Tolerance is the “willingness to accept the existence of opinions or behaviour that one dislikes
or disagrees with”. Over the past few weeks I have been lucky enough to gain exposure to a
multiplicity of viewpoints which has provoked a few thoughts which I would like to share
with you.
Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated the festival of Sukkot. This festival is renowned as the
‘universal festival’. I believe that there are three aspects of Sukkot which explain why it has
earned this title.
(1) In Temple times, 70 offerings were sacrificed during Sukkot. The Gemara (Sukkah 55)
explains that these sacrifices were brought for the merit of the 70 nations of the world.
The Sages stress that Sukkot has a universal element which is absent in the other
festivals. Pesach emphasises our success of leaving Egypt and Shavuot focuses on our
acceptance of the Torah, but Sukkot alone stresses universalism.
(2) Secondly, when we sit in our Sukkot, we are urged to invite ‘Ushpeizim’ (guests).
Maimonides states in the Mishnah Torah, (Laws of the Festivals) that; “One who locks
the doors of his courtyard and does not feed the poor and the embittered soul – this is
not the joy of a mitzvah, but the joy of his belly”. Therefore, we are further stressing
that this festival is not about ourselves, it is about inclusion of others.
(3) Finally, the Arba Minim (four species which we hold together and shake during Sukkot)
serve to exemplify the notion that we need to gather multiple elements/people to fulfil
the commandments of G-d. Each of the species represents an organ; the lulav is the
spine, the Etrog is the heart, the Aravot are the lips and the Hadasim represent the eyes.
Individually, these species are not operative. We need all four to fulfil the Torah
commandment. I believe that this idea can be applied to our society today, in an age of
polarisation and an erosion of the middle ground, the lessons we learn on Sukkot of
bringing different things together to create a harmonious synthesis, have never been
more important.
The Arba Minim as an exemplar of togetherness was one of the key themes in this year’s
Under One Roof Project - an annual event held around the time of Yoni Jesner’s Yahrzeit to remember Yoni and his values, and quite simply, to celebrate his life…
During Sukkot, my Yeshiva organised a night of learning with various other Yeshivot. In one
room there were boys who were Non-Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Charedi and Chassidic –
a different type of ‘Arba Minim’ you could say!!! All under one roof and bound together by a
mutual respect for one another and excitement to engage with Judaism. I couldn’t help but
think that ‘to tolerate is not enough.’ Yoni said we all need to “learn from those around” us.
Even if one of those groups may not agree with the ideals of the other group, there is always
something that we can learn from each other. To tolerate the people around you is not
enough, it is too superficial, because if you just tolerate you close down an array of ideas
which may be beneficial to you. If you allow yourself to embrace and learn, you have the
chance to become a more well-rounded individual.
I was lucky enough to go on a Tiyul to Eilat with worldwide Bnei Akiva. We were there with
people from Australia, South Africa, Israel and South America. The opportunity to mix with
people who live on the other side of the globe was truly special. We had intriguing
discussions about philosophy, Judaism and Israel. Once again, there were people from
different backgrounds, some less religious and some more religious. What bound us
together were our mutual values of Torah, Avodah and passion for Israel. It taught me again
that in life we can find ourselves in different situations with different people. What is
important is to find the common ground, but to stay true to your values because if we didn’t
stay true to our values, the concept of values would cease to exist.
Finally, I had the privilege of going to the Under One Roof Event in Tel Aviv, sharing a
moving and memorable night with Yoni’s close family and friends. I was not fortunate
enough to have met Yoni, however, what I took out of that evening was that his legacy is
certainly living on. Through his friends, his family and the incredible work the Foundation
does, Yoni’s values are spreading. The evening in Tel Aviv taught me more about Yoni,
through the stories, the Torah and speaking to his friends. I believe that we need to take the
message of Sukkot along with the theme of the Under One Roof Project and internalise
them to make sure that we don’t just tolerate people, we embrace them and make sure
that we learn something from them.
Thank you for reading
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