Star of Unity
כוכב האחדות
Similarity
Imagine watching a movie and then realizing that you had watched the second half of the move and that you missed the first part.
How would you feel?
You always wonder what really happened in the first part.
That's how I feel when I read the Hagada for the Passover...
Although the Hagada talks about all the miracles the Creator did for us to save us from slavery and took us out with pride and great hands, it does not tell us how we ended up in Egypt in the first place.
While we show gratitude to the Creator for saving us from slavery, wasn't He the one who did all the planning to move all Jews to Egypt for slavery?
As the Creator told Avraham, "Your children will be slaves for 400 years in Egypt, and then I will save them with miracles."
On one hand, the Creator took us for slavery, and on the other hand, He saved us with great hands and put the burden on us that He saved us?!
What do you call that?
Does that make sense?
Let's be honest...
If the Creator planned to show us miracles, He could have commanded Moses to gather all the Jews in a theater or somewhere and perform all the miracles.
There was no need to be enslaved in Egypt for so many years of suffering.
After all, was slavery the reward the Creator gave to Avraham for passing all of his tests successfully?
So, let's see the first part of the movie in case you missed it.
Similarity attracts...
Every time we humans are looking to get married or find a life partner, a friend, or a business partner, we consciously or unconsciously look for similarity. We give priority to those from the same country, same city, same language, same culture, same lifestyle, same religion, same political view, and so on…
In fact, all 72 nations are in a (cold) war with each other about similarity.
As for religious views, Christians want similarity, Muslims want similarity, Jews want similarity, Hindus want similarity, Buddhists want similarity, and so on…
As for political views, all political parties want similarity: Communism wants similarity, Socialism wants similarity, Democracy wants similarity, the Republican Party wants similarity, the Liberal Party wants similarity, and so on...
The more similarity, the better.
Why?
Because similarity brings closeness and unity, and therefore we want to surround ourselves with people similar to us.
While we humans try to turn others to become similar to us, the creator is laughing at us, saying, "You are all supposed to become similar to me."
But the truth is, how much do we really know about our creator to become similar to Him?
Because if we don’t know or understand Him, how could we possibly become similar to Him?
While there are many things we don’t know about our creator, we do know some facts about Him.
After all, He made a day half dark and half-light.
So, let’s see what is obvious to us.
We often call G-d the creator.
Every morning we open our eyes, the first thing we witness is creation. We see people, animals, trees, buildings, the sun, the moon, stars, and so on…
Yes, He creates.
Is He in the construction business?
He sure is.
He is a builder.
So, who is a true builder?
A true builder is the one whose essence is a builder.
A true builder is also a repairman who will fix what was damaged.
A true builder helps others to also build because again, His essence is constructive.
A true builder won’t let others fall, and He will help them to get back on their feet. He does it because He wants to do it, not because there is a self-interest in it. He is not in business with that person, nor will he expect anything in return. If he does, He has an ulterior motive, which is against his essence. His essence tells him to help, not his self-interest.
A true builder is also a giver. Again, he gives because he wants to, not because there is a self-interest in it. And He gives as much as he can. I am sure if the creator had a refrigerator, it would be empty because He gave us everything He had. Just pay close attention to the number of everything he has given us. He has given us thousands of trees, fruits, nuts, vegetables, animals, birds, sea life, metals, stones, and so on…. He could have simply made a few of each, like a few trees, a few fruits, a few animals, and so on, but there is no end to what He gives.
A true builder always keeps building. He wants continuity. That is why we don’t see an end to the sky. He keeps building, and it’s infinite.
Yes, He keeps giving, and it’s endless/infinite.
A true builder is precise. Just look at nature and see how precise the creation is. Look at the sky and see the natural forces between the earth, sun, moon, and all other stars that keep our universe together. Life is possible because of this level of precision.
These are some of the facts about our creator. Things that we witness in our daily life, and don’t need to ask others about them.
And yes, He wants similarity.
So, how similar are we to Him?
He is not going to become similar to us, because He is the ultimate constructive power.
As our creator and father, He wants to help us become similar to him.
But our status won’t change if we don’t listen or obey Him.
Adam and Eve were the first humans to disobey the creator and brought death to humankind.
So first things first...
The creator wants a role model for humans who goes out of his way to obey Him.
As our father and role model, the Creator found Avraham to be the tree of life.
Avraham went out of his way to serve the creator.
He was tested 10 times to see if he obeys the creator or not.
He successfully passed all his tests and became the seed of many nations only because he was obedient to the creator and followed morality.
The creator did not give a holy book to Avraham to tell his offspring; his kind heart was his book he opened to others.
In other words, you don’t need a book to tell you to be a moral person.
This means your moral behavior toward others is your religion and has priority over any book.
Avraham was fair, honest, and moral. He did not wish for others what he did not wish for himself.
His greatness is remembered after thousands of years.
Because of his greatness and his obedience, the creator told him that his children would be slaves in Egypt.
Say what???
After all the good deeds Avraham did, we don’t expect the creator to give him such a reward.
Is this what he gets for being obedient?
Looking at a bigger picture, the creator in fact did a big favor to Avraham by taking his offspring, the Jews, to Egypt for slavery.
After all, what did they become in Egypt?
Builders.
Because the creator is a builder, He took the Jews to Egypt to force them to become builders too.
Yes, you read that right.
Since the creator is seeking similarity, he planned to make Avraham’s children, the Jews, similar to him.
By forcing them to become builders and constructive, they had to work hard so that being constructive would be in their blood and their nature.
In other words, no pain, no gain, and they had to go through hard work, suffer, and even lose their children to become constructive.
They built the pyramids, and until today, science wonders how thousands of years ago the Jews had such technology or had reached a level no humans have ever reached.
Some people even think the UFOs have been involved, but they are wrong.
The Jews reached the precise level the creator was looking for. That’s when they reached their potential, and the creator took them out of Egypt.
After the Jews spread all over the world, they proved to be constructive. In fact, they boosted the economic growth of any country they stepped into (migrated). Some of the countries, as you may know, are Germany, the United States, France, and England.
This is all because the creator is looking for similarity and planned to take Avraham’s children, the Jews, to Egypt to make them constructive because He is the ultimate constructive power.
He chose the Jews to be the role model for all the nations to become constructive.
— Bahram Cohanfard
