When commissioning the bell that later came to symbolize American independence from the British crown, the speaker of the Pennsylvania colonial legislature directed that it bear an inscription taken from the book of Leviticus. In the King James Bible translation, it said, "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the
Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof."
The passage comes from this week's double-Torah portion, B'har-Behukotai (Leviticus 25:1-27:34). It refers to the Jubilee Year -- coming every 50 years -- in which all people can return to their ancestral homes and undoing the accumulated inequalities arising from a half-century
of buying, selling, producing and trading.
Scholars question whether the ancient Israelites or Jews ever followed these laws. Whether the did or not, the Jubilee reflects a critique of the extremes of poverty and wealth in those times.
Please
join Nafshenu's weekly Bible study to look at the Jubilee and other teachings on economic justice. The Zoom link is: bit.ly/NafTorah. -- Rabbi David
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The festival of Shavuot is two weeks away. It marks the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. A fun holiday custom is eating
dairy foods -- like cheese cake and ice cream! Nafshenu's Shavuot observances are Thursday-Friday nights (May 21-22). WE'RE STILL TWEAKING DETAILS, SO LOOK FOR AN ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW.
