Day 1/50: What is True Slavery?

Shovavim is an acronym for the six weekly Torah portions Shemot, Vaera, Bo, Beshelah, Yisro and Mishpatim. The word Shovavim alludes to the Pasuk in Yirmiya (3:14), “Shuvu Banim Shovavim” – “Return, wayward children”… The Arizal taught that these weeks are especially auspicious for doing Teshuvah in the area of Kedusha since these are the parshiyos about the slavery in Mitzrayim and our subsequent redemption. It’s a time when there is special divine assistance for every Jew who wants to be free of the shackles of the Yetzer Hara!

The word Mitzrayim is related to the word “Yetzer” meaning “instinct, impulse and urge” – which in turn causes us “Meitzar“, meaning “distress” and “oppression”. No enslavement and no tyranny are as ruthless and as demanding as slavery to physical desires and passions. Someone who is unable to resist a craving, and who feels he must do whatever the body demands, is more profoundly enslaved than someone subject to a human tyrant. Through Teshuvah and divine intervention, one can succeed to break free of the bondage to the body’s desires and become a servant of Hashem.