Passover is a holiday with many names.
One of them is, zman heruteinu זמן חרותינו - "the time of our freedom".
The Passover story invites us to explore freedom as something real and tangible. when we see ourselves emerging from Egypt, we connect to freedom in our own lives.
In this spark, we will explore the value of freedom/herut.
We will ask what freedom means to you and examine ways that it is showing up for people today.
Our exploration begins with some music.
Let’s tune-in to our Rebbis - Dolly Parton, Al Green, Meir Ariel, and more.
Art has always been a powerful medium for exploring freedom.
For some artists, their messages of freedom can be found in the medium itself. What materials are they using? What forms are they using to express their work? Below are several images that lend themselves to different notions of freedom.
Without worrying about getting the right or wrong answers, choose one image that resonates with your definition of freedom. What story is the image telling you?
Respond to the following prompts:
Freedom is…
Freedom is not….
My personal experience of freedom is…
Let’s move from music and the visual arts to poetry.
How do our ancestors describe freedom?
What were their worries and concerns that affected the ways that they looked at Jewish texts?
Click below to read through a collection of sources from the Talmud to Adrienne Rich to see how they define freedom.
We have provided some questions to guide you through the texts. But of course, feel free to follow the text wherever it needs to go.
Let’s revisit the first text on Freedom from Pirkei Avot 6:2
Perhaps one way to read this text is that there is a relationship between freedom and engraving. In order to truly be free, you must write it down and engrave it- you must commit to your freedom and turn it into a covenant- a promise for yourself and others. The notion of ‘engraving’ implies permanence, that the commitment can be held onto in the future.
So what freedom(s) are you committing to this Pesach?
What are you willing to engrave and hold onto?
Follow these instructions for making your own inscription.
Once you're finished, add your image or object to your Seder Plate.
What are some ways in which people are expressing freedom today?
"Freedom is a chance to do better."
-Albert Camus
Every generation confronts despair and inequities within their society. People take to the streets demanding change. Yet with freedom comes a profound question: What am I responsible for? When we are free to act, what are the limits of our responsibility to others? What will emerge from our struggles? How can our actions cause change and our sacred purpose be restored?
Explore M²'s Values in Action resource below which examines the relationship between freedom and responsibility in the face of global poverty, helping us think about what commitments we can make to increase our sense of responsibility toward others.
Freedom is learning how to quiet our anxiety and master our minds.
As Victor Frankl, psychologist, Holocaust survivor, and author of the book “Man’s Search for Meaning” taught,
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Despite the unknowns, we can choose to fill our minds with hopeful thoughts. We can choose to focus on what we do have, or we can choose to give attention to what we do not have.
We can wake each morning and count our blessings, or we can begin our days in angst and anxiety. We cannot always change our circumstances, but we can change how we relate to them, how we experience them and what we feed our minds.
What practices help you maintain mental freedom when external circumstances feel constraining?
Happy Passover
חג חירות שמח
May this Pesach deepen our understanding of freedom as something we practice and share daily.
Looking for inspiration on the many ways to use this Value Spark? We put together a list of our ideas to get you started.
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