Shabbat shalom and welcome to my Bat Mitzvah. Thank you all for coming, it means a lot to me. For my drash, I will be focusing on Leviticus, chapter 25 verse 10. As translated into English by the Etz Hayim humash, this verse reads:
“and you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to his holding and each of you shall return to his family.”
The part I specifically want to focus on is “proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants.”
I want to focus on this part because this is the verse, in a somewhat different translation, which is inscribed on the Liberty Bell, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
My first visit to the Liberty Bell was in December with my grandparents who live in Philadelphia. When I first saw and read the verse, I noticed it was from Leviticus, but it didn’t click that it is from my Torah portion today. Later, I realized where it comes from.
But before I talk more about the use of this verse on the Liberty Bell, let’s look at what it might have meant in the time of the Bible, and what rabbis and famous Jewish commentators have had to say about it. What did that word “dror,” translated as freedom, release, or liberty, mean in Jewish tradition? What did the rabbis and famous commentators have to say about that word?
In the Etz Hayim humash, it says that “dror” is related to the ancient word anduraru, which is Acadian, and refers to a decree given by Mesopotamian kings when they became ruler. They would declare a halt on any debts and bonds, freeing everyone who was a servant or slave. This was a sign of power and royal benevolence.
The midrashic commentary to Leviticus, the Sifra, says that the meaning of the word “dror” is freedom. It also cites Rabbi Yehudah, who suggests that the word “dror” is related to the word “dar,” to dwell, and thus notes that free people are those who may go where they want, stay where they want, and aren’t controlled by others.
Rashi’s view on this is that when the text in the torah says “u’kratem dror”, it is referring to Jewish slaves. Normally slaves worked for a period of six years, and some slaves might have decided to stay with their master longer. But all Jewish slaves were freed in the jubilee year.
Now, I want to return to the subject of the Liberty Bell and the somewhat inaccurate translation of the section of the verse inscribed, which brings me to my main question: why is this verse on the bell?
The bell was made in 1752, 24 years before the American colonies declared their independence from England. As was inscribed on the bell, the bell was created “By order of the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania….” On the bell, the verse reads as follows:
“Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof”
What may have caused the members of the Assembly to choose this verse to put on the bell?
To answer this, let’s take a look at Pennsylvania’s history. The state of Pennsylvania was founded by a man named William Penn, who obtained the right to own the land in Pennsylvania on March 4, 1681. When he founded Pennsylvania, he wanted to allow the people living there the right to take part in forming laws and to give them the privilege to choose what religion they wanted to follow. These ideas are stated in his Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania’s original set of laws or constitution, written in 1701.
Then, 50 years later, in 1751, members of the Assembly decided to have the bell made, and Isaac Norris, who was a Quaker and the speaker of the Assembly, chose this verse to be engraved on the bell. Some historians believe that Norris chose this verse to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Charter of Privileges, and the rights it gave to residents of Pennsylvania.
Whether or not these historians are correct, there are still some things we can tell about how the people who chose this verse probably understood it. For one thing, I observed that it appears that they thought the verse was referring to everyone in the land, free or slave. Also, they followed the King James translation of the bible, in which the word “dror” is translated as “freedom.”
The kinds of freedoms that William Penn gave the residents of Pennsylvania are much like those in America today. American citizens have the right to participate in the making of our laws: we can vote for law makers, write to them with our ideas, or even run for office ourselves. We also have the freedom to follow whichever religion we choose. We have even increased freedom here in America by following the customs of our ancestors and freeing our slaves, we have made sure that everyone has the right to participate in our democracy, no matter if they are male or female, black or white, Jew, Christian, or any other religion there is.
This verse has an effect on me and all the other Americans because it represents the freedom we have achieved over time, through hard work and effort. Without this freedom, America would not be known as the land of the free, a place where those suffering oppression can come to to seek refuge and start anew with hope and freedom. Here, no one can tell you what you can and can’t say or think or write, what religion you can and can’t follow, and with whom you can and can’t be friends.
It is my hope that some day, the rest of the world will follow, seeing the error of the way they treat their people, so that the world will become a place where everyone can live with these same freedoms.
Now for my thank yous. First, I would like to thank all of my teachers, both here at the Pressman Academy and in New York at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School. There are two in particular to whom I want to give special recognition: my fourth grade teacher at Heschel, Judith Talesnick, who first taught me torah troupe, and Hillel Tigay, who helped me learn my torah portion, taught me Haftarah troupe, my Haftarah, the services, and the blessings for both torah and Haftarah. I also want to thank Hazzan Lipton and Rabbi Rembaum for their support, encouragement and help.
Also I’d like to thank all of my friends from here in LA and from New York and my family for always supporting me. I am especially grateful that my nana, grandpa and savta all are well enough to be with us today.
Special thanks, of course, go to my brother, Joel, and to all my grandparents, and with extra thanks to my Saba for helping me with my Haftarah. Last, but not least, to my parents, for all their help and for making this all happen.
Shabbat Shalom.