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bereshit
Yaakov married four wives, teaching us the importance of achdut.
Hashem described their unifying pilgrimage and praised them as the
“Shevatim of Hashem, a testimony to (the greatness of) Israel.”
Yosef’s brothers hated him, as they thought he was encouraging discord
by relating his dream. Yosef rectified this so-called rift, by using his
sovereignty in Egypt to support them, thus strengthening the national
‘family’ unit.
13 Moshe Rabbeinu understood that the Jews were being punished with
servitude because of their lack of achdut. Yaakov commanded his sons
before he died to preserve that unity.
In the desert, the Jews were encamped around the Shechinah, on all four
sides of the Mishkan, alluding to the four Matriarchs. The title given them,
“the house of Yaakov” alludes to the rooms of a house which function as
one unit and operate as a single whole. This also refers to the womenfolk,
who keep the ‘house of Yaakov’ standing and intact.
The words actually form the acronym , suggesting the twelve
Shevatim. Wherever we find achdut we find the Shechinah resting there.
