Commencement

This past Thursday was Commencement at the university I work for. It was a touching ceremony, in that it was the end of yet, another cycle. I watched on like a proud parent, feeling only great admiration that they have come to the actualize a dream many of us have, in graduating college. It is a privelege and an opportunity. It is the opportunity they can only continue to actualize.

One of the awardees at the ceremony spoke about what it means to be free. He, having has his childhood under the nazi regime, grew up an under priveleged life. He never had the opportunity to dream of the future, all he thought of was how to stay alive. A very different life, than the ones we live here in America. Yet, all I kept thinking of was: are we really free? True, we are not persecuted based on our religon as was done under the Nazis but I look around me and I see that we are slaves to society. People die, trying to be better then their neighboor along with loads of other nonsense. Do we really appreciate the freedom we were given that our grandparents in Europe did not have? Do we live, breath and follow the words of the Torah like we should? After all, we are free!

What does it mean to be free? I think it means having priveleges and opportunity. I'm sure it means something else to others but daven that we actually actualize that which we has been denied for so much time...The freedom to perform mitvos like we should. Hashem should grant each of us the ability to overcome society and serve him the best way we can.