Beshallach

The philosopher Albert Camus said that the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. Growing up, I always wondered how one could actually attain this sense of pure liberty.

As this week's portion begins, the Jewish people triumphantly march out of Egypt. Irrevocable emancipation, though, still hangs in the balance. They flee through the desert, hotly pursued by Pharaoh's fearsome fleet of chariots. The Torah then describes how God instructs the Jews to counter-intuitively turn back to face their former masters and pitch camp at a place called Pi Hachirot. This was actually an Egyptian city, now given a Hebrew name meaning "Gateway to freedom". Why lead them back towards the enemy and why was this location specifically selected as a pit stop at this dramatic juncture?

When liberty was tantalisingly close, the fleeing slaves were placed in a perilous postion in an aptly named venue which would compel them to contemplate the nature of true freedom. We often mistakenly equate freedom with the availability of a plethora of options. More options, greater liberty. Running away would bring the Israelites more options, but would they discover real liberty that way? Here, God taught them that the gateway to freedom is not in the number of choices, but rather having access to the right choice.

I believe Camus' conception of freedom is found in the ability to abandon the natural trajectory and laugh at the seeming absurdity because you know with absolute clarity the right choice: the choice that sets you free.