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I saw this letter from R’ Eisenman, from Passaic, recently. I think it’s worth sharing:
Lately there has been much fan-fare about achdus, unity, which many have claiming has prevailed amongst us over the summer and during the tragedies which befell us.
There are those who have been very self-congratulatory in their assessment of their perceived manifestations of communal unity over the past two months.
However, before the back slapping gets out of hand and before heads swell to messianic proportions, perhaps a proper a more careful and accurate analyses of the situation is needed.
We should first focus on what exactly is unity?
The dictionary defines unity as:
1. The state of being one; oneness.
2. A whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.
3. The state or fact of being united or combined into one, as of the parts of a whole; unification.
4. Absence of diversity; unvaried or uniform character.
5. Oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement.
However, that only covers the last two of the five definitions.
What about the first three?
1. The state of being one; oneness.
2. A whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.
3. The state or fact of being united or combined into one, as of the parts of a whole; unification.
Is that enough to be considered as being one?
I presented this question to three individuals whom I respect.
All three were in agreement that none felt that the demonstration of tefillah was indicative of any meaningful metamorphosis with regard to the status of unity or disunity Vis a Vis Klal Yisroel.
Nor did they feel that the communal praying signified anything more than a temporary response to the tragedy of the moment and certainly not an indication of any movement toward reconciliation or greater unity amongst the community.
There are 60,000 people who are on their feet cheering and clapping.
Everyone is dancing and hugging; strangers are embracing.
Is that Achdus?
Is the fact that 60,000 are moved by the moment considered Achdus?
No, it is not.
What then is it?
The moment the game ended, everyone boarded the subway and went home; never to see or to interact with the person they hugged and danced with just one hour before!
So too, in the realm of the tragic; we were moved (as we should have been) by the horrific abduction of the three boys.
We were moved to daven for them as we were when he heard that Ahron Sofer went missing.
We responded the way caring Jews responded, we davened and we gave Tzedoka.
No one is changing their hat or their dress; Chassidim did not join Dati-Leumi yeshivas and Kippa Sruga wearers did not run to purchase Shtreimlach.
Was there caring and compassion? Yes for sure!
Was there communal concern and prayer? Indeed!
Is all that positive? Of course!
That I highly question.
What then is Achdus?
Here I must give credit where credit is due and I publicly thank Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz for a most inspirational article he wrote in Elul of 5770 (Friday, August 13, 2010).
In the article Rav Lipschutz prepares us for Rosh Hashanah by brilliantly stating:
We need to live for others. We need to become involved with the klal, doing things that we do not necessarily enjoy, even performing acts that we may think are beneath our dignity. The more people need us, the more sunshine and happiness we bring into the world and spread around, the more reason there is for Hashem to keep us here.
And then Rav Lipschutz defines the true meaning of Achdus:
The challenge of achdus is to subordinate your selfish inclinations and conquer your hubris so that you can work with others for the common good.
We talk about Achdus while in reality everyone one of us is sure we have the correct path and the other person and/or community is either just plain wrong (at best) or heretical (at worst)!
As Rav Lipschutz goes on to state:
Achdus is not achieved by responding properly to common tragedies (although it is a start).
Yes, we did merit seeing a small step toward Achdus over the summer; however as Rav Moshe Wolfson Shlita pointed out:
If we really want to take the small window of Achdus which was opened just a crack this summer and capitalize on it, we must force the window wide open with real and concrete steps of meaningful togetherness and unity between Jewish groups.
What steps should this Achdus take?
How should it manifest itself?
That is a difficult question.
Yoeli and Steven were an unlikely pair.
Yoeli lived in Williamsburg and worked as a plant manager for a factory near Passaic.
Steven was a stock broker who lived in Passaic.
Yoeli began to daven at my Shul when he realized that if he left before 6 AM he could avoid traffic.
One day he was looking for a place to sit, Steven informed him that the seat next to him was free.
After a month of davening near each other Yoeli asked Steve if they could learn together.
Steven readily agreed and soon the sounds of Torah were being heard from the corner of the Beis Medrash.
