Rashi cites the Talmud in Chullin 91a which states that the twelve stones began arguing with each other, each urging Yaakov to rest his head upon it. Hashem immediately merged them all into one large stone. The Gerer Rebbe (R.’A.M.), z.l., questions this consolidation. Yaakov could rest his head upon only one area of the stone. He insightfully suggests that when the stones merged, they blended into one stone with such harmony that they were no longer distinguishable from one another. Every aspect of the consolidated stone was a fusion of all the stones together. This is the essence of “achdus,” unity. We should strive for a harmonious blending of personalities, such that as a community we respond as one. Through the undermining of jealousy and other manifestations of intragroup discord, we merit the appreciation of “Who is like Your nation Yisrael, one People in the land…”
