Passover, as we know it today, originates with the Exodus from Egypt. One of the most profound values the Exodus teaches us is undoubtedly freedom.
Our sages sought to highlight this idea by naming the holiday in our prayers as Zman Cheiruteinu, the Season of Our Freedom.
But what is the deeper meaning of this value, and can it be traced back even before the dramatic events in Egypt? The answer goes beyond the physical liberation of a nation; it touches the essence of human dignity, divine purpose, and moral responsibility.
To fully understand the concept of freedom in Judaism, we must explore its early appearances in the Torah – before the Exodus – and see how our sages drew out its rich meaning from these foundational stories.
The first place our sages link Passover with the concept of freedom is found in Genesis 14:15, where Abraham launches a nighttime rescue mission to save his nephew Lot from captivity.
“And he divided himself against them by night – he and his servants – and struck them down, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is to the north of Damascus.”
In Genesis Rabbah (43:3), the rabbis suggested that the word divided means “His Creator divided the night. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said, ‘As their father acted with Me at midnight, I too shall act with his children at midnight.’”
This refers to the night of the Plague of the Firstborn when God redeemed the Israelites from Egypt at midnight. Abraham’s bold act earned his descendants divine intervention centuries later.
The sages saw a connection between Abraham’s war and the Exodus. Abraham’s refusal to accept the domination of one human over another embodied the very heart of the Exodus: a fight for freedom. Abraham stood against tyranny and the exploitation of the vulnerable. In Yalkut Shimoni (Lech Lecha 73), Rabbi Nechemiah paints an even more dramatic scene: “Abraham turned pale and said: ‘I will go out and fall in sanctification of God’s name.’”
ABRAHAM WAS prepared to give his life for people he didn’t know and for a family member who had parted ways with him. As God’s chosen one, he felt a moral imperative to confront injustice. Without resistance to human oppression, God’s kingship in the world could not endure.
Freedom is a divine, universal value
God created all people in His image. Every human being has the right and the obligation to realize their potential – not to be enslaved to others or to have their talents hijacked for someone else’s gain.
Abraham understood that freedom is a divine, universal value. That is why the same night that Abraham fought for justice was, symbolically, the night God would later liberate the Jewish people.
Even if it was not the exact same night chronologically, the idea is identical: Abraham’s vision of freedom was not just personal; it was cosmic. It transcended time and people. For him, any use of power to subjugate others stood in direct opposition to God’s will.
The second connection between pre-Exodus events and the theme of freedom emerges in Genesis 19:3, when Lot welcomes strangers into his home in Sodom: “And he urged them greatly, and they turned in to him and entered his house, and he made them a feast, and he baked unleavened bread (matzot), and they ate.”
Rashi comments: “He baked matzot – it was Passover.”
The link to Passover is not only in the baking of matzah; it’s in the spiritual and ideological courage Lot demonstrates. Lot lived in Sodom, a society defined by cruelty, injustice, and moral decay.
Ezekiel (16:49) condemns Sodom’s sins: “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, abundance of bread, and careless ease… but she did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.”
Despite being part of that corrupt world, Lot could not accept its wickedness. Like Abraham, he was willing to risk everything to defend the dignity of others. In hosting strangers, Lot placed himself and his family in mortal danger. His actions reflect personal freedom – the freedom to stand for what’s right, even when surrounded by moral chaos.
Lot’s baking of matzot aligns him ideologically with the future story of the Exodus. Like Abraham, Lot’s moral bravery reflects the true essence of freedom: the ability to choose what is right, regardless of societal pressure.
THE THIRD source tying freedom to Passover is found in Midrash HaGadol, commenting on Genesis 4:3 – Cain’s flawed offering: “And in the course of time, Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground.”
The midrash describes Adam’s talk to his sons: “My children, on this day in the future, Israel will offer the Passover sacrifice. You too should offer a sacrifice today, that He may look kindly upon you and pass over you.”
Cain, however, brings the leftovers of his meal – unworthy offerings. He sacrifices them arrogantly on the very altar Adam had once used.
This midrash beautifully captures a distorted understanding of freedom. Cain viewed freedom as liberation from God – permission to do whatever he wanted, to offer whatever he chose. He did not realize that true freedom is a sacred gift that demands humility, responsibility, and alignment with divine will. Cain’s failure reminds us that freedom without reverence becomes rebellion.
The ultimate vision of cheirut – freedom in Jewish thought – is a society built on covenant, friendship, and unity, where no human rules over another: “He is our King; He is our Redeemer.”
Passover is the Season of our Freedom, a sacred time when we internalize the value of freedom, not only as a national memory but as a moral imperative. In this vision, no man will dominate his fellow. Instead, the kingship of God will flourish, and every person will channel their gifts toward building a just, compassionate, and radiant world.
In a world that often defines freedom as the removal of restrictions – the ability to choose, to move, to speak – Judaism offers a richer, deeper, and more enduring vision: freedom as moral responsibility. Passover invites us to remember that true freedom is not the right to do whatever we want; it’s the ability to choose what is right.
This Passover, let us remember: True freedom is not the absence of limits but the presence of purpose. It is the sacred choice to walk a path of goodness – together, as one people – lit by the eternal flame of our Torah. To be “free people in our land” means choosing to live a life of purpose and responsibility.
The writer is the rabbi of the Kehilat Nitzanim synagogue in Jerusalem.
