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W wrote his own heavily researched piece on the Liberty Bell and its various cracks, despite the best efforts of its makers, Pass and Stow. What he does not mention is that the inscription on the Liberty Bell is a verse from Leviticus 25:10, “You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Ben Franklin suggested that the inscription on the great seal of the United States should be a scene of Moses leading the people out of Egypt. The bald eagle won but the point remains that America is connected to the Hebrew Bible deeply and lovingly. This should be remembered and proclaimed to all those who want to sever our ancestral ties to the Torah.

Q: I watched a Sunday news show during which Governor Shapiro gave a tour to the host that included the Liberty Bell. As I looked at that bell, it suddenly struck me that the most important distinction symbolically is the crack. I didn’t recall if the crack occurred during its first ringing so I looked it up.

The original crack did indeed occur during its first ringing. But I learned something that to me, was even more astounding. After the initial defect occurred, the bell was recast to make the entire bell over with no defect. So here is the rest of the story: The Liberty Bell was first recast twice in 1753 by local Philadelphia metalworkers John Pass and John Stow to repair a defect where the original 1752 London-cast bell cracked on its first test ring. [1, 2] The bell's history of cracks and repair attempts breaks down as follows:

• 1753 Recasting: After the initial test-stroke cracked the original London-made bell, Pass and Stow melted it down and recast it twice (modifying the copper/tin alloy) until it was finally hung in the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in June 1753. [1, 2]

• The 1846 Repair: Decades later, another hairline fracture developed. On Feb. 23, 1846, while ringing in honor of George Washington's birthday, the bell cracked beyond repair. [1, 2, 3]

• The "Stop Drilling": In an attempt to fix it and restore the bell's tone, metalworkers widened the thin crack in 1846 using a technique called "stop drilling" and inserted metal rivets. This attempt failed, developing a second crack extending upward through the word "Liberty" and rendering the bell unringable forever. [1, 2] Today, the iconic zigzag fracture you see on display at the Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia is largely the result of that attempted 1846 repair. [1, 2]

So, there you have it! As hard as they tried, multiple times to make it to perfection, it stubbornly refused. Splitting right through the word liberty! I see this as a message from God! A warning to us all. That bell is speaking directly to us. Liberty is fragile. It can never be taken for granted. We can try in our human frailty to recast it, change the metallic composition thinking we can simply change that message by altering the makeup of liberty. But that bell, particularly the crack, reminds us that liberty can so easily be broken, a truth we cannot deny and have to finally stop trying to change, and give into the message it sends. It also reminds us that we as a country and as a democracy are not perfect and never can or think we can be. It tells us that we and anyone in the world is flawed and imperfect.

We love our country these 250 years in spite of and just maybe even more by embracing our imperfections in our history, not by hiding them. – (From W)

A: Thank you, dear W, for your impressive reflections about the frailties of liberty. I agree that American liberty is always in need of celebration and correction. Most notably the failure of the Founders to address the sin of slavery and the massacre of native peoples reminds us that the work of liberty is never done. You should also remember, dear W, that the verse in Leviticus on the bell is a commandment for a jubilee 50th year that involved the cancellation of debts and the freeing of bond servants. It is highly unlikely that the terms of the jubilee were ever fulfilled, but here again, it is the aspirations of freedom not its perfect implementation that matters most.

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available.)

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