Love needs to triumph over division

On June 4, the Jewish people around the world begin the celebration of Shavu’ot, the Feast of Weeks, the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. The weeks refer to the counting of the seven weeks from the second day of Passover to the fiftieth day, i.e., the festival, which is why Shavu’ot is called Pentecost, Greek for fiftieth day.

We see then that the Torah emphasizes the lead up and the preparation to the holy day as essential to its observance.

Exodus 19:2 says that the people of Israel, in the plural, camped (vayachanu) in the wilderness of Sinai, and then says “vayichan sham neged hahar” — the people, in the singular, camped opposite the mountain. Noting the difference, the rabbinic Sages derived a beautiful lesson: At first the nation was a group of separate individuals; but when they came to the mountain to receive the Torah, they were like “one person with one heart.” They became unified, as one.

The prerequisite for receiving the Torah was unity!

I believe that this message is important not only for the Jewish people but for all of us.

The last many years has seen a great polarization in our society. Different factions hold on to their positions without listening to the other side. Deep divisions have become entrenched in the media and even among friends and family. Enmity and distrust have infested relationships where previously love and respect pervaded. We sorely need a return to a civil discourse, one in which we remember that what we share must outweigh what divides us.

The recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, underscores the tensions in our country. We need our political leaders to transcend differences to ensure that more tragedies like this one do not occur again.

There was a beautiful custom on Shavu’ot: teachers used to drip honey on the books of their students who would lick off the sweet treat, thereby symbolizing the sweetness of the Torah.

We need to show our children — and our adults, too — that love needs to triumph over division and unity over tragedy.