Weekly Torah
One and One

When describing the encampment of the Children of Israel by Mount Sinai, the Torah uses a singular term -- vayichan "and he camped." It is explained that although at all other times the Jewish people were racked by division and argument, at this auspicious hour, the giving of the Torah, they stood "as one person of one heart."

This one-ness is tied in with the one-ness of G-d himself. The first two Commandments discuss the belief in One G-d and having no other gods. The Unity of G-d, however, is realized in the material world through the unity of the Jewish people, through the Unity of the Torah. This continues to unify and set apart the Jewish nation and the entire Jewish family, through their bond to the One G-d and the one Torah.