Torah Thoughts - We are ALL one!

Ki Teitzei 

September 16/17, 2016  Elul 13/14, 5776

We are ALL one!

 In this week's Torah portion, we read about many mitzvahs/commandments- 74 to be exact, and that is more than in any other Torah reading!  We can see that in Hebrew, this is Ayin Dalet, which also stands for ‘ed’ (not pronounced like Mr. Ed or the movie “Ted”).  The two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, Ayin and Dalet are enlarged in the first sentence of the Shema, and together these two letters form the word ‘ed’, which means ‘witness’ or ‘forever’, strongly suggesting that the Shema has the utmost influence on us, day in and day out!   It should be within our souls.

Interestingly, the word ‘echad’ in Hebrew can imply a unity in diversity.  For example, Exodus 26:6 when speaking of the Tabernacle (Mishkan) is to be built so that “it shall be built, so it will be one (echad) tabernacle”.  Moses also references ‘echad’ in Genesis 2:24, “and they (that of man and his wife) shall become one flesh (basar echad) …….”. ONENESS!

   

Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.

The Shema literally states of “ONENESS!”and we may all have different interpretaions, we should have an open heart, with a sincere understanding soul, and an OPEN mind.  We are all different, come in different shapes, sizes, speak different languages……., although our external color and who we choose to be with, may happen to differentiate from our brothers and our sisters next door, or even within our same homes and families.  The separation is rather shocking at times! A human being is just that; a human being, a person with values, a person with hopes and dreams with the capacity of needs, wants, love and affection, and the sincere ability to be able to live in a world of acceptance, of tolerance and that of love!  A Jewish man wearing a kippah is a human being, a black woman with beads in her hair is a human being, an Asian person with blonde hair is a human being, a man that loves another man, or woman that loves another woman is a human being, a person that may speak differently from you is a human being, a person running for political office is a human being,................. and a person who can't afford groceries is a human being…… WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS, AND BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE OF CULTURE, OF LOVE, OF SPIRITUALITY, OF DIFFERENCES, BUT WE ARE ALL ‘ECHAD’, WE ARE ALL ONE!

The mitzvahs/commandments that were given and/or gifted to us, really should be our daily GPS! It’s a map of success and of understanding, tolerance, appreciation on how we SHOULD live; be sensitive to other people’s needs, show sincere gratitude, have respect for all humankind and our surroundings, be kind and understanding to those that may differ from you, and please show an understanding of unity and oneness.