The Maharal of Prague, the great rabbi who is well known for making a Golem, says in his sefer Gevurat Hashem, that the reason Hashem chose the Jewish people to be His is that, “Because God is One, He chose a nation that is also one.”
What an unbelievable line. We are considered a nation that is united.
We say Atah Echad V’Shimcha Echad, God is One and His name is One, and Mi K’Amcha Yisrael/ Who is like the Jewish people, Goy Echad B’Aretz, One nation
That is why we chose the Korban Pesach, and there are beautiful lessons in it:
-It was roasted as a whole sheep on the spit. They took a whole sheep, put a long pole made of pomegranate wood through it, and roasted it like we make shawarma on a rotisserie. It was whole in order to send the message that the Jewish people are united.
-The sheep had to be one year old (not two), in order to symbolize the singularity of the Jewish nation.
-It was small, and quotes the Midrash in Vayikrah that says “The Jewish people are compared to a sheep.”
-About the sheep it is said, “If one limb hurts, the whole sheep hurts. It’s not exactly clear why this is true for a sheep more than any other animal, but it indicates unity.
- The sheep is often referred to as “Seh Tamim/Complete, one.
-It’s prepared by roasting.
When you cook something, it falls into pieces, but when it’s roasted, it’s the opposite. It comes together, which, again, indicates the unity of the Jewish people.
-Finally, the Maharal adds a bitachon point as well. We eat the Pesach, and then we have a sandwich of Matzot and Maror, in order to remember the way they did it in the Bet HaMikdash with Hillel. The sheep represents the Jewish people, the Matzah is the symbol that we were freed (we were rushed out) and the Maror represents the bad times. We want to show that both the Matzah and the maror come from one God. Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokenu Hashem Echad. The good and the bad both come from one God.
So, in that Pesach sandwich, we are saying that there is one God, and one Jewish people.
And God dwells in one Jewish nation.
That is why we need to work on achdut/unity.
The more we are a singular, unified nation, the more God dwells in us.
Have a wonderful day.