Freedom To Work Hard

I am trapped. I have a bad habit that takes up too much of my time and energy. It pulls me down, threatening to drown my positive energy. I feel trapped; I wish I were free. Passover therefore is very important to me because it’s the holiday of freedom, spiritual freedom. On the night of Passover G-d redeems us from our own personal powerful Egypt.

I' must, however, tell you the truth; this is not my first Passover, and although the Seder is always an enjoyable spiritual experience, it never liberates me, afew days after Passover I always find the same old self within my heart. This year I decided to try to figure out what's the story with the liberation thing. Why isn't it working for me? Where am I doing wrong?

My search led me to the Tanya, chapter 31, which asks a simple question; why did the Jews tell Pharoh that they are leaving for three days and then escape toward the sea? They should have told him clearly that they will never come back, under threat of the death of the first-born, Pharoh would have no choice but to agree. The answer, says the Tanya, is that the Jews escaped because they had to be in escape mode, for they were escaping the evil that exited within their soul. On that night they made ran away from the negativity experiencing freedom that comes from expressing their true selves. However, eventually they had to confront their evil and slowly, through hard work, eradicate it.

That is an important message for me, yes, Passover is a chance to feel free, it’s a time that brings out the part of our soul that is independent, free, and not enslaved to negativity. But Passover night is just an escape, it’s just a taste of what we have to strive for. It shows us how it feels to be free, and proclaims: now that you expirienced the intoxicating spirit of freedom you must work long and hard to achieve it. You are free to work hard.