No Missing Stone - Parshat Shoftim

[Music] [Applause] organized religion is one of those phrases that's guaranteed to produce an expression of distaste to those of us who were raised in the western liberal tradition being part of a group smacks of regimentation of a lack of spontaneity to cherish the moment alone with one's Creator in a field on top of a hill under the stars that was real contact with God now don't get me wrong the individual communicating with his creator and the concept of his Buddhists of sequestering ourselves to experience that calm contemplation and communication with God not only finds a place in Judaism but is judaism's bequest to the world but there's another side to Divine worship one that's much maligned and misunderstood that of the cloud of the group the Torah speaks of two kinds of altars a pillar an author made from a single block of stone and an ultimate of Many Stones the Torah forbids using an altar of only one stone now even though in the times of the avode the Patriarchs the single Stone altar was favored even preferred it subsequently became the choice method of idolatry and thus no longer was fitting for the service of God the prophet Elio erected an altar of 12 Stones 12 is the number of the tribes of Israel the altar of 12 Stones symbolizes the unity of the Jewish people in the service of God the clown becoming like one man the stones are separate like individuals they experience their own communication with God but they join together and become the instrument through which man can ultimately serve his creator the avode the forefathers avraham yitzhakanyakov were able to worship Hashem with altars of just one stone for they in embryo were the entire Jewish people but once the Jewish people were born so to speak at Sinai the service of the individual Finds Its ultimate fulfillment in making up the ish erch the one man the one person that Israel the spiritual light that we receive in this world is radiated as a totality to all parts of the creation there is no place that is devoid of hashem's Radiance and thus when we approach our creator it must be as a unified whole joined like the stones of the Altar for there can be no altar even if there is one stone missing [Music]