The Oneness with God: Kol Nidrei 5786. Kol Shalom, 2025

During Rosh Hashanah we spoke about Oneness.

We began with the Oneness of the Jewish People, and what I 

believe we must emphasize in our education: a deep sense of 

Belonging.

On the first morning, we spoke about Oneness within the 

Community, and the essential work of trying to stay together, 

listening to one another even in our differences—especially in 

these polarized times, and here, in this corner of the world where 

we Jews are so few.

On the second morning, we spoke of the Oneness that, without a 

doubt, antisemites have perceived from time immemorial until 

today, and how we must remain united in order to confront it.

And now we come to Yom Kippur, to this sacred night of Kol Nidrei, 

where we have been training our hearts to become more sensitive, 

more open, more compassionate, more loving. We take the Torah 

scrolls from the Ark and join with our Jewish brothers and sisters 

around the world, and with our ancestors through all generations, 

in a moment that transcends space and time and carries us into a 

more elevated dimension.

It is in this moment that I sense—even if I do not fully understand—

the Oneness of God: Adonai Echad

It is a cry against polytheism. Against the idea that alongside God 

we build for ourselves other gods—of metal, of paper, of 

technology, or of fantasy.

Yet to return to the One is to re-center our lives, to understand 

what is truly at the core of existence and at the heart of our 

purpose. Everything else is secondary, accidental.

Together with this, we understand oneness also as uniqueness—

something that is essentially different, incomparable. And so, we 

sing: Mi Chamocha—Who is like You?

Adonai is One, and Adonai is Unique.

To monotheism we add Judaism’s distinctive element: the founding 

idea that belief in a single God is necessarily tied to ethical 

behavior. We are called to fulfill the commandments that reflect 

what this One and Unique God expects of human beings: Avinu 

Malkeinu—with the love and tenderness of a parent toward their 

children, and with the determination and authority of a sovereign 

toward their citizens.

There were already inklings of monotheism in Abraham’s 

Mesopotamia and in Moses’ Egypt, but never before were those 

ideas necessarily bound to ethics and the practice of goodness as 

their natural conclusion.

Yom Kippur confronts us with our fragility and vulnerability in 

relation to all that we cannot control, cannot dominate, and do not 

even fully understand. And it opens before us the path of faith and 

hope.

But Yom Kippur is not only about becoming more aware of God.

I believe it is primarily about becoming more aware of ourselves.

The Torah tells us that the first human being—the prototype of all 

humankind—was created B’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. 

This means that what should occupy us is not only God’s oneness 

and uniqueness, but our own oneness and uniqueness as well.

Who am I?

What do I want from my life?

Where do I seek meaning?

Where do I discover myself as more fully human?

Achdut—the unity of the self—begins with integrity. Not the kind 

that forbids us to ever change our mind, but rather the kind that 

allows us to seek ourselves with authenticity in each moment. 

It means, being honest with ourselves, with God as our witness. 

It means, being willing to change if our soul discovers a truth that 

was hidden, concealed, or simply not yet revealed.

It means, being fully ourselves—even if it makes us different, even 

if it is not popular—and courageous, despite the vertigo of a 

journey full of trials and challenges.

It is about drawing closer to our own unity through the constant 

and unending pursuit of the values, ideals, and dreams that make 

us proud to be Jews. It is about holding on to those values, even 

when we are tested, even when we are pushed to the very edge of 

our morality, simply in order to survive.

Allow me to clarify: I do not believe that being Jewish is the only 

path to being truly human. But it is our path. It is our way of 

reaching Oneness.

Living and surviving are not the same thing—and what we seek is to 

live. U’vacharta Ba’chaim—choose life—the Torah commands us.

We must not cease to be who we are, who we have always been 

since ancient times. Any change we make should aim toward that—

to return home, to come closer to our root, to our core.

Jewish mysticism speaks of five levels of the soul:

Nefesh is the physical and psychological life-force we share with 

animals.

Ruach is the emotional life-force of our feelings.

Neshamah is the life-force of pure reason.

Chayah is the awareness of unity with all that surrounds us.

And Yechidah, which means “Oneness,” is our union with God.

The Chasidim called this “D´vekut”, being “glued” with God.

The Oneness of God leads us to the Oneness of our being, and 

perhaps to the messianic vision of a cosmic oneness, where we all 

are part of a single body in evolution.

I know this sounds utopian, but this is what the Prophets of Israel 

envisioned. This is what our Rabbis and Teachers worked toward—

the day when the wolf and the lamb shall dwell together in peace, 

and the lion and the wild beasts shall eat grass side by side. The day 

when Oneness leads us to the long-awaited peace.

Even when reality is far from that prophetic ideal—even then, as 

has happened throughout our history—we must never stop 

dreaming this dream, the dream that kept us strong and resilient 

through the centuries.

I pray that we may recognize the oneness and uniqueness of God.

That we may understand that this recognition must necessarily lead 

us to a life of morality, justice, and compassion.

That we may seek our own inner unity through constant and daily 

spiritual work.

And that we may never lose the dream of Oneness that has 

characterized our People from its very beginnings until this very 

Day.

May our fasting give us a hunger for freedom, justice, and peace.

May our repentance give us the courage to truly be.

May our deeds inscribe and seal us in the Book of Life, of blessing, 

and of Shalom.