are more of a transition food until we can conquer whatever it is that still enslaves us.   Every year we can reevaluate who we are and what we are enslaved to whether it is material things or if it is psychological, pressure to do things we do not want to do or worries over money.   I suppose this is why, as an adult now, I like the simpler life with less distractions.   Less truly is more, it gives us opportunity to reconnect to what is important and get rid of the frivolous things that have a way of taking over.  Passover is about our continuing journey from slavery to freedom!