True unity

While living in a polarized world, especially when it comes to politics, it is essential that we feel close to our family, friends, and community. This feeling of unity makes us feel whole again. However, it can be very challenging to be with others who hold differing world views and still experience positive feelings. This could be why we see that many circles of friends are becoming tighter with likeminded people. Is that true unity?

In this week’s Torah portion of Devarim, we learn about cities of refuge. These six cities offered refuge for anyone who inadvertently killed another person. These cities were known to be safe cities. The question is asked, did we really have so many criminals that a whole city is needed to place them? Why not just place them at a campsite, or in a town at the most?? Why a whole city? Or better put, can we really fill a whole city with people who killed others inadvertently?

Not to worry. The Torah tells us that a city of refuge was filled with ordinary citizens, and even Kohanim and Levi’im—the priests and the Levites who served in the Temple—lived with them, creating a large harmonies city.

There is a profound lesson here that applies in today’s world. Instead of isolating this specific type of person, we are mixing him in with others who are not only ordinary people, but also leaders of Israel. Since the goal is not to punish but to uplift, we want to take a broken person and make them whole again.

If we just cluster people who are alike with each other, we will remain fragmented, not only as a nation but individually. True unity and wholesomeness come when we spend time with people who are not exactly like us.

Let us unite, and in the spirit of unity, let no person or country have the ability to break us.

Shabbat Shalom,