The Unity of the Jewish People: One Man with One Heart at Sinai

Rabbi Zweig opens by establishing the principle of "ein mikra yotzei mided pshuto"—that all levels of Torah (תורה) interpretation, even the most esoteric, must ultimately be rooted in and elucidate the plain meaning of the text. He then focuses on a seemingly minor grammatical point in Parshas Yisro: when the Jewish people camped at Sinai, the Torah uses the singular verb "vayichan" (and he camped) rather than the expected plural "vayachanu" (and they camped). Rashi (רש"י) explains this singular form indicates the nation became unified "ki ish echad b'leiv echad"—as one man with one heart. Rabbi Zweig notes that the Avnei Nezer, one of pre-World War I Europe's greatest rabbis, observed that Rashi reverses this formulation when describing Egypt's pursuit at the Red Sea. There too, the Torah uses a collective singular ("u'Mitzrayim nosea achareihem"), but Rashi explains it as "b'leiv echad ki ish echad"—with one heart as one man. The Avnei Nezer suggests this reflects a fundamental difference: the Jewish people's unity is rooted in being one extended family ("one man"), which then shares a common purpose ("one heart"), while other nations unite around shared ideology or purpose ("one heart") which then makes them act as one entity ("one man").