In Parshas Yisro, the nation of Israel arrives at the Wilderness of Sinai on Rosh Chodesh Sivan and camps opposite Mt. Sinai. There they spend the next days preparing for Matan Torah (and there they will stay for the next almost-one-year learning many mitzvos, building the Mishkan and preparing for their planned [but ultimately aborted] entry into the Promised Land).

About their encampment at the mountain, the pasuk tells us: וַיִּסְע֣וּ מֵֽרְפִידִ֗ים וַיָּבֹ֨אוּ֙ מִדְבַּ֣ר סִינַ֔י וַיַּֽחֲנ֖וּ בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר וַיִּֽחַן שָׁ֥ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נֶ֥גֶד הָהָֽר - And they journeyed from Refidim, and they arrived in the desert of Sinai, and they encamped in the desert, and Israel encamped there opposite the mountain (Shemos 19:2). Noting an anomaly in this verse - for the verbs are all written in the plural form, except for “וַיִּֽחַן” which is singular and literally means “and he camped” - Rashi, quoting the Sages points out: וַיִּֽחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל. כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד, אֲבָל שְׁאָר כָּל הַחֲנִיּוֹת בְּתַרְעוֹמוֹת וּבְמַחֲלֹקֶת - And Israel encamped there - as one man with one heart, but all the other encampments were with complaints and with strife.

The encampment at Har Sinai was different than all others, for here, they were united. Their unity was so strong that they stood before G-d like one man, with one heart.

In our world torn asunder, when the nations of the world rise up once again to destroy our nation and our Land - may the Almighty have mercy upon us - it behooves us to remember this well-known Rashi. While the greatest protection that Am Yisrael has is the holiness, beauty and wisdom of Torah, ultimately, the Torah can only truly rest when our people are united. While it is true there are Jews of many different hashkafos, dress, language, appearance, countries of dispersion and all across the religious spectrum - and each must stay true to the emes of Torah and masorah as transmitted by his rebbe/rav/teacher - despite differences, we must strive to be united as one nation.

As we come up to the yomtov of Purim, we must remember that to the nations of the world, we are one nation. They do not differentiate between different sects of Jews, and we must take to heart the words of Haman to Achashvairosh, in his request to annihilate the nation:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הָמָן֙ לַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ יֶשְׁנ֣וֹ עַם־אֶחָ֗ד מְפֻזָּ֤ר וּמְפֹרָד֙ בֵּ֣ין הָֽעַמִּ֔ים בְּכֹ֖ל מְדִינ֣וֹת מַלְכוּתֶ֑ךָ וְדָֽתֵיהֶ֞ם שֹׁנ֣וֹת מִכָּל־עָ֗ם וְאֶת־דָּתֵ֤י הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ אֵינָ֣ם עֹשִׂ֔ים וְלַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֵֽין־שֹׁוֶ֖ה לְהַנִּיחָֽם - And Haman said to King Achashvairosh, "There is a one nation scattered and separate among the peoples throughout all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws differ from those of every other nation, and they do not keep the king's laws - and to the king - there is no use to leave them alone” (Esther 3:8). 

Though scattered and dispersed throughout 127 provinces, surely speaking different languages, with different dress, different head coverings, different shuls and different schools… to Haman, we were all one. If Haman knew this to be true (as do his descendants throughout the generations, dayeinu!), should we not know it to be true as well?

We must strive to recognize that it is the koach of Torah that binds us as one - as the nation understood at the foothills of Sinai - and not wait until the Hamans of the world remind us. 

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Rav zt’l, teaches that, “The Jewish people constitute an edah when they are united in acknowledging and loving G-d, and when they have a shared desire to live a sanctified life. In such times they form an edah not because they take pride in their intellectuals, scientific geniuses, or inspired authors. Their edah is distinguished by virtue of its embrace of the prophets, tananim, amoraim, and other holy and heroic people who forged the character of the nation of Israel. When constituting such an edah, the Jewish nation is recognized for its holiness, ethical purity, humility, eternity and nobility of spirit… In such times, Adas Yisrael is bathed in a sea of divine light, an ocean of eternal radiance, from which G-d’s Shechina emerges…

“There are also times when Jews come together as a machaneh - whether out of fear of an Amalek or a Haman, or because it is impossible for them to assimilate. Such is the case in our own time, when our sanctity is diminished, Shabbos is in exile, Jewish family life is under assault, and our past spiritual glory is in tatters. We are bereft of the ancient commitment to spirituality that united us in the past. Today we are forced to invoke intellectual and pragmatic considerations for Jewish solidarity, such as fear of the enemy who despises us, or shared economic interests that often entail a disregard for the mitzvos. But such things by themselves cannot bind our camp together in lasting fashion. Yes, it is true that some of us come together occasionally for the sake of mutual protection, but this has no staying power, for there is no strong group identity. Proof can be found in the dismal failure of American Jewry when it comes to its organizational life. How much ink has been spilled, how much quills have been broken, how much energy and effort expended in attempting to consolidate the Jews in this country into a single entity! It is all to no avail.

“Where there is no shared spiritual vision, fear and trepidation are the only recourse to bring people together. But fear is a negative emotion, utterly incapable of building a lasting unity.  Even though a machaneh might be formed on an emergency basis, its internal divisions will always resurface once the danger has passed. The only unity among Jews that can persist over time is the unity of an edah, which, like a tzibbur or kahal, is characterized not by shared fear or anxiety, but by a collective spiritual goal and purpose” (Chumash Masores HaRav, Vayikra, p.71-72).

Two and a half years after the horrific and terrifying pogrom of October 7th, how powerful, true, unsettling in their reality, and awesome are the words of Rav Soloveitchik. They deserve to be read, and read again. In order for our nation to achieve lasting unity, it must be through the spirituality, holiness and purity of shared Torah goals, as the mamleches kohanim and goy kadosh (cf. Shemos 19:6) that we are destined to be.

May we merit it speedily, in our days and in our time.

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום