The Freedom Within

Friday March 27, 2026/9 Nisan 5786/Shabbat Tzav Shabbat Hagadol

Friends/Hevre,

Thanks for pausing from your Pesach prep to share a moment of reflection with me as the holiday fast approaches and the paradox of this yomtov intensifies. How are we to celebrate our festival of freedom when we’re not feeling free?

Millions of Israelis are still racing to shelters and figuring out how to bring their matzah balls and charoset with them should a siren interrupt their Seders. Jewish institutions, families and individuals around the globe are making hard choices about how to protect themselves from heightened threats against us all. My own week has been filled with arranging security for our Rabbi on the Road trip to Sicily and Calabria next month, on top of advising travelers to remove visible signs of Jewish identity and to avoid speaking Hebrew in public. As many have noted,  when Jews go into hiding, it rarely bodes well - neither for us, nor for anyone else. How can we celebrate freedom when our own liberty is so restricted?

We begin to discover answers when we remind ourselves of where freedom comes from. It comes not only from the absence of physical limitations on our movement or safety; it comes fundamentally from the internal power we have to cultivate and exercise the values that animate our our identity and our purpose. I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like to be holed up in a bomb shelter or safe room with kids or elderly loved ones and to live with the anxiety of raining missiles. But I have to believe that what’s guiding our soldiers and pilots in this war is our freedom to declare our right to self-defense and to a Jewish state unencumbered by endless attacks; that what fuels our decisions to expand synagogue security and day school defenses is our unyielding will to be who we are.

Read this powerful essay by Mijal Bitton who takes this idea even further by arguing that precisely by pursuing our own goals, providing for our own needs, and celebrating the particularities of our own stories, is how we are able to make the greatest contributions to the world around us. Civilization is strengthened not by flattening our unique experiences, but by embracing them.

In a similar spirit, on a recent Call Me Back episode with Dan Senor, Micah Goodman relates how Theodore Herzl’s vision for an independent Jewish state was one whose particular riches would enrich the entire world, and whose particular achievements would lead to humanity’s collective success. 

And further, while there’s much conflict over the the US’s decision to go to war against Iran together with Israel, in that same podcast Micah offers a compelling frame for how a victory for us can have critical consequences for the effort to secure the safety and stability not only of the Middle East, but of the entire world. It is well worth a listen.

Equally vexing on the eve of Passover is the question of how we can celebrate our own freedom when some of our people are attacking the freedom of others. Multiple times a day I check my newsfeed for the latest missile attacks from Iran and Hezbollah sending Israelis running for cover only to experience moral whiplash when the next headline informs me of the latest arson attack or murderous strike by extremist West Bank settlers on Palestinian villagers and their property. How unsettling to look in the mirror and see both ourselves and “the other” looking back at us. Critical to our ongoing liberty is being able to distinguish between the two even when they look frighteningly similar.

Fighting wars - on and off the battlefield - with conviction and purpose requires not only knowing who your enemies are, but who you are. It requires not only knowing who you’re battling, but what you’re battling for. Holding these settlers accountable for their unconscionable actions can only strengthen our resolve and unity and help clarify the vision for where this war will hopefully lead us, and why.

As we retell the story of our enslavement in Egypt, let’s try to remember that the restrictions we’re feeling now are less expressions of our vulnerability and more of our strength to stand proud for our people and our values, our history and our destiny. And may our courage encourage others who share our commitments to security, justice and freedom to proudly walk their own paths leading them to our shared promised land.

With prayers for the safety of Israel and Jewish people everywhere, for the safety of American soldiers, for the wisdom of our leaders to lead us to complete freedom, and with blessings for a Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Kasher v’Sameah, a sweet and meaningful Passover,

Dini

Photo by Ronen Avisror