Unity in a Diverse World

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

In Parashas Vayechi, Yaakov Avinu summons his sons to bless them before he dies. The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 98:3) states that before he blessed them, Yaakov asked an enigmatic question: “Do any of you have a machlokes (dispute) with Hashem?”

The brothers replied, “Hear, Yisrael, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One.” The Midrash concludes that from that day on, the Jewish people maintained the custom of affirming their belief in Hashem aloud each morning and evening.

What was Yaakov’s question, though? Could he really have suspected that his sons had a machlokes with Hashem? Each of his sons was righteous and rich in the knowledge of Hashem. What flaw in their emunah could have been troubling him?

The mussar sefarim (books of Jewish ethics) teach that belief in Hashem’s existence is easy. It is much easier to accept that the world was brought into existence by an infinite, all-powerful Being than to believe that a finite universe willed itself into existence. However, the concept of Hashem’s Unity is much more difficult to comprehend, even for the most observant investigator of creation.

Belief that Hashem oversees every action in our universe, big or small, is a great challenge. When we observe the world, we do not necessarily see the harmony, as if all is being guided by One Creator. In fact, we see an awesome display of diversity. The world has multiple systems—the weather, electricity, technology, plant and animal life, etc.—and many seem to be at odds with each other. It takes a good deal of effort to be able to see and understand that all worldly phenomena are part of one master plan, from One G-d, with one goal for creation.

Moreover, things seem to run by themselves. Medicinal treatment seems to follow a cause-and-effect pattern independent of Hashem. In business as well, at times it can seem that it is we who are earning money, instead of Hashem providing us with an income. Belief in Hashem’s Unity means knowing that everything comes from One Source, and nothing has its own power.

This is the pillar of faith that Yaakov wanted to make sure his sons understood. Did they truly relate to everything in their lives as coming directly from Hashem, or did they attribute power to something besides Him, G-d forbid? This is what he meant when he asked if the brothers had any machlokes with Hashem. To attribute success or failure to entities separate from Hashem, even only subconsciously, is tantamount to denying the essence of Hashem altogether. Our challenge is to see Hashem’s Hand in everything and to consciously attribute every event in our lives to Him.

How can we do this? We can start by reflecting on open miracles. We should review Jewish history: Hashem took us out of Egypt and provided for us throughout the entire period of the Prophets. He enabled our nation’s miraculous survival in all generations, against hopeless odds, in countries scattered all over the globe. By reviewing these events regularly, we will eventually come to appreciate that Hashem is behind all occurences, even those that occur regularly according to the laws that He has established (known as nature).

This idea is spelled out in the Ramban’s famous comment at the end of Parashas Bo: “From the obvious miracles, a person will come to recognize the hidden miracles. . . . One has no portion in the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu unless he believes that all our affairs and occurrences are miracles—without any trace of ‘nature’ or ‘normal functioning of the world.’”

There is a famous story of how Rav Chaim of Volozhin tried to return an estranged young man to his Jewish heritage. During their discussion, Rav Chaim delved into the subject of Hashem’s Unity. He explained that nothing in this world has inherent power—even the laws of nature are just an extension of Hashem’s will. Theoretically, Rav Chaim declared, Hashem could cancel these rules as well.

This comment didn’t sit well with the young man. He countered that if he would slam a glass cup onto a table, the glass would break, whether Hashem willed it or not. Rav Chaim possessed ruach haKodesh, and he sensed that Hashem was willing to accept the young man’s challenge in this particular case in order to demonstrate the eternal truth before his very eyes.

“Try to break it,” Rav Chaim said, smiling.

The young man, unperturbed by Rav Chaim’s certainty, chuckled as he took hold of the cup and brought it sharply down against the table. Nothing happened.

“Oh, I just didn’t hit it hard enough,” said the young man, somewhat embarrassed.

Raising the cup high, he hurled it at the table with all his might. The cup bounced off the table and landed on the floor, intact.

The young man took a hard rock and slammed it on the cup, but still, nothing happened.

“You see?” said Rav Chaim. “The entire universe is in the Hands of Hashem.”

May we be zocheh to recognize Hashem’s Unity in the world!

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