We are not just a united nation. We are a nation of one, so interconnected that we are like a single person.

Wait. Is that not discriminatory? Are we really saying that Jews are different from everyone else? The Torah itself seems to raise precisely this question. Two laws in this week’s Torah portion distinguish between Jews and non-Jews.

The Lost Item The first is the Mitzvah to return a lost item (Deuteronomy 22:1). We are required to return a fellow Jew’s lost property, but this Mitzvah does not extend to non-Jews. Many find this discriminatory.

The first answer is reciprocity. Non-Jews are not obligated to return our lost items; for them, doing so is optional. Therefore, we are not obligated to return theirs; for us, doing so is optional. In other words, there is no obligation without reciprocity.

That explains the distinction, but it does not yet explain our oneness. There is a deeper reason. This Mitzvah cultivates the awareness that we are one family with one Father in Heaven. We are expected to care about another Jew’s property as we care about our own (Rabbenu Bachye Ad Loc.).

We cannot be expected to treat the entire world as family. Family, by definition, is a closed circle. If everyone were family, the concept would lose its meaning. It is like saying that everyone is your friend: if everyone is your friend, you have no particular friend. The Torah therefore creates special obligations among family members. This mitzvah reminds us that our fellow Jews are family.

Usury The same principles apply to the prohibition against charging interest on a loan (Deuteronomy 23:20). We may charge interest to a non-Jew, but not to a fellow Jew.

Again, there is........

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