Olam Malei – An Entire World…

God made you entirely unique, and no one else was created for the special role that you have in the overarching plan of Almighty God… Jewish tradition says that God created Adam alone as “olam malei” (עוֹלָם מָלֵא), “an entire world,” to teach that each individual is of great value and significance. “Thus anyone who sustains one individual has sustained the world; and anyone who destroys one individual has destroyed an entire world” (Sanhedrin 37a). In addition, God created man as a solitary creation to remind us that all people descend from a common source: No one has a greater or better lineage or “pedigree” than anyone else. Moreover, each of us is created with a radical sense of “aloneness,” a built in “hunger” for relationship and especially for God’s presence.

Therefore the very first commandment to Adam and Eve comes in the form of a blessing: “And God blessed them (וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם) and said, פְּרוּ וּרְבו / pe’ru ur’vu: “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28). This teaches us that people were created to be in fellowship with others and with God, but when this is lacking, there is a profound soul hunger and need…