In 1974, a new apparition began to make its appearance in the streets of Manhattan. Even in that hubbub of crowd and clamor, this strange vehicle attracted attention. It was a standard van of the “U-Haul” or “Ryder” variety. It’s back door was rolled up, showing a cargo of one large wooden table, two wooden benches, and a dozen young men with beards and black hats. From a loudspeaker taped to its roof issued forth a medley of Chassidic songs played on high volume—that is, high enough to make itself heard above the din of a Manhattan street corner. Large posters taped to the sides of the moving van proclaimed: “MITZVAH TANK”, “Teffilin on board” and “Mitzvot On The Spot For People On The Go.”
Esau
said, “I have a lot.”
Jacob
said, “I have all.” As in “all I need.”
Esau
had a family of six. They were called “six souls.”
Plural.
Jacob
had a family of seventy. They were called “seventy soul.” Singular.
Esau
lived in a granular, tossed-together, fragmented world in which he collected a
lot of things and many people. A noisy world.
Jacob
lived in a universe, a singular whole, in which all he encountered was only
another manifestation of an essential oneness. Wherever he was, he had
everything.
And
you? Do you have many things? Or do you have much light? Maamar Hechaltzu 5659, chapter 3.
