Mental Slavery

"I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves."
-Harriet Tubman

Mental slavery is an inability to view events, or one's self, differently from commonly held beliefs. Mental slavery cripples it's victim, can make them despairing, close-minded, and destructive to themselves and their community.

The friend who insults another is a mental slave. The family member who stereotypes or dislikes another race is a mental slave. The student who believes thing cannot change for the better is a mental slave. They are under the influence of ideas that are not really theirs, biases they are not fully aware of, that cause them to react in ways that have nothing to do with real goals or desires.

The Passover Haggadah usually doesn’t give much emphasis to Moses, but his story is a telling one.

He originally flees into the desert because he kills an Egyptian he sees beating a Hebrew. This act of an aggression is the result of witnessing slavery and abuse sparked; Moses becomes a slave to his angry outburst, and commits a shameful act. When God speaks to Moses from the burning bush and tells him he will free the Hebrews, Moses replies,

'Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?'

Moses didn’t have faith that God could free his people; he didn’t have faith in himself. His mind was still enslaved by the limitations of Egyptian law. Through the story of Passover we see Moses emerge into his leadership and strength. He must first free himself from his insecurities and disbelief before he can lead the Hebrews to Israel.

Our society supplies us with ideals of what and who we should be. It is difficult to quiet the messages constantly bombarding us about what clothes we should buy, what friends we should have, how thin or muscular we should be. These messages can enslave us, can make us obedient and in constant pursuit of their demands and expectations. We are told their attainment will make us happy, but they cannot, because we can never become an ideal person. We can only be us.

Our Hebrew ancestors had to free their bodies from the bonds of slavery. In the present day, we must free our minds. We must free ourselves from the harmful messages that we are not enough, that our true selves are not beautiful and holy.

When Moses is in doubt, God tells him “ehyeh asher ehyeh” - I am that I am. Perhaps this also a lesson for us, to accept ourselves for what and who we are, to have faith in ourselves.

I end with this blessing: may everyone at this seder and the whole world be freed from physical, economic, social and mental slavery. And let us say, amen.

Ariel Root Wolpe ('12C) is a junior at Emory University and co-led the "Freedom Seder" at the Marcus Hillel Center this week.