Jewish Unity

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Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

TANAKH

The commandment to love one's fellow Israelite as oneself is a cornerstone of Jewish ethics, emphasizing the importance of communal harmony and divine authority. The book of Leviticus, the third book of the Torah, outlines this commandment along with various other laws and ethical directives, all unified by the theme of holiness.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love your fellow [Israelite] as yourself: I am יהוה.

Leviticus 19:18

The Value of Minority Opinions

COMMENTARY

The Mishnah includes minority opinions to teach the value of compromise and unity, showing that even great teachers like Shammai and Hillel changed their minds when they realized they were wrong. The Mishnah, compiled around 200 CE, records the teachings and legal opinions of early rabbinic sages, emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives and humility in Jewish legal discourse.

And why do they record the opinions of Shammai and Hillel for naught? To teach the following generations that a man should not [always] persist in his opinion, for behold, the fathers of the world did not persist in their opinion. This mishnah, and the two mishnayoth which we will learn tomorrow ask deep questions about the nature of the Mishnah in its totality. In the previous two mishnayoth we learned statements of Shammai and Hillel that were not accepted as normative law. Indeed, throughout this year of learning we have read and discussed many statements that are not law in our…

English Explanation of Mishnah Eduyot 1:4:2

The Mystical Unity of Lag Ba-Omer

CHASIDUT

The mystical and spiritual dimension of Jewish unity is revealed through the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on Lag Ba-Omer. Lag Ba-Omer, celebrated on the 33rd day of the Omer count, commemorates the life and teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a revered sage and mystic.

The holiday of Lag Ba-Omer, the thirty-third day of the Omer count, is also a time when the light of Yovel appears. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s birthday and Yahrtzeit, day of passing, is Lag Ba-Omer. Rashbi revealed that there was a secret dimension to Torah. Chayah and yechidah are the parts of the soul that correspond to the sod, the secret part of Torah. His revelation caused the hidden part of Jewish souls to be revealed as well. Once the hidden soul emerges, all are united in a fellowship of perfect virtue.

Flames of Faith 18:11

The Temple as a Pillar of Jewish Unity

HALAKHAH

The Temple in Jerusalem was a central institution that fostered national unity among the Jewish people through shared rituals, donations, and pilgrimages. Rabbi Sharon Shalom's work explores the historical and religious significance of the Temple, particularly its role in creating a collective Jewish identity and shared purpose.

According to this understanding, the destruction of the Temple called into question one of the basic foundations of the world. But this does not fully describe the elements of the crisis. We must recall that many mitzvot and traditions, even those that were not dependent on the Temple in their essence, were connected in the public consciousness with the sacrificial ritual. The Temple served as a foundation for the national unity of the Jewish people. Jews from all over the Diaspora sent yearly donations for its continual upkeep…

From Sinai to Ethiopia, Introduction, In the State of Israel; Rebuilding after the Destruction 13

The Interdependence of Jewish Communities

JEWISH THOUGHT

The reciprocal and interdependent relationship between Jewish communities in the Diaspora and the Land of Israel is crucial for the regeneration of Jewish life. Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits, writing during the Holocaust, explores how Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel and the experiences of Jews in the Diaspora mutually contribute to the growth and vitality of the Jewish people.

This division of labour between Galut and Eretz Israel does not imply a strict demarcation line between the two spheres of Jewish existence. For both, Galut and Eretz Israel, will be working out the same problem, each of them different parts of it, and only the contribution of both will provide the whole solution. Eretz Israel and Galut will be cause and effect to each other, and through continuous and reciprocal influence will together direct the way towards Jewish regeneration. The growing Jewish achievements in Eretz Israel will react more and more on the Galut…

Towards Historic Judaism, VII; Galut and Eretz Israel 2:1

The Spiritual Role of Tzaddikim

CHASIDUT

The Tzaddikim play a crucial role in binding souls to their spiritual roots, transcending physicality to achieve a deep, unbreakable connection with G-d. The Ba'al Shem Tov, founder of Hasidic Judaism, teaches about the spiritual elevation of individuals through the guidance of righteous leaders.

The main work of Tzaddikim throughout the generations, such as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his companions, Rabbi Yitzchok Luria, and the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples, was to bind the souls of the Jewish people to their [spiritual] roots, and to remove the partitions and physical desires that separate them [from G-d], so that their souls become bound to their roots, until it becomes impossible to separate them from there. So, too, that they should fear G-d, even in private, and not transgress even the slightest decree of the Rabbis…

Ba'al Shem Tov, Kuntres Meirat Einayim 60:1

The Pursuit of Peace

TALMUD

Aaron the High Priest exemplified the pursuit of peace by actively mediating and resolving conflicts between individuals. Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta, a minor tractate of the Talmud, emphasizes ethical behavior and the value of peace, highlighting Aaron's role in promoting harmony.

Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel said: Great is peace, for Aaron the [High] Priest was praised only for peace; for he loved peace, pursued peace, greeted with the salutation of peace and responded with it, as it is stated, He walked with Me in peace and uprightness. It teaches that when he noticed two persons at enmity one with the other, he used to go first to one of them and say to him, ‘Why do you hate So-and-so? He has already come to my house, prostrated himself before me and said to me, “I sinned against So-and-so”. Go and pacify him’…

Tractate Derekh Eretz Zuta, Section on Peace 18

Unity Through Atonement

HALAKHAH

The collective experience of Yom Kippur, especially the Kohen Gadol's entry into the Kodesh Ha-kodashim, unites the community in purity and atonement. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s contemporary work, Peninei Halakhah, explores the spiritual and legal aspects of Yom Kippur, emphasizing the role of unity in the process of repentance and redemption.

Only the Jewish people collectively can connect to God’s hanhaga of unification, since this hanhaga operates in the world through klal Yisrael, in that all their troubles and suffering cultivates and reveals additional principles of the Torah. However, this is an incomprehensible secret, which is revealed gradually, over the course of time. Therefore, only on the holy and awe-filled day of Yom Kippur, when the Jews abstain from melakha and detach from everything related to this world – eating, drinking, washing, applying cream, wearing shoes…

Peninei Halakhah, Days of Awe 10:2:5

Strength in Prayer Together

GUIDES

Communal prayer integrates individuals into the broader community, making each person feel and be recognized as part of a larger, all-encompassing world. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, a modern Jewish scholar, explores the significance of communal prayer in fostering Jewish unity.

Furthermore, the very fact that prayer is, in its essence, communal, makes the person an integral member of the community at large. Each individual considers himself and is considered by those around him as belonging to a broad, all-encompassing world.

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot, Introduction to Berakhot 12

The Power of Unity

REFERENCE

Peace is so crucial that the Israelites were only able to receive the Torah when they were united in peace at Mount Sinai. Gershom Bader's early 20th-century work emphasizes the importance of seeking out peace and unity among the Jewish people.

“Most important of all is peace. All the commandments a man must observe if they are at hand. When one meets with a situation, he must act in a certain manner, but if he does not meet with it, he is absolved. But where peace is concerned one must go out of his way to seek for it. The value of peace is so great that the Bible refers to all the wanderings of the children of Israel in the desert in the plural (ויסעו ויחנו) because they travelled in discord and they rested in discord…

The Jewish Spiritual Heroes, Volume II; The Amoraim of Palestine and the Jerusalem Talmud, Jehudah and Ezekiah, the Sons of Rabbi Chiya 10

The Divine Expectation of Mutual Love and Honor

MUSAR

The Blessed Creator rejoices in the good of the children of Israel and grieves in their suffering, emphasizing the divine expectation of mutual love and honor among them. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan’s Shemirat HaLashon underscores the ethical and halachic importance of avoiding negative speech and fostering unity and respect.

So is it exactly with the Blessed Creator vis-à-vis the children of Israel, His holy people. For they are like sons to Him, as it is written (Devarim 14:1) "You are sons to the L-rd your G-d." And He rejoices in their good and grieves in their cries and in their shame (viz. Sanhedrin 46a). And this one [the friend] goes, in the eyes of the Father, whose glory fills all the world and shames His son before people to no purpose. What pleasure has He from this? And Rambam (Deoth 6:3) has adduced a principle in respect to the mitzvah of "And you should love your friend as yourself…

Shemirat HaLashon, Book I, The Gate of Discerning 5:6

The Source of Jewish Unity

SECOND TEMPLE

The unity and mutual attachment of the Jewish people are deeply rooted in their monotheistic belief in a single God. Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, explores how this belief fosters an indissoluble bond among the Jewish community.

[35] They sent for the most exquisitely beautiful among their women and said to them, “You see how unlimited is the number of the Hebrews, but their number is not so dangerous and menacing a weapon as their unanimity and mutual attachment. And the highest and greatest source of this unanimity is their creed of a single God, through which, as from a fountain, they feel a love for each other, uniting them in an indissoluble bond.

On the Virtues 7:2

A Declaration of Unity

LITURGY

The personal acceptance and commitment to the commandment of loving one's fellow Jew is a cornerstone of Jewish unity. This declaration, recited upon entering the synagogue, serves as a powerful reminder of the Jewish value of 'Ahavat Yisrael' (love for fellow Jews) and the importance of communal responsibility.

I hereby accept upon myself the positive commandment to love my fellow Jew.

Siddur Sefard, Upon Arising, Upon Entering Synagogue 2

Relatedראו גם

Mutual Responsibility of the Jewish People

Kindness

Sheetsדפי מקורות

Related Sheets

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