Passover begins this year, 2012, on the evening of Friday, April 6. This week-long Jewish holiday commemorates and celebrates the release of the Hebrews from their bondage in Egypt. In Biblical terms Egypt is called Mitzrayim, and therein lies the universality of this holiday's meaning.
Biblical Context of Mitzrayim, or Egypt
Celebrants of Passover are celebrating release from Egypt, a house of bondage, toward a promised land. The importance of that event is underscored by the repetition of this sentence throughout the Torah: "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, the house of bondage" (Deuteronomy 4.5). It is useful to note that "house of bondage" is the appositive for "Egypt." An appositive is another name for a noun. So another name or label for Egypt in this biblical context is "house of bondage."
To fully appreciate the resonance and far-reaching effect of release from mitzrayim, one needs to broaden the concept of "bondage" beyond the physical enslavement of the Hebrew tribe in Egypt or Mitzrayim. It helps greatly to understand the fundamental meaning of mitzrayim.
Literal Meanings of Mitzrayim
The Hebrew word, mitzrayim, closely means "place of constriction" or "narrow place." It is related to the word strait. Its adjectival meanings are confined, cramped, and constricted. According to the source Eitz Chayim (Tree of Life) the root of Mitzrayim, mem/tzadi/resh, metzeir, means to border or limit. The adjective form means narrow, or tight.
When thinking of the narrative of the Hebrews' escape from bondage in Egypt, one might think of their having to go through narrow waterway, or strait, into the open sea, full of possibilities. In this place beyond bondage, the Children of Israel journey through trials and trouble toward fulfillment, or promise. Some scholars point out that "mitzrayim" is also etymologically related to "womb," so one might think of moving from the womb, through a narrow place, into a new beginning.
The Universal Meaning of Mitzrayim
People can be bound, or constricted, in many ways: physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
Intellectually, people are constricted by their ignorance and preconceptions. They are constricted by their narrow perceptions and tunnel vision. It is so hard to see beyond ourselves! All of these constrictions – narrow vision, tunnel vision, the very boundaries of our bodies – are clearly related to the idea of "narrow place," or the referent of strait. The restrictions that result from our very limited points of view keep us from expansion.
Therefore, celebrants of Passover, Jewish or otherwise, look to expanding and opening their minds through the freedom that comes from knowledge, from experience, from wide exposure to cultures. From such intellectual stimulation, we can be brought out of the bondage of ignorance.
Emotional Freedom
Similarly, people can be enslaved, entrapped, and constricted by emotions. Fear is a powerful impediment to emotional receptivity. During Passover, celebrants try to honestly look at their own fears, to see beyond those fears to the larger possibilities of experience and fulfillment. When one is open emotionally, one can be more generous with oneself, giving love more freely, without fear.
People might fear the disapproval of others. They might fear having comfort taken away. All these fears constrict the human heart and soul. When Passover celebrants thank God for freedom and pray that all be free, they are praying for freedom from fear, and praying for an opening of themselves to the love, needs, and ways of other people.
Spiritual Freedom
Spiritual freedom varies greatly from person to person. But it is closely related to emotional freedom. Spiritual freedom allows us to experience faith without abdicating our trust in common sense, empirical evidence, and reason. There is a place where faith and knowledge co-exist. This is a truly magnificent and expansive place, and in recounting the story of God bringing the Hebrews out of the bondage of mitzrayim and into spiritual possibilities, where they will soon encounter the word of God himself at Mount Sinai, the Passover celebrant moves toward that intersection of faith and reason.
Personal Sense of Release from Bondage
Those who sit at the Seder table this month to recount and celebrate the exodus of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt can bring to the table their own story of release from bondage, or their preparation for their journey toward freedom. Each celebrant can share his or her trials of enslavement, whether to bad habits, destructive relationships, petty hatreds, long-held grudges, or lifetime struggles to let go of past pain and perceived wrongs.
In this way, the members of the community that sits together at each Seder table can help bring each other out of their "house of bondage" into their own promised land. And when the holiday ends with the words, "Next Year in Jerusalem," we can remind ourselves that Jerusalem means city of peace. Each person's "City of Peace" is a place where one is free to learn, to love and be loved, to have faith, and to fulfill his or her human potential to do the most good here on earth.
Source
- E Young, 2008. "The Symbolism of the Word 'Mitzrayim' (Egypt)", from the website Etz Hayim—“Tree of Life” (Etz-hayim.com)
Leah Abramovitz - Laura Bernell, Professional Writer since 1984; Community College Adjunct English Instructor since 1982.
