Aguda Achat: Rising Above Differences to Create Lasting Harmony

"Our nation’s success depends only on brotherly love, on connecting as one family.” - Rabbi Shmuel David Luzzatto

When we are united as one, there can be nothing but peace and wholeness. The aspiration for oneness, to become Aguda Achat (one bundle) derives from the highest root of creation, from its very origin.

All states of separation and division between us are triggers to spur us to connect and unite a little tighter. Greater hatred between us and toward us are increasingly being exposed and more sharply announce that now it is time to make great efforts to unite.

It is important to emphasize that unity does not mean that we must think and behave the same way. Rather, it requires our diverse perspectives to be taken into account as parts of a whole and reach an agreement on key points while preserving diversity. If we take various Jewish denominations, as well as unaffiliated Jews as an example, Jewish unity would mean that without changing any customs and without converging into a single denomination, we would unite and learn to appreciate and eventually truly care for each other.

It is like a family in which each member has his or her own unique characteristics, but we rise above our differences and work together to resolve the critical issues in order to guarantee the well-being of the family. In this way, we will intensely feel both our different and often conflicting attributes, as well as the unity that stands above them, and form a more robust, harmonious, and balanced whole. This is the state in which we will not only survive as a people, but flourish and spread that goodness to the world. It is as Rav Kook writes:

“The revealed unity of the moral, spiritual, and intellectual world, along with the material, technical, and social world is expressed in the world through Israel. The skill of the land of Israel is to establish in the world the revelation of this unity, which gives a new face to the entire human culture.” - Rav Avraham Kook, Orot HaKodesh.

Based on the book, “Jewish Self-Hatred: The Enemy Within - An Overview of Jewish Antisemitism ” by Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.