This is the season of freedom. On April 27 we South Africans will celebrate Freedom Day. During this same month Jews around the world celebrate Passover — the Festival of Freedom, which marks 3 318 years since their Exodus from Egypt, the greatest liberation in history, when G-d intervened directly in the course of human affairs to free an oppressed and enslaved people. There are two lessons to be learnt from the ancient wisdom of freedom during the Exodus.
The first lesson is about economic freedom. As the Children of Israel were leaving Egypt, the Five Books relate that the Egyptians gave them material wealth in the form of gold, silver and clothing, et cetera. This was in fulfilment of G-d’s promise to Abraham of the impending exile and exodus, a promise that was repeated to Moses when the liberation was only beginning. Clearly G-d felt it to be important and crucial to the Exodus itself; it was not merely an afterthought. The message seems to be that the political freedom obtained through the pressure of the 10 plagues had to be accompanied by financial and economic freedom, which the wealth of Egypt would provide. Political freedom must be accompanied by freedom from poverty.
The first South African struggle was to eradicate oppression and create political freedom; its cadres were the political activists and freedom fighters. The new South African struggle is to eradicate poverty and create economic freedom; its cadres are welfare workers within the government and outside of it, and equally importantly, our South African entrepreneurs in big business, and especially in small business, who are at the forefront of creating jobs and growing our economy. This struggle for economic freedom imposes on each of us a responsibility to alleviate poverty to the best of our ability through personal acts of charity and kindness, which we have the opportunity of performing as we interact with raw poverty every day.
The second lesson of the Five Books teaches us what comes after political freedom. After leaving Egypt, G-d led the Children of Israel to Mount Sinai to receive His Torah — His moral principles, religious laws, and guiding philosophies of life. The lesson is clear: political freedom must be accompanied by, and dedicated to, the higher cause of living a good life, as defined by G-d, of supreme and absolute morality. The festival of Passover is directly linked to the festival of Pentecost, which commemorates G-d giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Pentecost means that now that we have political freedom, the next decade must be dedicated to nurturing and achieving moral and religious growth, which will positively effect all our major challenges, from HIV/Aids to a commitment to marriage, from the reduction of criminal activity and corruption to a commitment to ethical conduct, from growing the economy to commitment to hard work and industry.
There are many religious and moral principles that all South Africans agree upon, and which can become the glue that binds us together as a society. What, other than a shared moral vision for the future, can hold us together as a nation? Human beings are distinguished from animals by their moral and spiritual dimension. Societies are held together by a shared moral vision, not by mere convenience. The continued survival and endurance of our new South Africa will depend on our combining to formulate a common moral, religious and spiritual vision.
The instrument that can best provide the framework for our moral vision is a Bill of Morals, which would be a document that would officially and nationally be recognised as containing the common moral principles of the vast majority of South Africans. This document will provide the rallying point for the nation and can be given a place of prominence in institutions across the country from schools to hospitals, businesses and government offices. Historically, national documents, such as the Freedom Charter and others, have moulded our national character and a Bill of Morals has the potential to do the same.
The Bill of Morals would complete the Bill of Rights, because true freedom is not only about rights, it is about responsibilities as well. One of the greatest things that the Bill of Rights has done for South Africa, apart from providing legal protection against human rights abuses, is that it has nurtured a culture within our country that values human rights. A Bill of Morals could achieve the same in terms of nurturing a culture of moral character for the nation. It will also be an important vehicle for nation building as it becomes a nationally recognised document of common values for South Africans that will cut across racial, economic and other divisions.
To achieve this ambitious programme of economic freedom and moral responsibility we need to strive for greatness and to believe in our awesome potential as human beings and as South Africans. To deny human greatness is an insult to G-d Himself, who created man in His image, and, moreover, is a betrayal of Biblical values. The principal wickedness of racism is that it denies human potential, and denies the fact that sections of the human family have greatness or the potential for greatness. To deny that potential is a betrayal, too, of a significant verse from the book of Psalms: “The stone that the builders despised has become the headstone.” King David, the author of these words, was writing about himself. Samuel the prophet had been told by G-d to go to the house of Jesse to anoint the new king from among Jesse’s sons, but he was not told which one would be king. When Samuel saw David’s brother Eliab he immediately assumed that he was to be the new King. G-d corrects Samuel with words that are true for all people (I Samuel 16:7): “Do not look at his appearance or at his tall stature for I have rejected him. For it is not as man sees — man sees what his eyes behold, but G-d sees into the heart.” And when G-d looks into our hearts may He see strength, inspiration and a passion for greatness. The choice is ours.
Dr Warren Goldstein is chief rabbi