Weekly Torah Portion

Many people, myself included, struggle with the idea of conforming. Yet there is a misguided view that by adhering to the Torah and its Mitzvot we lose our sense of individuality since, after all, we are all doing the same thing. How do we find our uniqueness – and honor it – while simultaneously living within a structured lifestyle?

Though on the outside our actions may closely resemble each other, it is incumbent upon us to set our own unique intention. During services, the synagogue is full of people saying the same words at the same time, taking the same three steps forwards and backwards, and bowing in unison. However, each person is struggling with, requesting, and thanking for different things. Each one is hoping for answers and blessings that are unique to their own circumstances.

In this week’s portion we read that for 12 consecutive days the princes of each Jewish tribe brought an offering, each one on a different day. They each brought the same exact offering, but instead of describing the offering once and saying “This is what they all brought,” concisely summing up what everyone contributed, the Torah lists each one separately with identical details. This seems to be contradictory to the principle that there is not a single wasted word in the Torah’s text.

Although superficially each tribal offering appeared identical, each was unique in its intention. For example, each one brought a silver basin weighing 70 shekels. But for one group, the number 70 represented the 70 people that went to Egypt with Yaakov. For another it symbolized the age of Avraham at the time of the Covenant he made with G-d.

We can see the idea of thriving within a shared structure when we consider sports. In every sport there are rules and regulations that each player must abide by. When players play on their own terms and use performance enhancing drugs or deflate their balls for an advantage, fans of the game are disappointed. The whole point is to see what athletes can achieve within the rules and with their unique skill set.

The same is true in Judaism. G-d has given us the rulebook not to infringe on our unique expression but to set a structure in which our abilities and strengths can be explored and brought to fruition. Torah and Mitzvot are meant to lead us on a journey of self-discovery, which by its very definition makes it individualized.

The last mitzvah in the Torah charges each of us to write our own Torah scroll. Symbolically, we must each foster our own authentic relationship with G-d and His Torah. Rabbi Shraga Simmons quotes Rabbi Shlomo Luria (16th century) and gives his own analogy:

“Each Jew possesses a particular spiritual conduit, through which he channels Torah understanding in a way that relates to his unique soul. Just like stations on a radio dial: We all share the same circuitry, but the tune is different.”

-Message based on Individuality within Structure by Rabbi Shraga Simmons (Aish.com).