Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Margolis first served as rabbi in Brestitzki, Poland, and later in Dubno, Poland/Ukraine. He is the author of a digest of halachic responsa written after the publication of the Code of Jewish Law, known as “Shaarei Teshuvah.” This work can be found in the margins of most prints of the Code of Jewish Law.
“Israel camped there by the mountain.” Exodus 19:2.
“They camped like a single person with a single heart.” Rashi ad loc.
We Jews are a diverse people of many minds and opinions, fond of dispute for the sake of heaven. It is a strategy that has stood us well, fostering wisdom and resilience throughout our long history.
Admittedly, at times, the heavenliness may vacate the discussion. That's when anger and rage erupts, tearing us apart into stubborn factions, weakening the integrity of the whole.
Invariably, our enemies take advantage of this rupture with a vicious attack.
But in response to the crisis, we become one again. The rupture is healed, and the enemy is swiftly vanquished.
You might imagine that this phenomenon of unity under duress is a chimera, a mere artifact imposed by external circumstances.
Not so, says Rashi, the wise teacher who teaches Torah to every Jew, tucking precious jewels of wisdom within the cloak of his simple commentary.
When Pharaoh and his entire army came chasing after the Jews as they were entrapped by the Sea of Reeds, the Torah writes only that “Pharaoh approached.” Rashi explains that the Egyptians came with one heart, as though they were a single person.
Note the nuance: First the heart, then the person. Meaning: Their hearts were driven by the same greed, so they acted as a single person.
When the Jewish nation camped before Mount Sinai, the Torah refers to the entire nation in the singular—unlike all other encampments. Rashi explains that they camped there like one person, with one heart.
First the person, then the heart.
We, the Jewish people, are truly a single being. That integral oneness may surface through many means, an unfortunate circumstance being one of them.
But if we want that oneness and harmony of a multitude of parts to last, there is only one way.
When our hearts are open to receive G-d's Torah from wherever it may come, with humility and with joy, only then are we a healthy and whole people.