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توسط خاخام آری پرتن, نورمن ای. مدیر مرکز اسکندر برای زندگی یهودیان

The concept of freedom is a foundational truth of the American ethos. In the Declaration of Independence, بنیانگذاران کشور ما به طور معروف حق حیات را مطرح کردند, آزادی, and pursuit of happiness. In our schools we regularly tell the story of those who emigrated to the US in hopes of securing freedom for themselves and their families. Even more recently, our nation has struggled as it has begun to face the troubling reality that freedom is not always equally applied.

به عنوان یک مفهوم, freedom is difficult. Does freedom suggest a freedom از جانب یا یک آزادی به? Though related the two applications are conceptually unique. Freedom from, suggests that one is no longer reliant upon or obligated towards another. Freedom to, indicates an autonomy in decision making. When we speak of freedom, به کدام آزادی اشاره می کنیم? کدام آزادی آزادی مقدس ترین عقیده ماست?

A second complexity of freedom is based on the question of how does one obtain freedom. One approach suggests agency rests in the hands of the powerful — meaning that freedom can be granted but not achieved. A second approach asserts the opposite, freedom is not just physical but mental as well. As such, بدون توجه به وضعیت فیزیکی فرد, freedom can only be reached when one who considers themselves as free. This second approach is reminiscent of the work of the 20th century psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. Frankl, یک بازمانده از هولوکاست, در او نوشت 1946 کار اتوبیوگرافی انسان در جستجوی معنا, همه چیز را می توان از یک مرد گرفت جز یک چیز: آخرین آزادی انسان - انتخاب نگرش در هر مجموعه ای از شرایط, to choose one’s own way.” Having now lived a full year in which our physical freedom has been limited by COVID-19 Frankl’s words offer much needed comfort. How will you celebrate your freedoms this month?