BS’D
Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated as a Mazal Tov to our sweet grandson Eliya on occasion of his 4th birthday. May he grow from strength to strength and fulfill a life decorated with Torah, mitzvot and Ma’asim Tovim. May his parents see nachat and abundance of bracha always, Amen.
How does tefillah assist us in our state of exile? Freedom being the opposite state of exile is defined as a state whereby one is welcome to express himself and live in his natural state, unrestricted by external forces that come to limit him. Some may argue that on Pesach we indeed left Egypt, a state of enslavement by the Egyptian oppressors, but entered a life of servitude to Hashem. Certainly this is more preferable yet even so, isn’t freedom an absence of all limitations on mankind; physical, emotional, moral and spiritual?
Freedom as described by Chazal entails a life filled with meaning; being able to live a life with purpose. The harsh reality of the Jewish people in Egypt was their subjection to futile hard back-breaking labor which served no purpose, just for the sake of breaking their spirit. Living a life where work is not seen as a means to an end but is its own goal essentially is slavery by modern day definition. In simple terms, committing our lives to search material achievement and power is far from living a life of freedom.
How downcast is the Jewish soul who is forced to live a life of galut within galut; not only prevented from expressing its true desires but being forced to surrender itself to short-lived pursuits which are finite and pointless. Not viewing work as part and parcel to that which we must do in order to fulfill our spiritual task in this world, but involving ourselves in the material for its own sake and gain. Fundamentally the road to freedom is adorned with the questions ‘Who am I’ and ‘Why am I here?’ and the pursuit to fulfill their answers.
When we turn to Hashem in tefillah we in effect are doing the same; withdrawing ourselves from exile and entering into the spiritual realm of geulah. We are reminded of our individual and collective holy mission and readjust our reality to pursue it.
