Brooklyn, New York 5749.
Copyright (C) 1988 The Inner Foundation
Reprinted from Connections Magazine
with permission

A Vision of Peace and Unity
by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach

Thank G-d, the religions are getting together more and more,
people are getting together. And I don't mean to make gefilte
fish out of religions, which, sadly enough, hurts me a little bit.
Some people think, let's make a gefilte fish out of all religions;
everybody put a spoon in, and let's make a new soup. This is not
what I am talking about. What's happening in the world is that
everybody really wants to know: What do you think? What do you
believe in?

It doesn't mean that I have to change. If I see that somebody else
has a beautiful nose, it doesn't mean that I have to take off his
nose to put it on my face. He has his nose and I have my nose. I'm
just looking at his nose and seeing that it is beautiful. You know,
people have to realize that basically every religion is a revalation
of G-d. All I can ask is, let me know a little bit of what G-d is
revealing to you. But I have to do what G-d is revealing to me,
because if I cut myself off from my own revelation, than again
I'm not living up to G-d.

We need something that G-d will reveal to all mankind, beyond
everything in the world, deeper than any previous revelation,
something so deep and so holy. I think the world is getting ready
for it.

There is a very strong teaching from one of the new age holy
Rabbis, Reb Zadok haCohen. Although he lived one hundred fifty
years ago, he was ahead of his time by a few hundred years. He
was most probably the greatest, or one of the greatest scholars
and kabbalists in the history of the Jewish people. He had only
fifty followers, because his teachings were so deep, that if you
didn't know every word of the kabbalistic teachings by heart,
you just didn't know what he was talking about. He said something
like this:

"The world says that the world is getting less and less religious,
but I say, on the contrary, the souls of people are becoming more
and more refined. Maybe on the outside it looks like they are
breaking away from G-d, but on the inside, they are getting
closer and closer."

There is a teaching of Rav Kuk: the religions of the world
will relate to each other on three levels. Sadly
enough in the beginning all the religions were fighting with
each other. Nebekh. In the next level, all the religions are coming
together, and try to be one. This is a higher level, but not the
highest level. Imagine if we all looked alike, thought alike
and sounded alike. The world would be a most boring place
in which to live, since there would be nothing to learn from
another person. So Rav Kuk says something gevalt, there is
a third level. When Moshiach comes, every religion in the world will
begin to accept the differences and uniqueness of the other religions.
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Why does the Torah portion of the Ten Commandments begin with
the story of Yitro? Because until we understand and welcome
back other spiritual seekers, we aren't yet ready to receive the Torah
for ourselves.

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