We all need to express our individuality. And yet, when given our autonomy, don’t we want to have what “everyone’s wearing?” Seemingly, we have two opposing forces tugging at us: our need to stand out as individuals vs. our need for belonging.
In fact, too much individuality can often lead to a lack of identity. In our pursuit of individuality, have we forgotten the goal of community?
In Bamidbar, the tribes camped in the wilderness, “Each man by his division with the flag of their father’s house.”
Each tribe had its own leader, own place to camp, color and flag, and its own representative stone on the breastplate worn by the High Priest. Each tribe was allotted its portion in Israel that best suited its vocation, as shepherds, vintners, seafaring merchants, scholars, etc.
Bamidbar is read around the holiday of Shavuot, when the Jewish people received the Torah as “one man, with one heart.” Their communal unity didn’t stop them from having distinct tribal identities.
And perhaps here is the crux of successfully integrating individuality with community.
We all need to feel a sense of belonging to something greater – a people, a community, a way of life. Only when we feel a secure sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves can we really have the freedom to discover our individuality.
But this larger entity must also provide the framework for each of us to strive to become our unique personal best. Because every individual’s uniqueness complements and completes the community.
So, being united “with one heart” doesn’t mean being the same. It means contributing our unique “oneness.”
