“The Torah itself gives a transition between the Holiday of Freedom (Pesach) and the Holiday of the Torah – the holiday of commitment to Hashem (Shavuot) – via the counting of the Omer… until we get to Matan Torah.

…Without boundaries, without restrictions, without morality, without submission to something greater than yourself, your so-called freedom is simply the illusion of giving in to whatever trends [are current] and to whatever ta’avot [intense, animalistic cravings for the unholy] you happened to be possessed of.

The only truly free person is the person who occupies himself with the Torah because in tying myself down to God’s law, I become liberated to be able to be the person I truly am, to access… the radiance of my neshama, which is literally a part of God [Himself].

It is the Holiday of Torah that gives meaning to the Holiday of Freedom.”