I TORAH PORTION I Enjoy The Jewish Dedication To Liberty Through Law RABBI RICHARD HERTZ Special to The Jewish News T his week's 'Ibrah por- tion is concerned with sabbatical and jubilee years. Just as the seventh day is sacred and a day of rest, so the Torah stipulates that the seventh month of the year is special. The High Holy Days and Succot occur then. Fur- thermore, every seventh year is to be a sabbatical year. A jubilee year is to occur every fiftieth year; the year after seven times seven is known as a year of freedom. Amidst the detailed specifications for the jubilee year is a verse in Leviticus 25:10, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land to all in- habitants thereof." What a Behar: Leviticus 25:1-26:3 Jeremiah 32:6-27 great text! This pearl was not lost on the patriots of colonial America; they inscribed it on the Liberty Bell. We are hear- ing that bell today. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. rang it for liberty, with a program for more schools, more housing, more jobs. Jews have been ringing a liberty bell of our own for 4,000 years. Our poeple are dedicated to the concept of liberty through law, justice, compassion and equal oppor- tunity. We have had that vi- sion sunk deep in our memory through centuries of persecution. The vision of liberty has been kept alvie from the prophets of old down to our own time; it is a vision that exalts and endows a per- son with a spark of God. Here in America, where religious and cultural groups have their distinctive values preserved in the building of democracy, Jews and Judaism have flourished as in no other land. In the struggle for civil rights and for racial equality, Jews have been prominent in the leadership of the NAACP and the Urban League. Jews have created and sustained the American Jewish Com- mittee, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith and many other organizaions committed to the idea that freedom is indivisible and that Jewish security can be maintained only if all, regardless of race or religion, Richard Hertz is rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth El. are free to fulfill their highest potentialities. We "proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants of the world," not just to some, but to everyone. Another area where relig- ious liberty is in jeopardy in- volves the strict separation of church and state. Bible reading in the schools, religious instruction for special groups during school time, prayers, hymns and holiday observances, such as Christmas or Chanukah, in- trude upon the liberties of in- dividual groups. Jews believe religion is vital but best observed in the home, the church and the synagogue. "Proclaim liberty, religious liberty, throughout the land to all the inhabitants there- of," not just some times but always. Yet major cracks still exist in the Liberty Bell. Chris- tians and Jews need to dialogue with each other; working together across religious lines for a better America enhances human life. Joining hands to combat the cracks in the Liberty Bell requires strengthening civil rights, combatting juvenile delinquency and eliminating slums, poverty and drugs. We need moral leadership to ad- dress those cracks, whether they involve race relations, family relations, economic af- fairs or world hunger. We need to join hands so the Liberty Bell may ring out, "Proclaim lbierty to all the land and to all the in- habitants thereof." The first step toward liberty Leopold Zunz said, is to miss liberty. The second is to seek it. The third is to find it. Liberty is conceived and built upon three concepts: in- dividual morality, social justice and international peace. The founding fathers of this republic understood that. But where do those concepts come from? They were pro- claimed by the people of Israel in the land of Israel, through the language of Israel and in previous eras of Israel's independence, as Ab- ba Eban noted. Jews who throughout his- tory have been the victims of religious intolerance, of com- mercial envy, of racial animo- sity, treasure the ideals of liberty. Jews, who have had to fight for their most elemental rights in history, have found in the inscription on the Liberty Bell a reaffirmation Sunday Brunch Where Fashion Has No Size Sunday, May 21, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. To Thank You For Shopping In Our Store EVERYTHING IN STOCK FOR SPRING &SUMMER 10°/0 OFF Fabulous Fashions & You Must Present This Ad Sizes 14 Plus Music by Sam Barnett 131g or small, we custom the music to your needs 968-2563 Inredible Accessories For the Fuller Figured Woman SUGAR TREE PLAZA 6209 Orchard Lake Rd. 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