Engraved on the tablets: How obedience becomes freedom

Source: The tablets: Engraving or freedom?

"And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. Do not read charut (engraved) but cherut (freedom), for there is no free person except one who engages in the study of Torah, and anyone who engages in the study of Torah is elevated."

(Mishnah, Tractate Avot, Chapter 6, Mishnah 2)

Explanation: Study as a gateway to freedom

The Sages make a daring play on words here on the verse from Exodus. They replace the technical charut (engraved in stone) with the moral concept of cherut (freedom). It is commonly assumed that the paradoxical claim is that the tablets—representing law, boundaries, and commandment—are themselves the source of freedom. However, to be precise, the Mishnah does not say that the law is freedom, but rather points to one who engages in the study of the law. It is study that grants freedom, within obedience to the law.

Perspective: The law as the foundation of freedom

This perspective challenges the modern instinct that sees the law as a "prison." The truth is that law is the foundation of freedom. A pianist is "free" to express himself only because he subjugated himself for years to the rigid rules of composition. Without scales and rhythm, he isn't free—he's just making noise. True freedom is the ability to choose the "yoke" you are willing to bear. Freedom without law is anarchy, where the strong always defeat the free.

Going Deeper: From Kantian autonomy to divine servitude

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant called this "autonomy" (self-legislation). According to Kant, a truly free person is only one who acts according to a law they legislated for themselves out of reason, not out of biological impulse. This connects to the Hasidic concept that "the servant of God alone is free": the moment you are bound to an absolute truth, no human being on earth can enslave you anymore.

Culture: Moses and the Israelites in the struggle to free the slaves

In the first half of the 18th century, amidst the struggle for the liberation of slaves in the Americas, enslaved Black people began singing the words from the Book of Exodus, "let my people go," and they called the struggle's leader, Harriet Tubman, "Moses." The song became an anthem, and just as Israel went out of Egypt, Black people also wanted to leave the house of bondage. The song has had numerous renditions, one of the most famous being by the legendary trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong, performed in a gospel style.