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ShareEvery person born into this world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique. It is the duty of every person...to know and to consider that he/she is unique in the world in his/her particular character and that there have never been anyone like him/her in the world, for if there had been someone like him/her, there would have been no need for him/her to be in the world. Every single person is a new thing in the world, and is called upon to fulfill his/her particularity in this world...Every person's foremost task is the actualization of his/her unique, unprecedented, never recurring potentialities, and not the repetition that another, and be it even the greatest, already achieved.
To meet a human being is a major challenge to mind and heart. I must recall what I normally forget. A person is not just a specimen of the species called homo sapien. He/she is all humanity in one, and whenever one person is hurt, we are all injured. The human is a disclosure of the Divine, and all people are one in the Divine's care for humanity. Many things on earth are precious, some are holy, humanity if the holy of holies. To meet a human being is an opportunity to sense the image of the Divine. According to rabbinical interpretation, ה said to Moshe: "Wherever you see the trace of humanity, there I stand before you..."
There are two ways of getting other people to do what we want. We can force them: that is the answer of power. Or we can pat them: that is the answer of the market. But neither involved treating other people with dignity and respect...covenant is a third possibility. We create co-operation not by getting you to do what I want, but by joining together in a moral associate that turns You and I into "We." I help you, you help me, because there are things we care about together. Covenant is a binding commitment, entered into by two or more parties, to work and care for one another while respective freedom, integrity and the differences of each.
(א) בֶּן זוֹמָא אוֹמֵר, אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם, הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קיט) מִכָּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי כִּי עֵדְוֹתֶיךָ שִׂיחָה לִּי. אֵיזֶהוּ גִבּוֹר, הַכּוֹבֵשׁ אֶת יִצְרוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי טז) טוֹב אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם מִגִּבּוֹר וּמשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ מִלֹּכֵד עִיר. אֵיזֶהוּ עָשִׁיר, הַשָּׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קכח) יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ כִּי תֹאכֵל אַשְׁרֶיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ. אַשְׁרֶיךָ, בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה. וְטוֹב לָךְ, לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. אֵיזֶהוּ מְכֻבָּד, הַמְכַבֵּד אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמואל א ב) כִּי מְכַבְּדַי אֲכַבֵּד וּבֹזַי יֵקָלּוּ:
(1) Ben Zoma says: Who is the wise one? He who learns from all men, as it says, "I have acquired understanding from all my teachers" (Psalms 119:99). Who is the mighty one? He who conquers his impulse, as it says, "slowness to anger is better than a mighty person and the ruler of his spirit than the conqueror of a city." (Proverbs 16:32). Who is the rich one? He who is happy with his lot, as it says, "When you eat [from] the work of your hands, you will be happy, and it will be well with you" (Psalms 128:2). "You will be happy" in this world, and "it will be well with you" in the world to come. Who is honored? He who honors the created beings, as it says, "For those who honor Me, I will honor; and those who despise Me will be held in little esteem" (I Samuel 2:30).