You’re probably familiar with the famous joke that wherever there are two Jews, there are at least three opinions. This is not only true, it is good. After all, this is what makes human beings unique—the ability to think for ourselves and to feel for ourselves.
This is also why it is so difficult for a group of people to agree on anything. Even if they do agree with a general idea, they don’t all feel equally as strongly about it, and that is why some of the people in the group are motivated to act, while others are not.
We see this same concept in the Torah—when the Torah talks about the Jewish people, we are referred to in the plural. Yet, in this week’s Torah portion, Yitro, when the Jewish people are standing at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Torah uses the singular “and (they, as one) dwell(ed) there,” to teach us that when the Jews were ready to receive the Torah, they were united as one, excluding all other times when the Jews gathered, where they are referred to in the plural.
Seemingly, it is the power of the Giving of the Torah that united them!
However, on closer examination we find that when the Egyptians chased the Jews into the sea, they are also referred to in the singular! What united them at the sea?
Perhaps we can propose that it is the Egyptians’ shared mission to destroy the Jewish people that united them.
By this theory, we mean that there are two ways to unite a nation—out of love and out of hate. One is to build and one is to destroy. The choice is ours as to what should unite us. When we come together for a good cause such as wanting to learn what G-d wants from us, we build a unity that lasts. However, if what unites us is just a common enemy, or a desire to destroy, this unity will eventually fade away.
So you may ask yourself, shouldn’t the Jews always be referred to in the singular, when a positive thing brings them together?
G-d wants us to think for ourselves and feel for ourselves, so when we are thinking and debating the reasoning behind the law, or when we are dealing with our emotional commitment, then we are individuals. However, when it comes to practice, to observance, to the core of the Torah itself, we are all united as one.
To look at it another way: Our unity is real, but we come to this unity through many different channels. The Egyptians’ unity, on the other hand, was not real—it was just common hate that brought them together. The lesson for us is that we have a choice. What brings us together? Our common love or our common fear? The choice is ours.
This week’s Torah portion teaches us that G-d gave us a gift—a gift of the Torah, a gift of unity.
Let’s treasure it.