In Judaism, unity is promoted as good. We are told that we should unite as one nation with one heart, that we have a person in this world that we will marry and become one with, each person is a limb in a body, and we need every limb to work, and each Jew is a letter in the Sefer Torah and without one letter it isn’t kosher. Despite all the unity that I mentioned, in Parshat Noach, after the generation of the flood, the Torah tells us of a united people that Hashem scattered because of their unity.
After the generation of the flood, not just a group of people, but the whole world was united. They were united in language and common things. Wouldn’t you think this unity is a good thing? After all, isn’t that what we strive for in Judaism, to be one and be able to work with our fellow Jews around us? Why then would Hashem scatter them so they can no longer be united?
Every Jew is a limb in the body and a letter in the Sefer Torah. What happens if one limb works improperly? What happens if the letter is incorrect in the Torah scroll? This commonality was the problem with the generation that we will call the Tower of Bavel. They each were the same limb and the same letter. They were united in all aspects, including language, and building a tower that was not good in Hashem’s eyes. We strive for unity, but we strive to be different. We strive for everyone to work together and be kind to one another, but we believe everyone has a different purpose. If everyone thinks the same and no one stops someone from doing something wrong because we are united, then you are united in the wrong way.
The unity that Hashem wants us to have and that we Jews strive to have is the unity of our values. The unity of being a people who value Hashem, each other, Torah and mitzvot, and our differences. It is a unity of being a part of something bigger but also acknowledging that I am different and don’t have the same role to play as someone else. May we all merit in being united and knowing our limb, letter or the role that Hashem has allotted for us. May we merit being a generation who does not need to be scattered because we have mastered true unity!
Shira Sedek is a passionate educator at Ramaz Middle School in New York City who loves teaching Torah and inspiring her students.
