Is It Naïve to Believe Humanity Can Ever Be One?

Is it naïve to hope that, after thousands of years of discord and division, our people will one day live together in peace and harmony?

Look at the world around us: distrust, animosity, and violence have become the prevailing state of affairs. 

On the one hand, history reminds us how elusive peace has been. Yet at the same time, there endures a deep, innate human yearning for it. So is there reason to believe that one day our people and the world around us will stand united as one. 

Let’s try to analyze the hurdles!

First, there is a natural tendency across the religious spectrum to point fingers at others. Many of us feel superior to those who do not share our views.

Secondly, as human beings, we tend to operate from a self-oriented perspective. We are naturally conditioned to see the world through a self-centered lens, biased toward our own interests, and unable to fully appreciate the concerns and needs of others.

It is precisely this hurdle that Hillel addressed when he was asked to teach the Torah while standing on one foot: ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to others. This is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary.’

But how can the entire Torah—with all its rituals and commandments between man and G-d—be seen as mere commentary on how we are meant to feel toward and treat one another?

It may be said that the teachings of Chassidus are devoted to illuminating Hillel’s saying - for within it lies the ultimate purpose of creation.

The human being is a fusion of body and soul, and within this duality lies the source of all tension: self-centeredness versus idealism, ‘me’ versus ‘you.’ Life becomes either a zero-sum struggle or a pursuit of the greater good, where all can ultimately win.

Chassidic teachings serve as a manual for shifting from a body-centered state of being to a soul-centered one.

As we come to understand - and begin to experience - that our true identity is the spiritual energy animating us and all of existence, the sense of separateness loses its grip.

Gradually, we enter a higher dimension of consciousness, where we feel a deeper connection and alignment with others.

It is only through the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chassidic movement, as elucidated by the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad, that we can navigate the journey to discovering our true identity.

Indeed, all of Torah is commentary on the soul’s journey—from a body-centric state of mind to a soul-centric one—until it is revealed that all of humanity is, in truth, one.

Dedicated to the Baal Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe—luminaries whose birthdays we marked yesterday, on the 18th of Elul