{"id":86570,"date":"2021-01-13T17:48:01","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T15:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=86570"},"modified":"2021-01-13T17:48:01","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T15:48:01","slug":"freedom-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/freedom-from\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom From\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"86570","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64450,"related_cahpter":"655","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And do we want freedom? Or holiness?\r\n\r\n","content":"

In Psalm 88 we hear the cry of someone suffering in great distress. The psalm is attributed to the \u201cKorahites\u201d \u2013 the descendants of Korah the Levite. Korah rebelled against the leadership of Moses and as punishment, God had the earth swallow him and his followers alive (Numbers 16).<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps as an echo of this earlier story, the psalmist uses imagery of the \u201cpit\u201d as a metaphor for his misery:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor I am sated with misfortune; I am at the brink of Sheol. I am numbered with those who go down to the Pit; I am a helpless man abandoned among the dead, like bodies lying in the grave of whom You are mindful no more, and who are cut off from Your care. You have put me at the bottom of the Pit, in the darkest places, in the depths.\u201d (Psalms 88:4-7)<\/span><\/p>\n

In this chilling description, one phrase is of particular interest \u201cabandoned among the dead\u201d (verse 6). The Hebrew word rendered here as \u201cabandoned\u201d is <\/span>chofshi<\/span><\/em>. The word <\/span>chofshi<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is generally translated as \u201cfree\u201d, and the related <\/span>chofesh<\/span><\/em>\u00a0as \u201cfreedom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So in the context of this verse, the dead are considered free from the obligations of this world. As the Talmud (Shabbat 151b) interprets the verse: \u201cOnce a person dies, he becomes free <\/span>chofshi<\/span><\/em>\u00a0from the commandments.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, a look into the etymology of the word can provide us with a different perspective. According to some scholars, <\/span>chofshi<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is related to the root <\/span>chavash<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 meaning \u201cto bind.\u201d This root provides us with both the words <\/span>chovesh<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 a medic (who binds wounds) and <\/span>machbosh<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013<\/span><\/i> \u201c(military) imprisonment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Why would the same root both provide a word for freedom and a word for prison? According to this theory, the word <\/span>chofesh<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0does not actually imply complete freedom. That state is found in the word <\/span>cherut<\/span><\/em>. <\/span>Chofshi<\/span><\/em>, however, refers to being released from one set of obligations, but not truly free.<\/span><\/p>\n

This may be the situation in our psalm. According to this theory, the psalmist is describing how he feels as imprisoned among the dead.<\/span><\/p>\n

The negative connotation found here, along with other biblical occurrences, caused some to oppose the use of <\/span>chofshi<\/span><\/em>\u00a0in Israel\u2019s national anthem, Hativka. There we find the aspiration of becoming a free nation \u2013 <\/span>am chofshi<\/span><\/em>. Those who opposed the word said that the nation of Israel should not find freedom from obligations sufficient, but rather we lovingly accept the commitments of our tradition. In that light, they preferred <\/span>am kadosh<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u2013 a holy nation, since holiness is found in the commandments.<\/span><\/p>\n

This may be a lesson of the descendants of Korah, who did not want to die like their ancestor, but rather survive, and continue fulfilling the commandments of his rival Moses.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":68448,"id":68448,"title":"is58-break free","filename":"is58-break-free.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/break-every-yoke\/is58-break-free\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is58-break-free","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":68447,"date":"2020-01-12 21:21:56","modified":"2023-09-24 12:43:43","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is58-break-free-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Freedom From\u2026","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"And do we want freedom? 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