One people, with one heart

This week we read in shul of the Sinai experience — how God appeared before the entire Jewish people assembled at Mount Sinai, proclaimed the Ten Commandments and gave them the Torah. Our Sages teach that when the Jews assembled at Sinai, they gathered “as one person, with one heart.” At that moment, all the Jewish people joined in unity and harmony with one another.

The Hasidic teachers tell us that it was only in the context of that unity, where each person felt themself to be one with everyone else, that it was possible for ordinary human beings — with all our flaws and foibles — to receive the Torah. How could ordinary people hope to express Godliness in every facet of our lives? We all well know how we’re prone to making wrong choices, to being lazy or impatient or irate with others. How could we possibly promise to God that we’d live each day aspiring to holiness?

The answer is that we are indeed limited when we think in terms of ourselves alone. But when we bring others into our lives, when we truly value and genuinely appreciate one another, then our strengths combine with those of our friends and our neighbors, and all the folks we cherish for who they are. As individuals, we could never hope to become God’s people. But when we come together as one, with one heart, then there are no limits to what we can achieve.

Get The Jewish Chronicle Weekly Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

The Talmud tells of the incredible patience displayed by the great sage Hillel the Elder. One day, so the story goes, someone wagered that he could make Hillel angry. It was just before Shabbos and Hillel was preparing for its arrival. The man rushed to Hillel’s home and cried, “Hillel the Elder! Where is Hillel the Elder?” At the time, Hillel was washing himself, but he interrupted his preparations, wrapped himself in his clothes and went to the one who was calling him. “What do you want, my son?” he asked. The man proceeded to ask foolish and nonsensical questions, one after another, and to each one Hillel responded patiently. Finally, the man burst out, “I hope that there are not many more in Israel like you! Because of you I have lost 400 pieces of gold, for I had bet that I could make you angry.”

Hillel replied, “Better that you should lose 400 pieces of gold, and 400 more after that, than it should be said of Hillel that he lost his temper!”

The Hasidic masters said it is no coincidence that this story took place just before Shabbos. For, in fact, this generosity of spirit and forbearance toward others was part of Hillel’s Shabbos preparations. When the Sabbath neared, and Hillel readied himself to experience the day with God, he thought also about how he might bring others into his life. And with that spirit, he felt ready to experience the holiness of the Sabbath. PJC

Rabbi Levi Langer is the dean of the Kollel Jewish Learning Center. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabonim of Greater Pittsburgh.