Weekly Thought

אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם רָאשֵׁיכֶם שִׁבְטֵיכֶם זִקְנֵיכֶם וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם . . . מֵחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ עַד שֹׁאֵב מֵימֶיךָ: (דברים כט:ט–י)
[Moses said to the Jewish people,] “You are all standing today before G‑d . . . the leaders of your tribes, your elders, your sheriffs . . . from your woodcutters to your water drawers.” Deuteronomy 29:9-10
How can we truly unite? After all, some of us are “leaders” while others are “water drawers” and the like. What could Jews of such a wide spectrum social standing possibly have in common?

The answer to this is threefold: First, who is to say who is ultimately higher on the ladder of achievement? Appearances can be deceiving, and we tend to over-evaluate ourselves while under-evaluating others. Second, even if we have evaluated ourselves correctly, just because we excel in one particular aspect of life does not mean that there are not other aspects of life in which others exceed us. Everyone is a leader in some way; therefore, our collective success depends on every Jew’s unique contribution.

Third, the difference between the Creator and any creature is infinite. Realizing our own puniness relative to G‑d’s absolute reality eliminates any feelings of superiority we may have over other people.

When we consider these three perspectives, we can truly stand together, united, not only with feelings of love toward each other but with behavior that testifies to the truth of these feelings.

- One Plus One