Four Cups of Freedom
Two very important concepts, which are often mistakenly understood to be one and the same, are freedom and free choice.
Free choice is a fundamental principle in Judaism. As Maimonides explains:
Free will is granted to all people. If one desires to turn himself to the path of good and be righteous, the choice is his. Should he desire to turn to the path of evil and be wicked, the choice is his... This principle is a fundamental concept and a pillar [on which rests the totality] of the Torah and Mitzvot as it is written: "Behold, I have set before you today life [and good, death and evil]." Similarly, the verse states, "Behold, I have set before you today [the blessing and the curse]," implying that the choice is in your hands. [1]
On the surface, free choice is synonymous with freedom. If a person has the ability to choose his own path, to decide what he should do in a given scenario, then, conventional wisdom argues, he is free.
But what if a person makes a choice that imprisons himself? What if a person makes a choice to become enslaved to an activity that robs him of his happiness? What if a person decides to suppress his deepest gifts and talents? That person expresses his free choice, but can we say that he is indeed truly free?
Freedom is more than just free choice. To be free is to express one's inner self. A person who has the gift of being a world class musician, yet chooses not to express that gift, is locking up part of his soul. That person exercises free choice, yet that person is not truly free. The ultimate meaning of freedom, in addition to being able to choose freely, is expressing the deepest part of the self.
In the opening verses of this week's Parsha, G-d once again reiterates his promise to redeem the children of Israel from the Egyptian slavery:
Therefore, say to the children of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a God to you, and you will know that I am the Lord your God, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. [2]
Our sages read these verses and identified within them four expressions of redemption, (“take you out”, “save”, “redeem”, “I will take you”). To commemorate these four expressions of redemption, they instituted that we drink four cups of wine at the Passover Seder.
When we examine the verses we will notice that there are only three expressions that describe the redemption from slavery (“take you out”, “save”, and “redeem”). The fourth expression (“I will take you”) has nothing to do with the redemption from Egypt, rather it refers to the giving of the Torah at Sinai, when G-d takes us as his people. Why then do the sages say that there are four expressions of redemption, and therefore four cups of wine at the Passover Seder, when, in fact, it seems that there are only three?
The first three expressions of redemption describe how G-d will take us out of Egyptian bondage and give us physical freedom. Yet, physical freedom is not enough. To be truly free, our sages teach us, we must reach the fourth expression of redemption. We must come to Sinai, become the people of G-d, and allow our soul, the deepest part of ourselves, to express itself.
The four cups of wine teach us that freeing the body is not enough. To enjoy true freedom we must experience not merely the first three expressions of redemption, describing the freedom from Egyptian bondage, rather we must also experience the fourth expression of redemption, allowing the soul to express its bond with G-d, thus experiencing ultimate freedom.
Freedom means freeing not only our body, but also our soul.
Redemption means drinking all four cups of freedom.
[1] Maimonides, Laws of Repentance, chapter 5.
[2] Exodus 6:7.