The Two Pronged Approach

Freedom can be experienced on many levels. To the extent that we follow the dictates of the G-dly soul over the desires of the animal soul we determine the degree to which we are free. If we do the right thing for ulterior motives our state of freedom is imperfect. When we are not totally free, we can easily relapse into a state of servitude to our base instincts and animalistic tendencies.

The Two Conditions

Just before their departure from Egypt the Jewish people were given two commandments: To sacrifice a lamb as a Paschal sacrifice and to circumcise all males.

The Talmudic sage, Rabbi Matya ben Charash (quoted by Rashi) explains the significance of these two commandments at that time:

“The time had come for Me to keep My oath that I had made to the patriarchs, that I will redeem their children. Alas, they did not have any Mitzvos in their hands with which to be preoccupied, so that they may be redeemed, as it says, ‘And you were naked and bare [of Mitzvos].’ He, therefore, gave them then two precepts, the blood of the Paschal sacrifice and the blood of circumcision.”

Two questions can be raised concerning Rabbi Matya’s teaching:

First, why did G-d give them these two Mitzvos specifically?

Secondly, why did He have to give them two commandments? Even if they had observed one Mitzvah they would no longer have been considered “naked,” from the spiritual point of view.

True Freedom

Going out of Egypt is the act of breaking out of the mold that limits and stifles our spiritual growth. As we shall see, in order for one to truly be liberated they must adopt a two pronged approach.

Freedom is not the absence of obligations or burdens. True freedom is defined as the ability to be true to one’s inner self. In spiritual terms this translates as the ability to express our soul’s desires. When there is either an external or internal force that imposes its will on us that impedes the soul from expressing its most natural self—that is bondage. When we remove the barriers to the soul we are free.

But freedom can be experienced on many levels. To the extent that we follow the dictates of the G-dly soul over the desires of the animal soul we determine the degree to which we are free. In other words, if a person does the right thing not exclusively due to the influence of one’s soul, but for ulterior motives, their state of freedom is imperfect. And when one is not totally free, they can easily relapse into a state of servitude to their base instincts and animalistic tendencies.

How does one achieve complete freedom? When one has become totally subservient to the will of G-d, which is the soul’s greatest passion, they are absolutely free.

The Test

The question that arises here is, how does one know when their devotion to G-d is complete?

How does one know that the devotion is not a product of one’s animal nature?

One way of determining the source of one’s dedication is to see whether they go in one direction or whether they are capable of doing things in two directions.

For example, if a person who is naturally inclined towards kindness devotes his or her life to doing acts of kindness it may not be an expression of the G-dly soul. This person’s soul might still be in Mitzraim. How do we know that this person’s desire to do kindness is pure and holy? When the kind person manages to occasionally go against his nature of kindness and perform acts of judgment in the quest to do the right thing—that is a sign that one’s devotion is not merely a product of their nature, but is an expression of their G-dly soul. It is a sign that they have achieved total freedom.

We can now understand why the Jews leaving the Egyptian exile into freedom had to perform two Mitzvos to remove the stigma of “spiritual nakedness.” Had they just performed one Mitzvah it would not have guaranteed that they were expressing their soul’s aspiration. Now that they performed both—the Paschal lamb and circumcision—it was a clear indication that they were capable of breaking out of their internal exile.

Combining Two Opposites

These two Mitzvos reflect opposite directions on several levels:

First, as noted above, the Paschal lamb was a repudiation of idolatry (rejecting evil) motivated by a sense of utter judgment of the futility and evil of idol worship, whereas circumcision was an act of utter devotion (doing good), involving the trait of love.

Second, the Paschal Lamb was done in public. It was intended to be an “in your face” gesture. Circumcision was a private experience. There are people who will only do the right thing in public to gain recognition and glory, while others are, by nature, extremely private and will only do things when no one else is around.

Third, while both the Paschal lamb and circumcision were sacrifices, the former involved sacrificing of one’s property, whereas the latter was the sacrifice of one’s own flesh and blood. The Talmud refers to two personality types, one that cares for their life more than their property and one who cares more for their property than their life. One must love G-d, the Talmud states, by being prepared to do both: To “love G-d with all your soul” (i.e., even be prepared to give your life for Him) and “with all your might (or, resources)” (i.e., even be prepared to give up all your possessions not to betray your love for G-d). The two sacrifices at the time of the Exodus combined both of these opposite personality types.

In short, by performing these two diametrically opposite forms of Mitzvos, they demonstrated that they had the capacity to experience true freedom.

Getting Out of Our Internal Exile

The application to our own day and age on the threshold of the Messianic Age is can be explained as follows:

Part of the process of Redemption is to get ourselves out of our own internal exile. To be sure, Moshiach can take us out of exile—both the physical and spiritual—even if we are not ready, but it is far more desirable to be part of the process.

One way of experiencing true freedom is to employ opposite approaches in our service to G-d and humanity. By fusing our Torah study with practical Mitzvos, emotional heartfelt prayer with rigid Talmudic logic, introspecting and performing public acts of goodness, kindness and high standards, simple faith with profound philosophical analysis etc., we will exercise of our soul’s ability to express its desires. Once the soul is free we are well on the way to the total state of freedom and Redemption.

Combining Intellectual and Emotional Approach

There is another way of applying the paradoxical “two Mitzvah” approach to our preparations for the final Redemption.

In the aftermath of the Redemption two things will change dramatically. While the laws of nature do not have to be suspended and supernatural phenomena is not necessarily the rule for the Messianic Age as Maimonides writes, nevertheless, there will be two major changes:

First, the entire world will recognize the one G-d. Idolatry—in all of its forms subtle and not so subtle—will disappear because G-d; unity will be fully revealed. This will be an intellectual achievement that we will all be able to comprehend G-dliness.

Second, the spirit of impurity will we removed, and G-d will “circumcise the foreskin of our hearts.” The insensitivity to spirituality will no longer exist because the occlusion and obstruction to our heart will be removed. The world will become a more refined world. This change involves our emotional makeup.

Our preparation to this period must therefore contain both an intellectual component and an emotional component; we must study the teachings of Chassidus that introduces us to the understanding of the unity of G-d in its most advanced form.

But, that does not suffice. We must also work on the refinement of our hearts and emotions, mostly through prayer—which our Sages defined as “Service of the heart.”

The combined force of these two efforts—that parallel the offering of the Paschal lamb (which negates idolatry) and the circumcision (that removes the impediments to our soul’s self-expression)—will be the catalysts that will usher in the Messianic Age, through our righteous Moshiach.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Bo by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.