ויקרא פרק כה י וְקִדַּשְתֶּם אֵת שְנַּת הַּחֲמִשִים שָׁנָׁה וּקְרָׁאתֶּם דְרוֹר בָׁאָׁרֶּץ לְכָׁל-ישְבֶּיהָׁ יוֹבֵל הִוא תִהְיֶּה לָׁכֶּם וְשַּבְתֶּם אִיש אֶּל - אֲחֻזָׁתוֹ וְאִיש אֶּל-מִשְפַּחְתוֹ תָׁשֻבוּ
According to Rashi and Rambam (in Yad HaChazakah) the mitzvah to count the years and proclaim Yovel rests with the Sanhedrin HaGadol. However, The Rambam (in Sefer HaMitzvos) this verse teaches that the positive mitzvah to declare the Yovel and the negative mitzvah to refrain from working the land both apply to every Jew. And the plural form of וקדשתם implies according to the latter opinion.
Since the previous verse mentions the command to blow the Shofar on the tenth day of the seventh month (Yom HaKippur) we already know that we are discussing the fiftieth year. What does this verse add by including this phrase? One might think that the laws of Yovel begin on the 10th of the month of Tishrei, therefore the phrase “the fiftieth year” teaches that the Yovel begins on the first day of Tishrei. Thus, Rabbi Yochanan ben Berukah states that on the first of Tishrei slaves are released from bondage but they do not return home yet. They eat, drink and are happy sitting with crowns on their heads for these 9 days. Then on the tenth of the month when the shofar is blown, the slaves returned to their homes and the “accessorial” fields are returned. Plus, the laws of Yovel (not working the land) apply from the first of the month.
דרור is translated as freedom (see Yeshiyahu 61,1). The law applies to Jewish slaves that were sold into servitude, and are now allowed to go out freely without hindrance from their former owners. This freedom occurs even if their term of servitude is not complete (for example, if they are only in the fourth year of a six-year term when Yovel occurs).
Similarly, a certain type of bird is called דרור. This bird was just as free and unworried from their enemies in their home or in the field. Rashi points out that the bird in its home escapes to various corners and is not trapped there.
The law is that when the Yovel is practiced in Eretz Yisrael, it also applies outside of Eretz Yisrael to provide freedom to slaves. Of course, when the Jews are not all in Eretz Yisrael and the Bais HaMikdash is not standing, then this aspect of freedom from slavery does not apply in the land of Israel or outside the land. In reality, this aspect of Yovel only applied during the 410 years of first Bais HaMikdash.
Baal Turim points out that the numeric value of דרור is 410.
The Liberty Bell
A chime that changed the world occurred on July 8, 1776, when the Liberty Bell rang out from the tower of Independence Hall summoning citizens to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.
The Pennsylvania Assembly ordered the Bell in 1751 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges.
Penn's charter, Pennsylvania's original Constitution, speaks of the rights and freedoms valued by people the world over. Particularly forward thinking were Penn's ideas on religious freedom, his liberal stance on Native American rights, and his inclusion of citizens in enacting laws.
As it was to commemorate the Charter's golden anniversary, the quotation "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," from Leviticus 25:10, was particularly apt. For the portion of the verse immediately preceding "proclaim liberty" is, "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year." What better way to pay homage to Penn and hallow the 50th year than with a bell proclaiming liberty?
