The holy Baal Shem Tov taught us that everything a Jew sees or hears is an instruction for him to fulfill the mission entrusted to him by God. After all, nothing happens by chance, and personal providence accompanies a person wherever he turns.
So this is what I see as freedom. Not just any freedom, but great freedom. What does that mean and how does it relate to my mission in this world?
First of all, let's make something clear. There is no such thing as freedom! A Jew is not free – ever!
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The girls are on a long vacation? Oh, so they have more time to use to spread Judaism. Get more Jewish women to light Shabbat candles and maybe because of that, also keep Shabbat. Get another Jewish girl to learn about the Holy Torah and maybe that's what will eventually make her reach an ultra-Orthodox education.
Perhaps thanks to this, she will begin to observe the kosherness of eating and drinking, and who knows, maybe we will be successful and these small mitzvot will cause her to establish a faithful home in Israel on the foundations of the Torah and mitzvot.
Freedom? Freedom from Torah and commandments? Absolutely not. Because they are our life and the length of our days. Does anyone even think of taking freedom from life, God forbid?
And in general, this whole thing about great freedom is not clear to me and is not enlightening to me. The word freedom at all is also not appropriate. A
I am much more connected to the phrase "between times." Every observant Jew knows that this period between the 10th of Av and Rosh Chodesh Elul is a time of preparation for the coming year, with its many challenges and hopes.
Between times, between semesters in yeshiva, between summer time and Elul time. Those three weeks were intended to give us the strength to begin again and with greater intensity our mission. Each one and the mission assigned to him.
This respite is not a ceasefire, and there is no room for "freedom" from chores. It is just a time when they are not studying in yeshiva. So what? They are studying at home. It is just a period when the girls are not going to school. So what? They are going to start a school for other girls who have not yet had the privilege of observing Torah and mitzvot.
A Jew is not free!
On the radio, I was tasked with preparing a marketing survey on the vacation habits of the ultra-Orthodox public. It was truly fascinating to follow the changes in the ultra-Orthodox vacation map.
The enormous variety of vacation options available to the ultra-Orthodox public has grown dozens of times over the years.
If in the past we were content with "swapping apartments" in Safed, Arad, and Ashdod, today we have hostels, B&Bs, hotels that are strictly kosher all year round, such as Kiner Galil, Nir Etzion, and others, and hotels that have been specially prepared for the three weeks of the intervening period, from Safed in the north to Eilat in the south.
It was amazing to discover the great variety that has expanded to European countries. The vacation habits of the Haredi public have completely changed over the past decade. This phenomenon of vacation resorts abroad that have been adapted to the Haredi public is relatively new, but it is amazing to see how large it is.
Travel agents and tour companies have scanned dozens of potential sites, and every vacationer can find a vacation according to their preferences. Those who want to lounge around in a hotel all day and those who want to focus on extreme sports all day. Both can find a solution for themselves, and those in between.
There is no need to elaborate on the unique vacation requirements of the Haredi public, as these are well-known. The fact that vacation is not a freedom from prayers, mitzvot, and Torah study is also self-evident.
During the review, I found various services, activities for women, men and children, lectures, cantor pieces, various and strange attractions in Israel and abroad, much more than I could have imagined before I was asked about the subject.
Why did I choose to bore you with a marketing article, because it made me stop for a moment and think again about the whole "freedom" thing. Surely you too have heard the phrase "there is no freedom for Jews." That's right. The Holy Torah surrounds us twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We don't have freedom and we don't want any.
""The dead are free," says King David, peace be upon him. The dead are exempt from the commandments. The living, even those who are resting among them, continue to observe all the boundaries of halakhic law and do not give up on the thorn of the Jewish law, even when they are abroad.
And that's what's special about our community. You went to Yehoshua Park with the kids, don't worry. You'll find a place that will give you a Maariv mincha. You went on vacation abroad, you're in Eilat (most poskim define it as abroad), don't worry. There are minyanim in the morning and in the evening.
I'm with you even on vacation.
Unlike doctors or soldiers who can go on a second-year stint and forget their duties during their vacation, a Jew is constantly on duty. He is on duty. He will not skip the morning blessings and will not forget to check the kosherness of the food he eats, even when he is on vacation far from home.
Here, in the previous century, many of Israel's great men would go on a "vacation." What exactly would they do on that vacation? Refresh themselves. How? By studying Torah in the framework of what was then (and today) called "Yirchei Kala" (bridal months) that were copied from the Babylonian scroll. There too, their souls were spent. There too, they gathered strength for the next year. They drew strength from studying Torah.
In this week's parashah, Moses reminds the Jews who are about to enter the Promised Land of the forty years of wandering "in the great and terrible wilderness." The wilderness is the exile that makes an impression on us and seems like a great thing to us, hey, like the "great" freedom.
Moses warns, reminds, and inspires about the feeling of freedom that surrounds those about to enter the land after years of wandering in the terrible desert. He reminds them that freedom can make people forget all the hard work that has been their lot... it can corrupt their souls.
There is no doubt that those who do not utilize their freedom for the right purposes may lose what they have gained during an entire year of striving in Torah and mitzvot. Those who choose to be idle in their freedom may end up committing sin. After all, idleness is the mother of all sins.
Moses reminds the Israelites of the One who accompanied them all the way and will continue to accompany them further. "You have seen that the Lord is God – there is none else besides Him.' The Lord does not go free. Likewise, we – His sons – do not go free from the Torah, we go between the times – a period of time that is also part of time, but is between the times.
Even in this time between times, God is with us.
Which reminds me of the story about that Hasidic youth who asked his rabbi if he could study at an academic institution. The Rebbe replied: "Since you are my Hasid, then wherever you go, you take me with you...""
• Part of the column is adapted from the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
The writer is the owner of "My Choice", an event host, lecturer and radio broadcaster: [email protected]
