Dvar Torah for Parshat Yitro

'[The Israelites replied,] ïAll that God that says we will do and we will listen.'î
Exodus 24:7

What we do affects all of we.

We are a people.
We are a nation.
We were born together.

We suffered together in the Egyptian exile.
We were sick and broken.
We survived the Egyptian exile.

We stood together at the Revelation at Sinai.
We were healed.
We were whole.
We were at peace with ourselves.
We were at peace with each other.
We heard God speak.
We saw God.

We entered our land.
We lived together.
We are now scattered.
We are again in exile.
We are again sick and broken.

We will live together again.

We are still we.
What we do affects all of we.

When intellect is challenged by illusion and intellect wins, one moves upward, closer to God. As one moves upward two things happen. The person above also moves upward and the tzelem Elokim (image of God) becomes more whole. We must lift each other up constantly in this way, fulfilling the mitzvah of loving one's fellow as oneself (Leviticus 19:18) with every challenge we overcome. We have to keep at it till every soul reaches its proper place, the tzelem Elokim completed.

How do we strengthen our intellect so that it can overcome illusion? We do tzedakah v'chesed (charity and kindness) for one another. Rebbe Nachman teaches that intellect shines light on our path in life, allowing us to see things as they are and to avoid pitfalls. Illusion, on the other hand, is a black light, leading us to mistaken identities and conclusions. Why do tzedakah v'chesed dispel the black light of illusion and allow genuine light to illumine?

The color of Jewish money is beautiful because it reflects the light of the sefirot. Jews themselves, collectively and individually, are themselves these sefirot-beautiful colors (see Isaiah 49:3). The beauty and brightness of these colors is brought out only when they highlight one another. When we give charity, lend money and do favors for one another, the colors of our money, of our possessions and of our selves highlight one another. As we break our illusions and climb up a level, God's greatness revealed. As we go up our friends go up and God's greatness is revealed even more.

What we do affects all of we.
We are beautiful.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!