This basic principle is one of the most important understandings a person can grasp in his/her lifetime. Spiritual traditions, religions & science alike all connect at a common point. This is that point. Understanding that all things are inter-connected is one level of understanding; This is commonly known as the butterfly effect and alternatively as karma. "What one gives out, one receives". From this understanding stems the wise "Do unto others what one would want done unto one's self". This can simply be explained as - if one walks into a room with a sour face, one will effect the entire room. We are each both influential and influenced. We are an intrinsic part of the great 'web' of life. After we understand this, we can begin to grasp that which is greater than ourselves. Just as animals, birds, fish and insects have a 'mind' that connects them, so too humans do. A glimpse into this net is even visible and legible via the world-wide web! As we realize our connectivity more and more, it becomes apparent that there is a supra-conscious element to life and to our selves. This Great Consciousness is evidently the G-dhead, Great Spirit, All, One that is written, spoken, sung and danced about the world-over. Various peoples and traditions all reflect the One's great multi-fascetedness. Life is 'thought up' by this Supra-Conscious Oneness i.e. G-d. Not by chance -- It is  perfectly orchestrated & designed by virtue of the intentionality behind it.

In the Tradition of the Kabbalah, there is a teaching of lights & vessels. In short, creation is the manifestation of G-d's will to bestow IT's "light" to the various worlds. {We must be aware that our perception of this world is not at all the only thing going on here!} "Light" refers to goodness, altruism, blessing, grace and so on. In effect, in order for G-d to bestow, there has to be a creation to receive this goodness. Like light that meets a prism, allowing it to show its many colors, so, as Creator meets Its Will to Bestow, it manifests this Creation. As we learn to widen our "vessels", we are able to receive more of G-d's light that is ever-present. The Midrash teaches: In the physical world, two things are close when they are near each other. In the spiritual realm, two things are "close" when they are alike in characteristics. If we want to be "close" to the Source of Good, Pleasure & Light, we need to align our characters with that of the Creator. The Creator's character is understood by Its actions, creation & laws in this world. They can be studied via the 10 Sefirot as well. Thereby, aligning ourselves with being givers & bestowers like the Creator allows us to be "close" to the Source of Good. This is the path from egoism to altruism. The path from the will to "(1) receive in order to receive" (for one's self alone; egoism;"evil") upward is one of expansion, enlightenment and meaningful pleasure. One then practices "(2) giving in order to receive", and eventually reaches a place of service known as "(3) giving in order to give". However, it is taught that the highest permutation of the duality of giving and receiving is the art in which one learns to "(4) receive in order to give." In this way, even receiving G-d's gifts becomes a way of, and holds the intention of, bestowing blessing to the giver - remembering that our receiving allows a giver the ability to give. 

The Hebrew Language is unique. It is known as the Holy Tongue. Its letters are a mixture of picture and letter, which is understood when reflecting upon the shape, name, sound and story each letter represents; an advanced study. In Hebrew, each letter has a corresponding number. Thus, each word, sentence, quote, name, etc. has a corresponding number. Research has shown remarkable correspondences between numbers represented in varied phrases and words (See: "Torah Codes"). The picture to the left is a meditation offered in Sefer Yetzira where one draws the 22 letters in a circle and connects each and every letter with a line. This forms "231 Gates", a 3D picture of a dome. The meditator is shown that "There is nothing good above ענג - pleasure, and nothing evil below נגע - affliction." This is understood by tracing those rearranged letters in the dome. Furthermore, each letter's name, shape & number are related and create a holistic entity. For example, א, 1, Aleph, the first letter is a representation of the balance of upper and lower; אלופו של עולם - Great Champion of the World - the One. The shape represents a sort of Hebrew yin-yang! פ Peh, 80, which literally means "mouth" is the shape of a face with an open mouth.   Each letter comes complete with stories and teachings galore. By studying the letters in one's name, as well as their numerical value, one knows one's self to greater dimensions. So, too, with any word and name. This is why many refer to the Bible as the 'Blueprint of the World'. Indeed many Bible Code studies have shown it to contain an incredible amount of hidden & encoded information - some would say: an infinite amount.  

As mentioned above, the Hebrew Bible (5 Books of Moses) is called "the Blueprint of the World". There are known to be four levels to the study of the Bible. The acronym of these four levels is the PaRDeS - orchard. Pshat refers to the simple meaning of the text - the story and historical elements without any "between the lines". Remez refers to the encoded numerical values within the text. Drash is related to the external stories and detailed commentaries related with the text. Sod refers to the secret and Kabbalistic dimensions that are mirrored in the text. This one text has been incredibly expounded upon and delved within for the past 3,000+ years. It holds an incredible amount of information- especially for one who has studied the tradition thoroughly and broadly. For such a person, prayers, teachings, understandings and laws are all connected to verses from the Bible. Thereby, the Bible is a metaphorical jumping board from which the entire vast tradition springs. This is also true for well-learned non-religious folk. The Bible holds such a personal place in so many people's hearts that this fact alone can be humbly meditated upon and embraced... It has inspired artists, scholars, writers, story-tellers, lawyers, mathematicians, mystics and so on for thousands of years and is responsible for making an enormous impact on how the world looks and acts today !

