Judaism’s central spiritual, theological and intellectual theme is unity. When we recite the Shema, a prayer almost universally know to Jews from all points of the religious spectrum, we declare that God is One.
The Shema is uttered to children when they are first born and do not know how to speak. It is whispered on deathbeds even by the most secular of Jews. It has almost become a mantra for the Jewish people.
The irony of this is that we, as Jews, are not unified. In reality, our fascination with the concept of oneness stems from the fact that we live fragmented, disconnected lives.
We find ourselves distanced from God, from one another and from the world at large. We are comfortable being one person at our office, another at home and yet another amongst friends. We live our lives in different parts and pieces, struggling – and often failing - to find unification and wholeness.
During the Yomim Noraim (Days of Awe), we are forced to acknowledge the distance we have created by existing as broken, fragmented selves. We fail to behave in accordance with our tradition’s call for oneness, and we fall short of living up to our own expectations of a unified self.
Some may perceive this lack one oneness to be a sin, and in Judaism, a sin creates distance. It creates factions amongst communities, within families, and inside our souls, removing us even further from the Unity we are taught about in the Shema.
The Netivot Shalom (The Slonimer Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Noah Berezovsky, Israel 1911-2000) teaches that the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and including Yom Kippur are one long day and an opportunity for teshuvah (repentence). Teshuvah symbolizes a return to unity; this is a time to look inward and come closer to our true unified self, becoming whole once more.
By doing so, the Netivot Shalom says that “we renew our covenant between ourselves and our future…for this time is capable of creating elemental change allowing human beings to return to their essential selves.”
We all err and we are all fragmented; the human being is inherently broken and shattered. Our spiritual work during this time of year is to reflect on our own lives and ask ourselves: Where have I become distant? In what relationships am I fragmented? Have I been my true self? Do I exhibit unity in the world? Am I drawing close to God’s Oneness?
Rabbi David Wolpe writes, “we create distance when we are afraid, and even more when we are ashamed. Just as sin is a pushing-away, love is a drawing-close. To believe in God’s love is to have faith in the ultimate oneness of the world. For if everything is ultimately one, then all distance, all separation, is temporary.”
“Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.” Let us take advantage this time return to true oneness, and embark as a community on a journey toward wholeness.
Elianna Yolkut is a Conservative Rabbi teaching Torah and celebrating Judaism in New York City. You can reach her at www.keepingkavannah.blogspot.com.
