"One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born."
Antoine de Saint Exupery [who THOUGHT of that name??!]
SWEETEST FRIENDS - HELLO!!!
AHHHHHH UNITY! BROTHERHOOD!! SISTERHOOD!! [I always wanted to be a member of the shul's sisterhood. Seems like soooo much fun. But they always discriminate against me based on gender difference. So is life. Men will generally earn higher salaries but don't get accepted to sisterhoods and are often told to stay out of the kitchen because besides not knowing what they are doing in there - they also make a big mess.]
What a beautiful idea! Or is it?? "All of the earth was of one language and of common speech.... They said let us make a town and tower whose top is in the heavens and let us make a name for ourselves" [Noach 11, 1-4]. Same language, same speech. A language is more than the sound of words. A launguage reflects a weltanschauung [Ehrman uses fancy german word!!], a world view, a culture. They were indeed unified but G-d was less than enthused about their ideas. Self aggrandizement, ego enhancement and selfish immersion in personal empowerment are not qualities that the Good Lord advocates. So he was compelled [so to speak] to confuse their language and disperse them around the earth [11, 7-8].
But sweetest friends - they had the right idea. The prophetic vision of the end of days is quite similar. "For then I will turn the nations to speaking a pure language, so that they will all proclaim the name of Hashem, to worship Him with a united voice" [Tzephania 3, 9]. One unified language. But the language is not about "making a name for ourself" but making a name for Hashem. Togetherness not for selfish purposes but in order to worship the Source of all good.
Yankee fans feels unity when the Yanks win a big game. Look at them give each other "goyishe yashar koachs" [known as "high fives"]. Movie buffs feel unity when sitting in the theater and watching their favorite actors pretend to be somebody they are not [aren't we all actors sometimes..].
Let's unite around something real - G-d! Let's speak the same language of morals, kindness, love, compassion and joy.
And let us all have a Shabbos of BLISS!!
LOVE AND BLESSINGS!!!
