Jews all over the world are currently observing Passover, a time of rebirth, spring, and telling the story of the exodus from Egypt. Along with my parents I attended a traditional Passover Seder at Chabad House in Mission Viejo, presided over by Rabbi Zalman Marcus, who has a way of connecting with people no matter who they might be. But this Seder was more than just retelling the story of Moses and "let my people go". Taking this beyond the traditional story, the Rabbi asked, " how are we individually confined, what is it that we need freedom from in our lives?"
I had never thought of Passover as having an individual meaning. Passover was a holiday near Easter, when we would watch the movie The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston. Passover was always a time to get together with family, tell the Passover story as quickly as possible, eat a lot of matzah, read the four questions (one of which is why is this night different from all other nights?), sing some songs and renew the fact that I was a bit different than others, because I was Jewish. However, when the Rabbi asked his question, my feeling was that it gave everyone pause.
We all have our confinements, things that keep us locked up in our lives. Maybe it's a past experience, something we've never overcome, or something that is occurring now, relationship issues, or possibly a cage that we've built around ourselves. (My daughter lives in a predominantly Hispanic area of Los Angeles, something I would never have considered; a confinement for me. Although having lived overseas for five years maybe I would now). The Jewish people in Egypt, the 30 million people who live in slavery did not choose confinement. However individually we enslave ourselves in a variety of ways, some of us spending our lives trying to break free.
Is it karma, do our souls actually come back to the earth again and again in order to learn how to break our chains from former lives? Or is it more about what we learn to fear during our lives, based upon teachings from others, especially our parents? What I do know is that I’ve confined myself in many ways, especially when it comes to relationships. I can be very free with some people, that southern California kind of personality, although with more thoughtfulness, but with others I confine myself. Maybe this is more of a defense mechanism, but is something which definitely confines me.
Passover then has taken on a new meaning for me to think about how I can further break free. This might not mean bungee jumping anytime soon, but it might mean a way to not fear and free myself in relationships
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