Throughout the world, there are stories of creation. These stories may involve characters, shapes, names, colors, light and concepts. It's important to remember that ~'The Tao that can be named is not the true Tao'~ That is to say - once we are using words, we will never fully grasp the creation of the world.  Using shapes, it is classically accepted that the primordial shape is the circle - having no end and no beginning, and being a symbol of equality and wholeness since each point within it is equidistant from the center.  In the Kabbalah of Rav Ashlag, he maintains that the purpose of creation is 'In order to Bestow Goodness/Abundance to the creations.'  And since the Infinite, The Essence, The One wanted to bestow, wanted to create, wanted to manifest ~- it made a space for that to happen. That space would be known as the beginning of time and the created universe.  This concept may be imagined as the dot within the circle.

Egyptian tradition also speaks of the creation of the universe in terms of Consciousness beginning as a circle, then moving to the very edge and creating a new circle (vesica pisces/ven diagram/2 overlapping circles), then again and again (seed of life, flower of life, platonic solids, polyhedra, etc.) until the geometrical patterns that underlie this world took on more complex forms, such as human beings!

The Kabbalistic narrative continues to explain that in order for the Will to Bestow to manifest, a Will to Receive was born - being the essence of 'creation something-from-nothing' ("ex nihilio") יש מאין, explaining that this Will to Receive was completely new (for, 'From whom would G-d receive?'). 

The myriad of wills to receive (money, pleasure, hugs, electrons, honor, wisdom, whatever) are what make up the plethora of creations we walk this life with.

The Infinite Light naturally fills these wills, all in its time, and takes on the shape of the will, much like water fills empty vessels and takes on their shapes. So G-d, or Light, or water stay the same, really - however they are perceived to appear different, like a glass of water vs. a flowing river.

The Infinite Light is Eternal ~ Our perception of things like colors are due to the Receivers of this world, which is what we see and experience as the manifest physical universe.

Shabbat is sanctified by G-d in Genesis. Shabbat, the seventh day of creation in the Biblical/Torah's Creation Story, is the day of rest for The Creator. The primordial thought that we are in the process of carrying out is a prophecied time of peace on the entire earth, a feat yet to be accomplished. With the modern day invention of the internet, we are glimpsing our unity and oneness in a new way. Israelites are tasked with working towards Tikkun Olam - fixing the world. Rabbi Tarfon in Ethics of Our Fathers: "It is not incumbent upon us to complete the work, nor are we free to desist from it." The essence of the soul of the Israelites (one who connects 'straight with G-d' 'Yashar-El' and has pledged allegiance to the Israelite nation) is to hold faith and belief, as well as work towards, with all of one's ability, the prophesied times known as the Messianic Age, symbolized by the Shabbat.

Religious Jews light candles, recite texts directly quoted in Hebrew from the Torah related to Shabbat, and enjoy the gift of a day set apart to focus on G-d, Torah, family, community and so on. They will save their best food and clothing for that day in order to further separate it symbolically in remembrance of all that it symbolizes. It is a day set aside to recall that we are not the ultimate creators, and so one rests from creation.

Though there were two temples that stood, one which was also rebuilt, (both rebuildings due to invasions) essentially there is one Temple ("Beit haMikdash") in Jerusalem that is eternal. To Israelites, the Temple Mount, where our Temples stood, is a place we are tasked with building God a Resting place in the lower (physical) world. The dimensions, materials and various details of building first the portable Ark of the Covenant and then also that of the Temple in Jerusalem, are detailed in the Torah.

The Beit haMikdash translates as the Home of the Temple. Israelites are tasked with building the Temple according to the Torah's instruction. The Home of the Temple is destined and must be a place of worship for all nations, ruled by  Israelites, who were given the Land of Israel by G-d as evidenced in the Torah. It will be at peace with all of the nations, who it must educate regarding G-d's oneness. Connecting straight with G-d is an important, essential part of the Israelites' future. This takes away the possibility of religious indoctrination and extremist ideology.

Israel and Torah are living things - though ancient, they develop and adapt to new norms as well. Even as modernity has brought with it incredible innovation, we are meant to stand on the foundation of core truths and identities. Israel is the home of the Israelites, the one and only Home of the Israelites, so it has been since our birth, and so it will always be - there is no other place that is our place.

Muslim ideology of taking over the world must be stopped in its tracks for it is deeply flawed, and causing great suffering. That is, unless followers of Islam connect straight with G-d, understanding that there actually is not One Way to live, be, act, serve, grow, think, and so on. We must live life in flux and not in concrete.

Similarly for all of the religions, there is much to discuss. Traditions hold within them teachings and stories. If those teachings and stories are worthwhile, each one in particular, then carry it on. Study the subjects and discuss if unclear on what the purpose of the tradition even is. Contrary to popular belief, religions, traditions, and practices are not all or nothing lifestyles.