Our prison is of our own making, and if we really want to escape, we can do so
“…to open blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and to release from the prison-house those that dwell in darkness….”
When I came across this striking verse in Yeshayahu 42:7, it brought to mind the magnificent parable in Koheles Rabbah 7:32 that Rabbeinu Yonah cites at the beginning of his classic Shaarei Teshuvah.
One dark night, all the prisoners of a certain dungeon escaped through a tunnel they had been digging for months. In the morning, the officer in charge was stunned to find all the cells empty , except for one single inmate who had remained behind.
“Why did you not run with the others?” asked the officer.
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