“How good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity (harmony).” (Ps.133:1)
Harmony is one of the most beautiful things that cannot be experienced in isolation. In music, you can sing solo but only a choir can create exquisite blends. So too with the sound of nature and God’s creation. The psalmist declared, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God, And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.” It does so in complete harmony reflecting the character of God.
Heaven contains the most amazing harmonies of which many are yet untold; intricate sounds and melodies of inexpressible beauty that permeates everything in entirety, bathed in waves of love and fountains of joy in living colour that saturate the the profoundest depths of eternity. Heaven is filled with harmonic sounds which extol the living God. Only on one occasion for just a moment was there silence in Heaven. All of Heaven held its breath as the King of Kings was being crucified…
In Gen.43:11, when Jacob sent his children back to Egypt, Joseph was, unbeknown by him, a ruler in Egypt. So he told his sons to bring him some gifts: “take of mizimerat HaAretz (the best fruits of the land) in your kelim (vessels), and carry down a minchah (present), a little balm, and a little devash (honey), nekhot (spices), loht (myrrh), batenim (pistachio nuts), and shekedim (almonds)…”
According to Jewish tradition, Jacob instructed his sons that when they came to Joseph, they must sing and teach him songs from the Homeland. And so, as the story goes, the brothers of Joseph arrived at Egypt on a Friday and were invited by Joseph to a meal in the evening. All of Joseph’s brothers sang beautiful melodies in exquisite harmony that brought Joseph recollections of times past, good times that filled him with such agonising nostalgia that he could bear it no longer and finally revealed to them who he was, their very own brother. And this was how they became reconciled.
We are living in times where there is much chaos and anguish in this world as we prepare for the return of the Lord. This current month of Elul is a period where Jewish people seek forgiveness and reconciliation in order to restore harmony between each other.
Let’s open up our lives to one another and share His love in the beauty of holiness and become the visible expression of true harmony defined.“How good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity.”
