Torah Portion

Just As Liberty's Scope Grew,
So Must View Of Living Torah

DETROIT

it was first called, rang during the
first public reading of the
Declaration of Independence in
1776. What is less well known is
that in 1839, an anti-slavery publi-
cation called The Liberator reprinted
a poem about the bell titled the
"Liberty Bell." Thus renamed, the
Liberty Bell was adopted as a symbol
of the abolitionist cause, and eventu-
he above verse is found in
ally
came to symbolize for all
the first of this week's
Americans
our evolving sense of jus-
double Torah portion.
tice,
equality
and freedom.
The Hebrew word deror,
By
embracing
the symbol of the
commonly translated as "liberty,"
Liberty Bell, Americans
has been found by recent
also embraced the idea that
biblical scholarship to
the understanding of our
derive from an ancient
values evolve over time,
Akkadian cognate describ-
and that such change —
ing a monarch's freeing of
balanced with tradition —
slaves at the beginning of
is
critical to maintaining
his rule. Such "royal par-
the
underlying values of
dons" were fairly common
American society.
in the ancient Mideast,
In similar fashion, bal-
much like presidential par-
ancing Jewish tradition
dons in America.
with change was the pri-
So translated, the word
CANTOR
mary goal of our sages in
for "liberty" applies specifi-
DANIEL S.
the first centuries of the
cally to the freeing of slaves
GALE
Common Era. The rabbis
and indentured servants
Special to the
who
developed the body of
during the Jubilee year, as
Jewish News
Jewish
oral law recognized
described in our Torah por-
that in order for Judaism
tion this week.
to remain vital in their day, it must
Many Americans also recognize
be
able to address contemporary
this verse as the inscription on the
issues
far removed in time from giv-
Liberty Bell, which has long been
ing
of
the Torah at Sinai. Indeed, the
considered a symbol of cherished
rabbis
recognized that it is not
American values.
change
that threatens Judaism.
American history books tell us
.
In
their
day, as in ours, the threat
that "The Old State House Bell," as
to Judaism was embodied in the
moribund refusal to consider the
changing context of our lives and to
adapt our lives Jewishly and within
the framework of our tradition.
Just as the concept of liberty was
broadened during the first years of
America's independence, so too does
Judaism's approach to a living Torah
— a written and an oral tradition —
testify to Judaism's ability to present
a valid and broadening framework
for Jewish living in a changing
world.

Shabbat Behar-
Bechukotai:
Leviticus 25:1-27:34;
Jeremiah 16.19-17:14.

T

Dr. Gerald Schoeder,

world-renowned nuclear physicist, lecturer, and author of three best -selling
books on science and religion (Genesis And The Big Bang, The Science of God,
The Hidden Face of God), will present a talk at
the. Aish Center in downtown Birmingham on May 5,

Sunday, May 5, 2002
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And you shall proclaim
liberty throughout the land
to all the inhabitants
thereof (Leviticus 25:8)

Daniel S. Gale is spiritual leader of
Temple Beth Israel in Bay City.

Conversations

How do changes in our modern
lives affect desires to live accord-
ing to Halachah (Jewish Law)?
What do mitzvot do for the
actor and the recipient? In what
way is the reward of a particular
mitzvah the opportunity to relate
to God?

,o.a.Atuziavagagama

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