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Day 3
A Double-Edged Freedom
How can anyone not be madly in love with freedom? Freedom is the very opposite of being imprisoned — and what’s worse than that?
And yet, in the midst of celebrating this ultimate human value, I find myself thinking about freedom’s dark side.
The freedom to become a better human has two layers. The first is the obvious, positive one — the freedom to be a mensch, to be considerate, compassionate, honest, humble, grateful. We hear those good traits often.
It’s the second, negative layer of freedom, that we usually ignore: the freedom to do bad things, to hurt people, to harbor resentment and bitterness. This kind of darkness is more threatening because it’s so personal and intimate. It’s a lot simpler to tackle the impersonal darkness of societal ills like global warming or social injustice.
Just as freedom empowers us to do good in the world, it empowers us to do harm in our lives. We have the freedom to repair the world, yes, but also the freedom to repair ourselves. We can do both.
So, after we ask the Four Questions at our seder gatherings, maybe we can add this one: Which side of freedom will we commit to this year, and how will we use it?
--David Suissa, When Freedom Gets Personal, jewishjournal.com
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