Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land

Parshat B'har

by Rabbi Avi Billet

It is worthy to note that one of the most famous quotations from the Torah that has been adopted as part of American history was actually originally used, in a sense, in a proper context.

“As the Bell was created to commemorate the golden anniversary of Penn's Charter, the quotation "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," from Leviticus 25:10, was particularly apt. For the line in the Bible immediately preceding "proclaim liberty" is, "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year." What better way to pay homage to Penn and hallow the 50th year than with a bell proclaiming liberty?" -  http://www.ushistory.org/libertybell/

            

The proclamation of Liberty (in Hebrew “Dror”) was specifically during the Yovel (Jubilee) year, once every 50 years, when slaves went free and property was returned to original owners (for a fair market price). The Talmud (Rosh Hashana 9b) notes that the word “Dror” refers to freedom,
and that whether Yovel was observed in Israel determined if it would be observed in the Diaspora as well. Though Maimonides notes (laws of Shmittah and Yovel 10:8) that Liberty was only proclaimed in Yovel years until the 2 and a half tribes (Reuven, Gad and half of Meanshe) were exiled from their inherited land.

            

Nachmanides suggests that the word Dror comes from the word “Dor,” meaning generation, as per Kohelet 1:4, “A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth endures forever.”

Liberty, therefore, is proclaimed throughout the land on a generational scale. It comes around every 50 years, when each generation has the opportunity to proclaim, as per the change of the times, (and as per Abraham Lincoln in 1863), “A new birth of freedom.” Since Lincoln uttered those words, ironically, the following 50 years housed mostly Republicans in the White House. The next fifty years housed mostly Democrats in the White House (until Martin Luther King Jr essentially declared a new birth of freedom 2 Jubilees after Lincoln). And the fifty years since then have had mostly Republicans in the White Hourse.

This past November was the 3^rd Jubilee in the United States since the Emancipation Proclamation, and it is indeed a marvel to see how these fifty year marks have been able to pinpoint significant changes

            

In Israel, the first fifty years saw mostly left-wing labor party Prime Ministers, though since Israel’s fiftieth anniversary, primarily right-wing parties have held the premiership.

            

Chizkuni compares the fifty years of Yovel, to the fiftieth year of a Levite’s existence, when he no longer serves in his capacity as Levi, and in effect retires. While the Levi has only been working for between 20-25 years of his life, it seems his personal Yovel, as determined by the years of his life and not on a calendar of the collective, dictates when his status changes.

            

The Rosh noted how the word Dror in Shmot 30:23 means “Free of impurities.” Perhaps this is a reflection of what a utopian society looks like, when it is demonstrated that even those in bondage are set free, and that no one has the right to property monopolies because of the return of such to their original owners. It isn’t exactly socialism. It is what some have described as “capitalism with a conscience.”

            

Of course, the Baal HaTurim notes that the word Dror has a numerical value of 410, which reflects how long the first Temple stood, according to the Talmud Yoma 9a. Perhaps this can suggest that the real Dror/liberty we look forward to, and is yet unreached, is the one which includes a Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) at the center of the Jewish existence in the Land of Israel – in other words, the Messianic Era we always pray to experience.

            

“Dror” certainly means liberty, but the definition of Liberty will always be subject to debate and differences of opinion. Does it refer to political winds? Does it refer to personal freedoms? Does it refer to Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel? Does it refer to a personal existence, that a person who lives to be 100 experiences two personal Jubilees – marking the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half of life, as well as the turn towards the end of life, as marked by becoming a centenarian?

            

The answer can easily be “Yes” to all. As we read the verse which reminds us that every fifty years a proclamation of Liberty is spread throughout the land, we hope and pray in the week that Israel celebrated its 66^th birthday that the true liberty will be proclaimed throughout the world when the wolf and lamb can live together, and peace can reign throughout the world.