Day of Atonement

Today is Yom Kippur. In synagogues everywhere, the tale of Jonah will be recounted. Remember the man from Nineveh who was asked to become a prophet and who tried to escape from this call by taking the first boat out of the city? And how the ship encountered a storm and how after casting lots Jonah was hurled off the craft and the storm was silenced? And how Jonah spent 3 days and 3 nights inside a big fish?

Point is, we all seem to think of personal freedom as a state of total control regarding our destinies. That we can face this world solely on our own terms. There is a paradox here. True freedom should not be confused with spending the rest of your life playing golf, scaling mountains, gaining weight traveling to exotic locations... freedom is understanding the purpose of your existence and discerning your destiny and investing all your energies towards the fulfillment of this destiny.