The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Ha Lachma Anya 9: The Freedom of Choice

All who are hungry –come and eat; In this sentence, the Haggadah is asking us which of these two categories we fall under. Are we here because we are hungry or are we here because we are ‘needy’.

Need is an awareness of a lack. This lack can be filled through the Pesach celebration just as hunger can be filled through the meal we will be eating. The celebration is one of freedom. We are going to try and use the Haggadah to experience freedom and in the process become free. Therefore this ‘need’ is a realization that we lack freedom.

Freedom is not something that is nice to have, rather it is a necessary factor to our very being. As much as we need food to exist, we need freedom to live.

This study in freedom upon which we are embarking, should be more than interesting, it is a necessity of meaningful living! Just like a man starving in the desert scrambling for any chance of the slightest morsel, so too should we be searching for ideas in personal freedom.