Whenever we travel with our children back to the United
States, I always feel compelled to give them a history lesson about the country
in which they are citizens. Make no mistake; the experience that our children
are getting by living outside of the United States has been wonderful in terms
of perspective. However because our children learn about Canadian history, we
tend to home school them in regards to U.S. History, Civics and Government. We had a wonderful learning opportunity when
we visited Philadelphia for a simcha (a happy occasion). I insisted that we
see Independence Mall, (where the
Congressional Congress signed the Declaration of Independence), the Liberty
Bell, and even Valley Forge, (where General Washington and the Colonial Army
spent a horrible winter) prior to their battle with the British. Of course I
enjoyed it. However the most meaningful moment for my children occurred while
looking at the Liberty Bell. Our children looked at it and we made them read
the inscription on the Bell: “Proclaim Liberty throughout the land to all its
inhabitants thereof. Lev 25:10”. First we asked our children what that meant.
Then we asked them what book this verse was from? They thought about it for a
moment and then realized that it was from the Torah. They didn’t realize that
Lev., short for Leviticus, is English for VaYikrah. The most fascinating moment occurred when
they realized that the people who made the bell, and used that quotation, were
using a pasuk from the Torah. Then they asked the obvious question, “Why did
they use a verse from the Torah and why that particular verse for Liberty
Bell?”
This week we read the double Parsha of Behar/Bechukotai.
These final two parshiot offer us insight into another dimension of Kedushah.
For most of Vayikra (Leviticus), we
learned how the Kohen Gadol makes himself holy. We have learned how the
individual makes himself/herself holy. We have learned how the entire nation
makes itself holy. We have learned how holiness permeates all are physical
activities including what we eat, how we treat others and the relationships
that may and may not have. We have
learned how we designated holiness in terms of seasons and special occasions.
Now we read about the laws in which we acknowledge the holiness of Eretz Canaan
Israel. We learn that the Jubilee is similar to Shemitta accept on a grander scale, leaving
the land to lie fallow for a year while it rests. We learn about the Yovel, the
Jubilee year and all that it entails in terms of our behavior. Sefer Vayikra
concludes with the Torah explaining the rewards for following these and all the
commandments that God gave us at Sinai as well as the punishments that would
befall us if we fail to observe these commandments.
During the discussion Yovel, the Sabbatical year, we read: V’Kidashtem Eit Shat HaChamishim Shana
Ukratem Dror Ba’Aretz L’chol Yoshveha Yovel Hi Tiheyeh Lachem V’Shavtem Ish El
Achuzato V’Ish el Mishpachto Tashuvu – You
shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land for
all its inhabitants; it shall be the Jubilee Year for you, each of you shall return to his ancestral heritage and
each of you shall return to his family. The context of this verse is clear.
During the 50 year cycle, whether the indentured servant has served the usual
minimum of six years or not, all indentured servants are to be freed. Everyone
returns to their tribal land of origin
and everything is then, according to modern parlance, “rebooted”. The interesting thing about this verse is the
Hebrew word for freedom. Ordinarily “freedom” is “ChoFeSh.” The word ChoFeSh is
used when the concept of freeing the indentured servant is first mentioned in Parsha Mishpatim Ex 21: 2 Ki Tikneh Eved Ivri Shesh Shanim Ya’avod
U’Vashviit Yeitzei LaChofshi Chinam: If
you buy a Jewish servant, he shall work for six years; and in the seventh he
shall go free (LaChofshi), for no
charge. The word use in this week’s Parsha is DROR. The word DROR appears once in the entire Torah in this context, “Proclaim
Liberty throughout the land…” Dror appears in Ex. 30:23 however it means “pure
myrrh” Why would the Torah use Chofshi
(Free/freedom) in Exodus and then use the word Dror (liberty) at the end of Leviticus in Behar/Bechukotai?
Certainly the word “Freedom” is more common than
“Liberty”. When Patrick Henry made his
famous statement, he used the word “Liberty”. “Give me Liberty or give me
death”. R’ Avraham Bedersi a late 13th century French Rabbi explains
that both terms Chofesh (Freedom) and Dror (Liberty) are the
opposite of bondage. However Dror (Liberty) denotes clarity and purity, without contaminates. Much
like the term Dror is used to describe the pure Myrrh. It is not accidental that the Torah uses a
word that is the opposite of bondage but connotes a “pure” freedom. Throughout
the book of Leviticus, the overarching themes as been purity and holiness. So it would make sense that Dror would
connote the holiest or purest sense of the
concept of Freedom. R’Avraham Bedersi
suggests that Chofesh (freedom) implies the mitigation of
slavery whereas Dror (Liberty) implies the total abolition of
slavery. Left with that understanding we
lose the nuance of “holiness” that accompanies Dror.
Liberty is not solely confined to people. It extends to the
land. It extends to every aspect of life.
Freedom is something that is given or taken by people. Liberty is not something that a person gives to
another, nor is it something that a person gives to animal. Rather “Liberty” is
a godly concept. Liberty invokes
holiness and therefore something that God grants to people and to “all the
inhabitants”. Since we are all created
in God’s image, since God breathed God’s spirit into the first man (Gen. Chapter
2); one could argue that Liberty is an internal concept. Someone may be a
slave, but their soul is free, therefore they are in a state of Liberty. Liberty is the spiritual version of
freedom.
Shavuot, the commemoration of the Matan Torah (the Giving of the Torah) begins a week from this
coming Shabbat. Perhaps freedom suggests
a lack of slavery or servitude. Liberty suggests that the highest level of
freedom is one in which only the rule of law governs all of us equally, without
bias or prejudice. As we explained “Liberty” to our children, it was
re-assuring to think that those who inscribed the Liberty Bell, understood that
Liberty was the most noble and the most pure form of Freedom. Needless to say,
our children were impressed when they realized that our Torah was so integral
in the establishment of the United States, their place of birth.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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