What does the second-largest world religion in the U.S. (by number of resident followers) think about Unity?
All world religions teach the importance of avoiding contention and becoming united, just in different ways. This week, we examine Judaism.
The Hebrew Bible provides notable variations that convey even more instructions than the Holy Bible regarding the importance of unity. For example, Genesis 1:31 in the Hebrew Tanakh states: “And the Almighty saw that everything He had made was working in harmony and unity, bearing witness to His unity, and He considered it very good.” This enhances the Old Testament account, which states only: “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” In addition, Genesis 49:1 in the Tanakh says: “And Jacob called his sons, and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, so that unity may prevail among you, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come.’” This adds to the Old Testament record, which states: “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.’”
A number of prominent Jewish leaders have expressed the importance of seeking unity and avoiding disharmony and contention. For example, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Henry Sacks, English Orthodox rabbi and author who served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991-2013, opined that “Biblical monotheism is not the idea that there is one God and therefore one truth, one faith, one way of life. On the contrary, it is the idea that unity creates healthy diversity.”
Rav Kook, considered by many as the greatest Jewish thinker in the last 200 years, powerfully stated: “The building of the nation and the revealing of its spirit is one and the same, and is all connected with the building of the world, which has crumbled, and is eagerly awaiting the power of unity.”
Hopefully, more and more of us will await and pursue the power of unity in the “United” States.
Next week: a closer look at teachings about Unity in Islam.