As the months went by, through the sweetness of Torah, the two were fast becoming good friends; and that is when they approached me.
I looked at the Yoeli with his Yiddish accented English; and I looked at Steven with his Ivy League command of the language and I thought about their wonderful friendship.
They both readily agreed.
Fast forward to just before Yom Kippur.
They are both excited. Yoeli never realized the depth of thought of Rav Soloveitchik and Steven never knew how great a Talmid Chochom the Satmar Rebbe was!
I arrived and was treated to a wonderful meal filled with achdus and kinship.
However, I was never prepared for what happened at the end of the Siyum.
Yoeli announced that he had purchased a special gift for Steven.
Simultaneously, Steven announced he too had a present for Yoeli.
As Steven opened his gift he saw that Yoeli had given him a framed portrait of the Satmar Rebbe.
And as Yoeli opened his, he received a framed picture of Rav Soloveitchik.
Each one of them beamed as they lovingly held up their newly discovered Gadol picture.
Suddenly Yoeli took his portrait of Rav Soloveitchik and affectionately placed on a shelf right next to the Satmar Rebbe.
And as we all watched in silence as Yoeli set the picture in its place, the footsteps of Mashiach could be heard coming just a little bit closer.
Did this story really happen?
Could it really happen?
Or is it a fantastical fairy tale?
My friends, the answer to this question is ready and waiting for you in your heart; you just have to want to find it.
I think the message in R’ Eisenman’s letter is very clear. Do I need to say anything else?
I’m not sure we should be defining “achdus” according to Webster.
Comparing fans celebrating the Yankees winning to klal Yisroel davening for someone? Sorry, he lost me there.
I do agree that davening for those boys together didn’t suddenly solve our achdus issues, but I think he misses an important point, from which maybe we can build toward more achdus.
Klal Yisroel inherently is one – ????? ???????? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ???. Our unity in tefillah should be a reminder of this fact, that despite our differences, we are still on the same “team”.
His implied suggestion that all or at least some of us should concede our deeply held beliefs for the sake of achdus is not something I think is reasonable or correct.
What we can and should do the next time we encounter someone with whom we may disagree, even passionately, is realize that despite those differences, we would still stop to change a flat tire, and still offer heartfelt tefillos in an eis tzara, lo aleinu. Because despite different approaches, we are one, and despite disagreement, we love each other.
DY +1
DY +1
Why is his comparison so far off? His point was that it wasn’t real achdus, it was a large group sharing a common emotional event.
Because Yankees fans care nothing about each other; they have a shared interest. Sports fandom is an aspect of human nature, competitiveness, channeled to shtusim vahavalim, in the form of vicariously feeling victorious when a random group of athletes defeats another random group of athletes. Yankees fans happen to root for the same random group of athletes.
The shared tefillos of klal Yisroel, however come from ahavas Yisroel, which despite often being buried too deeply under layers of disagreement and misunderstanding, emerges in an eis tzarah. It comes from genuine achdus.
Of course, one can choose to view our unity at that time as a product of competitiveness, and say that we wouldn’t be nearly as concerned about them had it not been “us” (Yidden) vs. “them” (Hamas).
That would be an extraordinarily cynical perspective, though, and I don’t think Suri Feldman or Caleb Jacoby would agree to it.
As for our deeply held beliefs, he’s not suggesting that you give them up.
I disagree. I think the manifestation of achdus described would require a change in hashkafah.
All he’s saying is that we should recognize and respect other opinions, even if we don’t hold of them ourselves. There are 70 different paths all leading to the same place. Let’s recognize the different opinions as the different paths.
And what if one’s hashkafos are that a particular different set of hashkafos are not valid? Is one required, for achdus, to change that hashkafah? Again, I assert that it’s not a reasonable or correct assertion.
What I see as a proper manifestation of achdus is showing mutual respect and love for each other as individuals, as fellow members of klal Yisroel.
DY,
+1 & +1
The article DaMo posted left me puzzled and more than a little uncomfortable.
Your posts, in contrast, are completely on the mark.
You need to have them published and distributed widely, LeChovod Elul.
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