"Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof" - Leviticus 25:10.
Freedom seems like an important thing to the Jewish people, which only makes sense, when one realizes that Man is literally the image of a God who by definition have the absolute freedom to do whatever He chooses, according to the Torah. Even the name in Bereishit "Elohim" means "He who delivers," deliver, from the Latin word "de-LIBERE" paints the picture of He who sets free. He who allows Light to form, allows the forces of Nature to emerge, He who allows Man to choose.
The above quote from the Torah is now inscribed on the Liberty Bell, symbol of American Freedom from British oppression. Freedom means a lot to the American people, as it does to the Jews, as it does for everybody. Take a look at the first verse from China's national anthem:
"Get up! Those who do not wish to be slaves, [let's] use our flesh and blood to build our new Great Wall!"
Let's use our flesh and blood, and hopefully our brains to build the new Temple...
Man has devoted almost 6,000 years of life towards freeing itself from oppression, from the bondage of being trapped in the womb, to the slavery that is perceived unfairness in working conditions, which Moshe fought, as one of the very first labor union leaders.
Why do we fight against oppression?
The word "Kadosh" or "holy" implies that separation is an integral part of creation, you don't have to be a scientist or kabbalist to look around and see how this is true. From the branches of a tree separating from its trunk, to cells dividing, to sub-species separating from its parent species. We fight as we assert our own separation. And we separate, because that's the only way we can experience our own sovereignty, the Almighty's greatest love He can possibly give us.
That fight is never easy, for thousands of years, mothers have fought and endured painful labor to ensure the separation of the newborn. Warriors have fought and endured painful battles to ensure the separation of their nation state. But the fight for freedom has always ended in tears and joy: the joy of holding a newborn, the joy of creating a new nation.
What do we do with that freedom?
Although everything can be broken down into a dual choice, we know that duality isn't the only choices available to us, we weren't given choices of black or white, yes or no by our Creator, if that's the case, our bodies would be just a left brain and a right brain, with no body, or left and right arm, with no torso, or a left and right direction, but no forward. In kabbalah, chesed and gevurah gives birth to tiferet, netzach and hod gives birth to yesod. We are meant to be creative, and think outside the box.
Moshe said G-d said "Let my people go, so they may serve Me." We serve G-d by connecting with Him, by attempt to understand the bigger, ultimate, consciousness behind this universe. The Jews have done that through observing their Mitzvahs.
What can be the ultimate culmination of that duty other than to take on the legacy of the ultimate Creator? To rule the earth as G-d intended, to give kindness and fairness as we expect from G-d Himself, now that we have close to 6,000 years of lessons of leadership!
But we do not fight for freedom alone, the biggest danger we have, is thinking we are alone in our oppression, in our fight. We can only liberate ourselves if we also liberate those next to us, just like if all your friends are poor, you probably can't get rich either.
After the fight is over, there will be peace. After a mother's fight to give birth to her child, she embraces it with love, after the US ends its fight for independence with Britain, she regains her respect and ally-ship with her former oppressor. The plan is to create separate entities, separate nation states, separate lives as with anything else in Nature, then live as One, one family, one team. We don't have to fight forever! Soldiers are tired of dying, nations are tired of spending resources on wars. And because of Israel's unique strategic position in the world, bridging cultures from the East and West, we should let her set that example. The price of freedom is pain, but we've already paid for it with our 5770 something years of banishment from Eden, we paid our buck o' five.
According to Rabbi Judah ben Samuel, 2017 is the last jubilee year in the 6,000 year cycle, the last jubilee was Israel's six-day war in 1967. May all property be given back to its rightful owner, may there be freedom, so we can use it to subdue the earth, and continue our Creator's legacy of awesomeness as Man.
And if you don't believe in G-d, then to King Leonidas and the brave 300! You owe us a Le Chaim with Tito's vodka after we prove you're wrong though, which you are.
I fought my oppression of impatience and tiredness to create this article, but after it's over, it's a beauty. *sheds a tear
