On the first day of Shuvuot, the Torah reading was Exodus 19-20 about the divine revelation at Mount Sinai.
Rashi comments on Exodus 19:2 that the Israelites were of one heart before the revelation.
Throughout Judaism, Jewish unity is praised. Is not every nation stronger when it is of one heart? And what makes it easier to be of one heart? The presence of many religions and races or unity and cohesiveness?
In an essay on the famous Hafetz Hayim rabbi, the author writes: “These prohibitions [on libel] may be understood as parts of his attempts to promote unity within the Eastern European Orthodox community…”
