At the end of sefer Bereshit, we read Ya'akov commanding his children to "gather together" and then to "unify," so that he can reveal the "end of days." Unity is a much bandied about term these days. It has become the singular call amongst many varying camps in Israel, particularly on the eve of elections.
Yet, its meaning is lost. Unity is not equivalent with "being in proximity to"; it is a sublime concept that requires an understanding of both location and destination, an awareness of both reality and the hope. A "unity" of convenience, of trying to garner more votes or out of fear of opposition, breaks apart the moment it becomes inconvenient to stay together, or at least until one of the partners gets a better deal.
True Jewish unity is very well defined, repeated daily, almost as a mantra: "Shm'a Yisrael, HaShem is our God, HaShem is one." Judaism, the nation of Israel, can only find unity, can only be unified, around the Holy One of Blessing.
Our tradition teaches that there are seventy faces of Torah (as in the seventy souls of Ya'akov that descended to Egypt). After we gather together, the Jewish nation needs those seventy faces to unify. This is the framework of the Sanhedrin. Seventy sages, each representing a different face of Torah, gather together in a search for truth. Each one brings his unique perspective, his own understanding of the truth. Today, the half-circle of Sanhedrin rabbis would include Litvaks and Chabadniks, Breslovers and Kookniks, Sefardim and Ashkenazim, Ethiopians and Yemenites, and many others.
Yet, when they sit around the table with those who have come from other backgrounds, they leave all of those labels aside and try and seek the truth together, as scholars and rabbis trying to serve Him. With tools honed from years of learning, they listen to each other and in the end come to a decision together. That decision is the decision of the Sanhedrin - not of the Litvaks, the Sefardim, the Breslovers, the Chabadniks or of any other group, but of the Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin, by design, cannot be subordinate to any one group of Jews or even to an individual, but the opposite. Even the Nasi (president) of the Sanhedrin has one vote. Were the Mashiach ben David revealed to us, he would sit on the council and have but one vote. Because of one's Torah scholarship one's voice might have more influence, but that is because of Torah, not ideology. Torah and ideology don't sit well together.
Following the majority means that there might be a minority that disagrees. Beit Shammai disagreed with Beit Hillel, yet they still interacted and felt comfortable working, even marrying, each other. That's called Torah.
This is true unity. This is the only kind of lasting unity possible for the Jewish people, and it is long overdue.
The "government" sitting in the Land of Israel continues to divide the land and her people. It's time we started turning towards a true vehicle of unity, but not a unity to garner more votes or bigger budget allocations. It's time we came together, unified for the sake of His Name.
Yet, its meaning is lost. Unity is not equivalent with "being in proximity to"; it is a sublime concept that requires an understanding of both location and destination, an awareness of both reality and the hope. A "unity" of convenience, of trying to garner more votes or out of fear of opposition, breaks apart the moment it becomes inconvenient to stay together, or at least until one of the partners gets a better deal.
True Jewish unity is very well defined, repeated daily, almost as a mantra: "Shm'a Yisrael, HaShem is our God, HaShem is one." Judaism, the nation of Israel, can only find unity, can only be unified, around the Holy One of Blessing.
Our tradition teaches that there are seventy faces of Torah (as in the seventy souls of Ya'akov that descended to Egypt). After we gather together, the Jewish nation needs those seventy faces to unify. This is the framework of the Sanhedrin. Seventy sages, each representing a different face of Torah, gather together in a search for truth. Each one brings his unique perspective, his own understanding of the truth. Today, the half-circle of Sanhedrin rabbis would include Litvaks and Chabadniks, Breslovers and Kookniks, Sefardim and Ashkenazim, Ethiopians and Yemenites, and many others.
Yet, when they sit around the table with those who have come from other backgrounds, they leave all of those labels aside and try and seek the truth together, as scholars and rabbis trying to serve Him. With tools honed from years of learning, they listen to each other and in the end come to a decision together. That decision is the decision of the Sanhedrin - not of the Litvaks, the Sefardim, the Breslovers, the Chabadniks or of any other group, but of the Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin, by design, cannot be subordinate to any one group of Jews or even to an individual, but the opposite. Even the Nasi (president) of the Sanhedrin has one vote. Were the Mashiach ben David revealed to us, he would sit on the council and have but one vote. Because of one's Torah scholarship one's voice might have more influence, but that is because of Torah, not ideology. Torah and ideology don't sit well together.
Following the majority means that there might be a minority that disagrees. Beit Shammai disagreed with Beit Hillel, yet they still interacted and felt comfortable working, even marrying, each other. That's called Torah.
This is true unity. This is the only kind of lasting unity possible for the Jewish people, and it is long overdue.
The "government" sitting in the Land of Israel continues to divide the land and her people. It's time we started turning towards a true vehicle of unity, but not a unity to garner more votes or bigger budget allocations. It's time we came together, unified for the sake of His Name.