The Mishna on Amud Aleph defines the essential characteristic of a Get (Jewish bill of divorce): "You are hereby permitted to marry any man." Lomdishe discussions consider whether this single declaration is sufficient to effect the divorce or if there are two distinct elements involved: the legal transaction of giving over the document and the declaration within the document that finalizes the unencumbrance.

While this may appear as a minute analysis, it is relevant in discussions surrounding "Reyach Haget," commonly known as "the odor of Get." Under certain circumstances, even if the divorcement is not entirely valid, it may have enough weight to disrupt the marriage and render the woman ineligible to marry a Cohen, even if she actually never obtained a valid divorce but instead became a widow (see Yevamos 94a, and some consider this to be deoraysa, see Arukh HaShulkhan EH 150:2).

Regardless, the straightforward statement granting freedom to marry anyone is a clear declaration of emancipation from prior marital ties and commitments. The principle of "אגידא גביה" emphasizes that any clauses or conditions significantly tying the woman to her ex-husband's wishes invalidate the entire divorce because there are, in a sense, "strings attached" (see Gittin 78b and 82a-b).

In Shemos Rabbah 20:3, the Midrash questions an unusual phrase in Shemos (13:17): "and it was when Pharaoh sent the Jews out of Egypt." The Midrash asks was it not God who extricated the Jews by force and not Pharaoh who sent them out? Sefer Eshel Avraham provides a psychological answer, suggesting that Pharaoh needed to release the Jewish people verbally from their master, as it wasn't enough for them to be liberated through miracles.

Ibn Ezra (Shemos 14:13) also notes the lack of confidence and slave mentality exhibited by the Jews in their inability to fight back or tolerate the challenges of the wilderness.

Although one may be technically free after emerging from difficult circumstances or personal traumas, becoming emotionally free requires psychological work that operates independently of facts and circumstances. Historical cases of "Stockholm syndrome" illustrate how captives can adopt their oppressor's ideology as a defense mechanism to protect their ego and preserve a sense of purpose and strength.

A person who is genuinely free can choose love and work, express creativity, playfulness, and lead a purposeful life with responsibilities balanced toward oneself and others. As we grow and extricate ourselves from psychological and emotional prisons of the past, we must introspect and ask whether we have truly attained freedom.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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