The quest for freedom is not merely a political aspiration; it is a divine imperative woven into the very fabric of the Torah.

From the moment the Jewish people emerged as a nation in the crucible of Egypt, the struggle for liberty has been defined by the tension between human tyranny and Divine Will.

Today, we witness this struggle manifesting in three distinct theaters: the streets of Iran, the town squares of America, and the borders of Israel.

While the contexts differ, they represent a spiritual hierarchy of liberation, a ladder of freedom that mirrors the journey from the depths of bondage to the heights of Sinai.

The Hierarchy of Liberty: From Survival to Sovereignty

Freedom is not a binary state; it is a progressive ascent. When we examine the current global landscape, we see three distinct levels of this climb, each representing a different stage of the human spirit’s refusal to be enslaved.

1. Iran: Figuring Out the Path

In Iran, the citizens are currently at the foundational stage of the struggle.

They are “figuring out the path.” Like the Israelites groaning under the physical lash of Egyptian taskmasters, the Iranian people are fighting for the most basic right to exist as individuals. They face a “Pharaonic” regime that seeks to extinguish the soul, demanding total submission to a fundamentalist interpretation of power.

Their struggle is the raw, courageous first step: the realization that the current house of bondage is unsustainable and that a path to the desert of independence must be found. They are in the stage of Anacha, the groaning that Gd hears before the redemption begins.

2. The United States: Preservation of the Framework

The United States represents a higher level of historical achievement in this hierarchy. Unlike Iran, America has already established a robust framework of liberty. The struggle for U.S. citizens is one of preservation.

It is a sophisticated battle to protect constitutional safeguards and prevent the “shrewd” erosion of rights that allow for dissent, property ownership, and religious expression. If Iran is searching for the path, America is fighting to keep the road paved and the signposts visible against those who would tear them down in favor of a new, centralized tyranny.

3. Israel: The Highest Level of Freedom with Gd

At the pinnacle of this hierarchy stands the Jewish quest for freedom in Israel. This is the “Highest Level” because it transcends mere civil liberty or political independence. It is Sovereignty with Sanctity. The citizen of Israel is not just fighting to be “free from” a tyrant; they are fighting to be “free to” connect with the Creator in their ancestral homeland.

This is the fulfillment of the Exodus mandate: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” Israel represents the realization that true freedom is only reached when a nation aligns its physical security with its Divine destiny. This is the freedom of the soul, anchored in the soil of the Covenant.

The Pharaoh Syndrome: Ancient Tropes and Modern Conspiracies

To understand the opposition these movements face, we must look back at the first recorded instance of systemic antisemitism in the Book of Exodus. Before the physical slavery began, Pharaoh employed a psychological tactic that remains the “gold standard” for tyrants and demagogues today: the Conspiracy of Control.

“And he [Pharaoh] said to his people: ‘Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and mightier than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them…'” (Exodus 1:9-10)

Pharaoh did not attack the Jews because they were weak; he attacked them by claiming they were too powerful. This is the “Pharaoh Syndrome”, the paradoxical accusation that a small, vulnerable minority is secretly in control of the nation’s destiny, finances, and government.

The similarities between Pharaoh’s rhetoric and modern conspiracy theories are chillingly exact. In the Torah, Pharaoh accused the Jews of:

* Dual Loyalty: Fearing they would “join our enemies” in times of war.

* Secret Might: Claiming they were “mightier than we,” despite being a minority.

* Economic Domination: Using their presence to “get them up out of the land,” implying they were a threat to the national infrastructure.

Today, we see these exact tropes revitalized. Whether it is the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” or modern social media claims that Jews control global finance and government policy, the underlying lie is the same: The Jews are in control, and therefore, they are the threat. This serves as a convenient “shrewd” distraction for failing regimes. By painting the Jew as the secret puppet master, the tyrant avoids accountability for his own failures.

The Radical Resistance: Shifra and Puah

However, the Torah provides the ultimate blueprint for resisting this Pharaonic spirit. Before Moses ever stood before Pharaoh, the first blows for freedom were struck by two women: the midwives Shifra and Puah (identified by our Sages as Jochebed and Miriam).

When Pharaoh commanded them to murder the Hebrew male infants, he was attempting to control the future by destroying the next generation. But the midwives “feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them” (Exodus 1:17).

This is the ultimate lesson for the freedom fighters of today. The midwives recognized that there is a Higher Authority than the state. Their resistance was not born of political ambition, but of Awe of Heaven.

They understood, Pharaoh’s “control” was an illusion. By sustaining life in the face of a death decree, they proved that the individual’s moral responsibility to God outweighs any earthly tyrant’s law. Their bravery allowed the “Voice of Jacob” to continue, eventually leading to the birth of Moses and the total collapse of the Egyptian empire.

Hashem: The Ultimate Source of Liberty

The Torah is adamant: Freedom is not a gift from the government; it is an endowment from the Creator. The very first of the Ten Commandments establishes God not as a Creator of nature, but as the Author of Liberty:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” (Exodus 20:2)

This Pasuk teaches us that God’s primary identity in relation to humanity is the Liberator. Furthermore, the Torah introduces the concept of the Jubilee year, where all servants are set free, proclaiming:

“And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” (Leviticus 25:10)

This “Proclamation of Liberty” (which is famously inscribed on the American Liberty Bell) demonstrates that land and life belong to God, and therefore, no human has the right to permanently enslave another. Finally, the Sages of the Mishnah provide the most profound definition of true freedom:

“There is no free man except one who occupies himself with the study of the Torah.” (Pirkei Avot 6:2)

This suggests that without a moral and spiritual compass, a person is merely a slave to their own desires or the whims of society. True liberty is the ability to choose the Good.

The Path Forward: Liberty Through Truth

The difference between the Iranian citizen, the American citizen, and the Israeli citizen is the stage of their journey, but their enemy is often the same: the spirit of Pharaoh and the lies of the “hidden hand.”

When people are told that a Jewish conspiracy is responsible for their suffering, they are being led back into the darkness of Egypt. True liberty requires the courage to face reality without scapegoats. It requires the recognition that the Jewish people’s role in the world is not to “control” others, but to be a “light unto the nations” a reminder that Hashem is the only true Sovereign.

As we stand at this crossroads in history, we must recognize that the fight for freedom in any land is a fight against the “shrewd” lies of the oppressor. Whether in Tehran, Washington, or Jerusalem, the mandate remains: break the chains of the old conspiracies, emulate the God-fearing courage of the midwives, and walk toward the light of genuine, God-given liberty.

For as the Torah teaches, when we stop fearing the “Pharaohs” of our time and start fearing the Creator, the sea of oppression will eventually part, and we will walk through on dry land.

Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Ben Avraham is a multifaceted spiritual leader whose journey spans the heights of the American entertainment industry and the sacred halls of Jerusalem’s top Yeshivot. Originally a high-level music executive at Warner Bros. Records and a successful entrepreneur who helped ignite viral cultural movements in Los Angeles, he transitioned into the political arena as the 2016 Republican nominee for U.S. Congress in California’s 37th District. Following the election, he moved to Israel to embark on a deep spiritual pursuit at the prestigious Ohr Somayach yeshiva, where he dedicated years to rigorous Torah study and eventually attained rabbinic ordination. Now a respected rabbi, he is the author of works such as Mind of the Black Jew and has become a prominent global voice, frequently sought after for lectures, television appearances, and features in major international publications.