by Rabbi Daniel Huebner

In this week's Torah portion, we will read about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that G-d struck with fire and sulfur and then overturned. He lifted the foundation of these cities and turned them on their head, crushing their inhabitants. Most people know about Sodom and Gomorrah, but did you know that two more cities were overturned? They were Admah and Zeboiim. But they were just overturned, not burned. And why?

The answer is found in the names of the kings of these cities. The king is the heart of the nation, and names are reflective of our character. Thus, the name of the king reflects the character of the city.

Bera, which means double evil—to G-d and to people—was the king of Sodom. Birsha, which means double wickedness—twice as wicked as Bera—was the king of Gomorrah. Shineab, which means hater of our Father, was the king of Admah. Shemever was the king of Zeboiim. Shemever means to make wings—to fly to Heaven and lead a rebellion.

The upshot is that Sodom and Gomorrah were evil to G-d and to people alike while the other two rebelled against G-d but not against each other. With no unity, there is no path forward for society. Such societies must be eradicated with no trace left. Where there is unity, the fabric of humanity has not been destroyed. These two cities were punished for their sins, but they were not eradicated. Such is the power of unity.

But what is the power of unity? Why is unity so powerful? Our sages tell us that unity is the vessel that holds blessing. We say every day in our prayers, "Bless us, our Father, because we are like one."

Think of different parts of the body. Each has its own unique function. Sometimes these are even contradictory to other parts of the body. But they all have one common goal and are able to work together. They know that they are inherently one and that their unity transcends their very real differences. Despite their differences, they are never "disagreeable" with each other. They always remember that they are one and that their oneness transcends their differences.

The unity of the universe is the one G-d that created it. We all emerged from G-d's creative power. Although He created us differently from each other. We don't look alike or think alike. But that is only surface deep. When we drill down to our essence—our point of origin—we discover our oneness. And we each realize that we could just as easily have emerged with the other person's ideas—the very ideas we can't stand.

This doesn't necessarily mean that we agree with each other. But it does mean that we remember our unity, our brotherhood. We can't stand the thought that we might not be able to put our differences aside and work on common goals just because of our surface disagreements.

Unity introduces G-d to the equation and brings us back to our point of origin—the quintessential point of existence—when everything was one within G-d. With G-d's presence so palpable in our hearts and souls, there can only be blessing. With G-d's presence so palpable within us, differences cease to matter and there can be only love.

Whether or not we deserve it, G-d will surely bless us. Because within the generic point of the universe, there is only blessing, only G-d, and only love. When we love each other, G-d treats us with love.

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Rabbi Daniel and Raizel Huebner moved to San Miguel from New Jersey in 2018 with their family to start Chabad SMA. They enjoy living in San Miguel and integrating with the community through classes, Jewish activities and social events.

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