Individual and The Whole
Limonim Forest
Limited edition of 18
“One should direct his or her thoughts and desires towards the greater good: others, the nation, and the entire world. And (paradoxically) through this, one will come to know one’s own individual essence”
\- Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
Being within the tranquil trees of the forest, listening to the wind humming through the leaves, I reflect on the relationship of the individual to the whole as Rabbi Kook relates above. As he explains, the more that the individual connects himself to the whole, the more that individual feels complete. Each tree on its own is made special due to its contribution to the entirety of the forest. How much more so is this reflected in the forest within the Land of Israel, the Land which comes to reveal Unity to the world. Israel comes to remind us that we are connected to one another and all that is around us. At the same time, we each make a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the entirety of existence.
