From Slavery to Freedom

Someone sent me a link to Arnold Eisen’s post Beyond the Exodus from Egypt.  He says the take-away from the story of Exodus is:

Your life matters… The world matters. Don’t give up on it or on yourself. [The exodus] calls on us to ponder what it means to be enslaved—politically, economically, personally—and what it means to be free, and then demands that we think together at the seder about how to move ourselves, our society, and our world from slavery to freedom.

I say: We’ve given up. We’ve accepted the constraints of the current paradigm as real, and we’ve boxed ourselves within them. Much more is possible.

The Impossible can Happen?

To the people of Egypt, it was impossible that the Pharaoh would let them go. It was impossible that plagues were going to happen, much less that they were going to make Pharaoh free them. Over and over again, the plagues failed to move Pharaoh. Can the impossible happen?

Moses was given guidance. He was given a solution to their problem of slavery. But his plan was preposterous. It was never going to work. If YOU were in that situation, what would be your responsibility?

When Pharaoh told them to go, it was also unbelievable. They hesitated. Was this real? And how could they cross the Red Sea? Another impossibility. They had lived in Egypt for centuries. Resignation told them it wasn’t real. And Pharaoh was too greedy and power-hungry to let them go. He’d slaughter them, if only to set an example. Cynicism cried out for them to stay put.

What were The People’s responsibilities, in the face of the Impossible?

Moses had a plan. There was a solid line of reasoning. And with every new plague, there was evidence. It was their job to support it.

Their job was to look at the face value of the opportunity- to ignore their human notions of “impossible”. They should listen. They should consider the evidence. Give Moses a hearing. They should consider that something new was possible. Their responsibility was to believe in something greater than their limited ideas of what was possible. Their responsibility was to take a hard look at the proposal. A new way of living would take a new mindset. The impossible can happen unless we close ourselves off from it.

Ask yourself- what’s important? What could really make a difference? Join us. Add your name to our mailing list. Get ready for the upcoming beta.