PURELY COMMENTARY

Proclaim Liberty

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

Editor Emeritus

W

ith the Fourth of
July approaching,
we continue under
the influence of an idealized
faith that is linked with
Scriptures. Devotion to liber-
ty is among the very first
human experiences and its
American ideal dates back to
the Bible, Leviticus 25:10,
which inspired the inscrip-
tion on the Liberty Bell:
"Proclaim liberty
throughout all the land unto
all the inhabitants thereof."
It requires a 10 word Eng-
lish translation to transmit
the five words in Hebrew:

ukratem dror ba-aretz lekhol
yoshveha."
It is not generally
known, but the Liberty
Bell, the symbol of Ameri-
can freedom, is older than
our independence.
In August of 1752,
dockmen in Philadelphia
unloaded a crate that
arrived from England. In
it was a bell, cast by the

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42

FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 1991

Londoner Thomas Lister,
12 feet in circumference at
the widest point, and on it
was the inscription:
"By order of the
Assembly of the Province
of Pennsylvania, for the
State House in the City of
Philadelphia, 1752."
The colony for whom
this bell was cast still was
under English rule, but
the bell itself was to
become known as the
Liberty Bell, and was to
serve as a challenge to
oppressors ...
Isaac Norris, a Quaker,
was the man chosen to
select the quotation for
the inscription on the bell.
He picked the 25th
chapter of Leviticus which
contains the famous Jubi-
lee proclamation ...
The bell was not hung in
the Pennsylvania State
House because, upon un-
packing, it cracked after a
single stroke of the
clapper due to the brit-

tleness of the metal. A
little copper was added to
the metal in recasting by
Pass and Stow, the two
workingmen to whom was
assigned the task of plac-
ing the bell in order. The
two craftsmen reversed
the two original lines and
the inscription on the bell

• The triumphant an-
nouncement of the
Declaration of In-
dependence was accom-
panied by sounds that
were pealed from the Lib-
erty Bell in the Penn-
sylvania State House on
July 8, 1776.
Therefore, the symbol of
our freedom as Americans is
mankind's legacy from
scriptural teachings. The
Hebrew quote ukratem dror
. . . becomes our guideline. It
is in this scripturally defined
spirit to proclaim liberty
that we keep acclaiming the
Fourth of July. ❑

Morris) Friedman, who
devotedly supervised the
Yiddish section of all the
book fairs since their begin-
ning, continuing her loyalty
to the language and its
books.
These recollections con-
tribute to city-wide enthusi-
asm for 40 years of cultural
triumphs in the name of the
Jewish Community Center
Book Fair. ❑

Revered Leaders
In Shaw Chronicle

Recognition given a month
ago in this column to the
academic prominence and
literary accomplishments of
Professor Sol Liptzin in-
spired Irwin Shaw to recall
cultural Jewish creativity in
Detroit.
In anticipation of the 40th
anniversary of the Jewish
Book Fair, Mr. Shaw en-
thusiastically recalls that
the first guest lecturer was
the eminent scholar, Sol
Liptzin of City College of
New York.
Of special significance in
the Shaw recollections is
that Dr. Liptzin was the first
literary scholar to volunteer
to contribute his services as
guest lecturer. It was an act
of devotion that set into mo-
tion a continuity of eminent
participation.
Mr. Shaw, who was then
executive director of the
Jewish Community Center,
now devotedly chronicles
personalities and occur-
rences. Harvey Goldman
was the president of the
Center at the formation of
the book fair. He had sting
support form Morris
Garvett, who preceded him.
Pauline Jackson was the
first chairperson of the book
fair.
Mr,. Shaw credits the pro-
gress attained by the book
fair to the initial supporting
encouragement from Louis
Lamed.
A mark of recognition is
especially due Sarah (Mrs.

Irwin Shaw

Another Shaw Role

It should be permissible to
have Irwin Shaw recall an-
other role prior to his ex-
ecutive directorship of the
Center — that of early
leadership in and en-
couragement to Young
Judea. While it is a per-
sonalized memo, it recalls
other leaders, especially the
father of Senator Carl Levin,
the late Saul Levin, who was
an activist in Young Judea
ranks. Mr. Shaw just wrote
me at length on this subject;
a brief extract states:

It was in the Delmar
Talmud Torah building
that, at the age of 10, I
joined my first club the
Mogen Dovid Young Judea
Club, which held its week-
ly meetings in the base-
ment. Its adult leader
was your friend, Samuel
Noah Heyman, who, with
another former U of M
classmate, Sol R. Levin,
joined with you in the es-
tablishment of the Young
Judea movement in
Detroit.
The Mogen Dovid Club
was undoubtedly one of
the most important fac-
tors in determining the
values and the goals that
guided me throughout my
life ... For example, in
1924, we spent several
weeks collecting old

