The prayer - and the word "one" - were integral to the Reb's beliefs. One, as in the singular god. One, as in the God's creation, Adam.
"Ask yourself, 'Why did the God create but one man?'" the Reb said, wagging a finger. "Why, if he meant for there to be faiths bickering with each other, didn't he create that from the start? He created trees, right? Not one tree, countless trees. Why not the same with man?"
"Because we are all from that one man - and all from that one God. That's the message."
Then, why, I asked, is the world so fractured?
"Well, you can look at it this way. Would you want the world to look all alike? No. The genius of life is its variety."
"Even in our own faith, we have questions and answers, interpretations, debates. In Christianity, in Catholicism, in other faiths, the same thing - debates, interpretations. That is the beauty. It's like being a musician. If you found the note, and you kept hitting that note all the time, you will go nuts. It's the blending of the different notes that makes the music."
The music of what?
"Of believing in something bigger than yourself."
But what if someone from another faith won't recognize yours? Or wants you dead for it?
"That is not faith. That is hate." He sighed. "And if you ask me, God sits up there and cry when that happens."
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