The Joys of Monotheism
When we realize that we have one G-d who is our Creator and Provider, we feel a kinship that makes us feel that we are part of one family. And even though family members often feud and can be just as fractious as total strangers, there is obviously a natural propensity to feel connected to a close relative. Belief in one G-d does not preclude division; it simply puts our relationships with one another in perspective.
Jacob’s Seventy Soul versus Esau’s Six Souls
When the Torah records the number of Jacob’s progeny that entered Egypt it uses the singular form for souls: “shivim nefesh-seventy soul.” By contrast, when the Torah listed just six of Esau’s progeny it employs the plural form of “souls.” Rashi, citing a Midrashic interpretation offers the following explanation:
Jacob’s progeny worshiped one G-d, they are thus referred to in the singular; Esau’s progeny by contrast worshipped many gods, therefore they are referred to in the plural.
This interpretation calls for further clarification. Granted that Jacob’s family members were monotheists and Esau’s were not, but what has that to do with the way they are counted? A large family is still a large family and a small family is still a small family. Shouldn’t the language of the Biblical text reflect that fact? In other words, what does their belief system have to do with the way they are characterized?
Theology of Monotheism
There are three ways we can look at monotheism vs. polytheism, and appreciate why the Torah considered the former to be so superior an approach over the latter. The first is theological, or the way we relate to G-d. The second is sociological, or the way we relate to others. And the third is psychological, or the way we relate to ourselves.
From a Theological perspective, polytheism, at the very least, is a most blatant lack of loyalty to G-d. Having more than one G-d is not simply false—for there is only one G- d—it is like adultery. It means that you don’t even have one G-d. For this reason, on the two tablets given to us by G-d, .the commandment not to have other gods parallels the commandment to not commit adultery.
Monotheism: A Sociological Perspective
Sociologically, when we realize that we have one G-d who is our Creator and Provider, we feel a kinship that makes us feel that we are part of one family. And even though family members often feud and can be just as fractious as total strangers, there is obviously a natural propensity to feel connected to a close relative. Belief in one G-d does not preclude division; it simply puts our relationships with one another in perspective.
Moreover, when we have one G-d, our mode of behavior is directed towards serving that one G-d the way He prescribed. The unity of purpose and conduct engendered by the belief in one G-d has the salutary effect of having us share experiences and goals thus further cementing our unity.
The belief in many gods was frequently a worship of oneself. Instead of believing that we were created by G-d in His image, the polytheist creates gods in his many images. The polytheist takes his human passions and projects them on a god. In many instances it was the person’s way of justifying his vices. If he was a bloodthirsty murderer, he can look to the pagan god that symbolized bloodshed. If he was a person with the loosest of morals, he had a convenient god that stood for that.
When a person’s religion is really a means to rationalize and even worship one’s own instincts and vices, there will inevitably be serious clashes between one human being and another. One cannot coexist with others when each one has deified his or her own interests and passions. Inevitably the self-worship is going to lead to serious divisions and undermine the stability of a society.
Belief in one G-d, on the other hand, provides us with the ability to transcend our own selfish interests. This doesn’t mean that we can never follow our interests, needs and desires; it just means that when there is a clash between our desires and G-d’s, G-d’s will prevail. And since our theological foundation is not self-serving, there is more room for people to get along with each other since we are not all egocentrics.
The Psychology of Monotheism
And this unity is also good for our psychological health.
Life is so difficult and hard to cope with to a large extent because of how we are pulled apart and in so many different directions. Furthermore, life is made difficult when we have a hard time dealing with so many conflicting emotions that arise because of the lack of unity in our lives.
When our lives are coordinated and harmonized by a belief that all of what we do leads towards one goal—serving and relating everything we do to one G-d—it instills a comforting sense of harmony in our lives. We are not going in opposite directions for everything leads towards one uplifting goal. Without the sense of fragmentation we can then even enjoy the changes, vicissitudes and variety of experiences in our lives.
Jacob’s children, while they numbered seventy souls, are therefore described as having one soul, because their belief in one G-d affected the way they related to one another and the way they related to themselves. By having many gods, Esau’s children, could not enjoy the benefits of unity in their social and personal lives.
The Shema and Jacob’s Children
We can now also appreciate why—of all the positive things the Torah tells us will occur in the Messianic Age—the one that is highlighted is the fact that all humanity will worship one G-d. It is the belief in one G-d and following in His commandments that will bring the most cherished unity that will bring all the other blessings in its wake.
And it is this unity that was possessed by Jacob and his progeny as they entered Egypt. It was the first time Monotheism was introduced to the world not just as the belief of one or several iconoclastic idealists, but it had become the very nucleus of a nation that will ultimately expose this revolutionary idea to the whole world and pave the way for the Messianic Age.
The seventy souls—or soul in the singular—is said to parallel the seventy nations of the world. With the ideal of unity promulgated by the seventy roots of the Jewish people, all the seventy nations of the world will ultimately come to the realization of one G-d as well.
We can now understand why—according to the Midrash— when Jacob gathered his children before his passing to tell them about the future Messianic Age, something strange occurred; the Divine presence left him and the time for the Messianic Age eluded him. According to the Midrash, Jacob was concerned that perhaps, it was due to his children’s lack of fidelity to Monotheism, the ideal for which he and his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham dedicated their lives. Perhaps, in the few years that his progeny lived in Egypt the ideal of Monotheism with which they entered Egypt had been compromised.
In response to Jacob’s consternation at the possibility that his children had strayed, his sons said to him, “Hear O Israel.” They were addressing their father by his name Israel. “G-d is our G-d, G-d is one.”
There is a tight link that is made here between the Messianic Age and the affirmation of our belief in one G-d. Thus Jacob was concerned that his inability to reveal the date of Moshiach’s coming to his sons implied that they were far from the ideal of Moshiach which is the unity of G–d.
In truth, they were loyal to that belief. The reason G-d removed the information as to when the Moshiach would come was to make them realize that they had their work cut out for them. There would be thousands of years of effort before the entire world would acknowledge and embrace the belief in one G-d.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayigash by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
