Noach: Unity within Diversity - Ari Abramowitz: The Land of Israel Fellowship

shalom my friends jeremy and i started our journey together because of our love for hashem and for israel and we wanted to share the truth and the beauty of israel with the world i tell you that we started this journey 17 years ago but that would make me feel like an old man the first group we spoke to were christians who had such a thirst to connect to israel the jewish people and the jewish roots of their own faith that they booked us up and welcomed us to their communities around the world to hear our message and then more and more jewish communities started inviting us out as well and those encounters were of course very different but that's for another time i remember early on one christian man told me that there was one thing in particular that he admired so much about jews he said he found it fascinating how jews are able to tolerate disagreement with each other so well even on fundamentals it was when my friend eric who is a dominican friar and a catholic priest invited me to his monastery that i understood what he was talking about i went into their central library and it was silent there were people there reading but you could hear a pin drop this could not be more different than what it's like in the yeshivas that i grew up in try for yourself walk into a yeshiva and you'll be immediately overwhelmed with the noise often what appears to look like yelling and shouting people immersed in debates and arguments you'd think that these people were sworn enemies yet the minute they finish they hug each other and walk out as dear friends proverbs 27 tells us as iron sharpens iron so a man sharpens the wit of his friend the talmud tells us just as the faces of people do not exactly resemble one another so to their opinions do not exactly resemble one another as well as we've as we've discussed before ethics of our fathers tells us that an argument for the sake of heaven will last forever not that it will be resolved it will last forever that when you're immersed in a debate not to win or for your own ego but in order to arrive at a truth well that's a beautiful thing that's for the sake of heaven and such a debate will live on forever it reminds me of the scene in fiddler on the roof when tevye is listening to a debate between two rabbis after one rabbi makes his statement tevye says you're right the second rabbi offers an opposing argument tevye looks at him and says you're right too and a third rabbi who's listening to the whole thing turns to tevye and says wait a minute they can't both be right and you and what does tevye say you know you are right too and so jews have a different understanding of the multi-dimensional complexity of truth you could often hear one idea from me and then a totally different even seemingly contradictory idea from jeremy and yet they can both be true how can such a thing be well an example i like to give that doesn't fully do it justice but it would be that of a toddler who's about to stick her little finger in an electrical socket her father comes along and hits her hand away from the perspective of the toddler that's painful and cruel and strict judgment but from the father's perspective it's from a place of love and caring so which is correct there they both are just depends on the perspective and the dimension seeing the torah through jewish eyes can sometimes be challenging but it's often the difference between between seeing something in 2d and 3d in two dimensions in three dimensions anyways as we see in this week's torah portion we read about the tower of babel before god mixed up the languages the world wasn't only unified but uniform it was only due to the dispersal of mankind to different places around the world and speaking different languages that mankind was able to develop the diversity of language and culture faith and ideas that we have in the world today the desire and the coercion for everybody to be exactly the same as each other to be vilified if they see things differently or have different opinions that's what the tower of babel was about rav yakubun again teaches the words of the native that the tower of babel was like a watchtower that enforces uniformity of thought from up in the tower the enforcers could see everyone and prevent people from moving too far away to a place that they would be able to to think differently to live differently to be different god doesn't want this he doesn't want a world in which everyone is exactly the same he wants us to be unique individuals who are able to authentically manifest our individuality and our unique identities and so the tower of babel was a way that mankind wanted to prevent humanity from spreading out and developing their own unique ways it was to be the big brother that ever-present eye constantly patrolling and ensuring that everyone marched in line that is not the world hashem desires jeremy and i have a beloved friend and teacher named rabbi mordechai zeller and mordechai's father was the beloved rabbi david zeller he was a gentle righteous man a musician and a teacher who jeremy is credited many times to the fact that he's a religious god-conscious jew today so before passing away rabbi zeller wrote a book about his journey through different faiths and cultures which led him to being a rabbi in the hills of judea this is what he wrote when i was on stage singing and teaching about jewish mysticism and meditation swami vishnu chimed in oh rabbi this is just like we teach in yoga philosophy you see we really are all one and all teachings are here in yoga i replied no swami we are not all one we're all different we're all part of one greater whole but that whole depends on each part fulfilling its separate function unity in diversity in kabbalah we learned that the human body is a metaphor for the world my body is whole and healthy because each separate organ and system is doing its task in harmony with the others each religion each people each culture is like an organ in the body of humankind but for all humanity to be truly whole and harmonious each part must fulfill its mission while recognizing the essential importance of all the others each people is chosen to be the organ that it is with its particular purpose for the good of the whole world today we suffer a lot from religions that say this is the only way and everyone must be like us and accept our way we must accept and nurture our differences for the good of the whole if we explore the language of no boundaries and all being one in the medical journals we'll find it is the description of cancer there are no distinctions no boundaries no borders all is one but it is cancer and the system will die from that oneness rabbi zeller again the torah itself shares the truth that a unity which denies differences will not only fail to redeem the world but it will bring about its destruction yet there's a balance before one can encounter the world and contend with different cultures and perspectives and faiths you need to have a basic understanding of who you are your distinct culture your heritage and it's only when we gain a thorough understanding of ourselves that you can encounter the diversity of opinions and faith in the in the world it's only then that we can be at peace with our neighbors and this is essentially one of the primary reasons i believe there's so much jew hatred in the world as one of the primary causes of hatred of so many nations against the jewish people and so many of our arab neighbors have against israel and the jewish people because so many of us don't have a deep understanding of our own identity and what it is to be a jew and that is such a fundamental part of the mission jeremy and i are doing out here in establishing the spiritual center on this holy mountain on the judean frontier when jews from around the world encounter this place their indigenous homeland their hearts and souls open up in a way to connect to the essence of their very own jewish souls and their jewish identities and only then can we open our hearts to share light and love with so many holy christians and other non-jews who are brave enough to search for truth in unexpected places and so god opens up their hearts and souls to be able to encounter the god of israel in a new way an expansive way and connect with the nation of israel in the deepest of ways hashem there's so much conflict in the world there's so much strife and just as in the days of the tower of babel people are coming together and to try and control others and make them conform coming together to play god themselves hashem shine your light from israel and illuminate the world from judea with your holy torah so all of mankind can love each other and respect each other not despite our differences but because of them shalom my friends thank you my name is ari and i live here on the edge of the judean frontier and just as the prophets foretold the mountains of judah are coming to life the in-gathering of the exiles is taking place right before our eyes the dead language of hebrew has been revived and the final prophecy is manifesting before our eyes as the righteous of the nations are coming together with humble hearts here in the land of israel fellowship we come together every single sunday live in person over zoom to connect to the secrets of the hebrew language the secrets of the torah of the bible and connect with each other because in the end of the day it's the friendships and the relationships that are bringing us together because we have one thing in common our fear and our love for the god of israel and now i'm inviting you to join us along with hundreds of jewish and christian families from all around the world to experience the beauty and the holiness and the magnificence of our fellowship so click below and get the first five sessions for free as well as joining us on our next session so you can taste the beauty and the holiness that is happening on this mountain