Weekly Thought

וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּה' אֱלֹקֵיכֶם חַיִּים כֻּלְּכֶם הַיּוֹם: (דברים ד:ד)
[Moses told the Jewish people that in contrast to the rebels among them, who had died out,] “all of you who are alive today are [lovingly] attached to G‑d.” Deuteronomy 4:4
One might think that the more we are devoted to G‑d, the more our personal individuality disappears. The Torah teaches us here that the opposite is true: Our true individuality depends directly upon the depth of our attachment to G‑d. What we normally mistake for our personality is really our secondary, animalistic side. Since we share the same animal drives with the rest of humanity, the personality born of these drives is, at best, a variation on the common theme by which everyone lives. Thus, the apparent individuality of this aspect of our personality is in fact an illusion.

In contrast, since G‑d is infinite, the avenues through which His Divinity can manifest itself through us are also infinite; thus, it is only our Divine personality that makes us truly unique. It follows that the more we allow the animalistic side of our personalities to dissolve as we draw closer to G‑d, the more we allow our unique, Divine personalities to shine forth.

- One Plus One