We Exist and Serve Hashem as Part of Klal Yisroel

I spoke last week how one of the core elements of our spiritual reaction to the way history is trending and unfolding currently is to try to discover and then maintain, sustain that sense of achdus which we in the broadest sense of the term, which we, the Jewish people, naturally feel in response to external threat and attack. So in that vein, perhaps we'll spend a few minutes exploring one dimension of the mitzvah of ahavas Yisrael. Rambam defines ahavas Yisrael:

מצוה על כל אדם לאהוב את כל אחד ואחד מישראל כגופו.

Right? Clearly that definition reflects the pasuk of v'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha in the Rambam's paraphrase, so that translates as k'gufo. The halachic import of k'gufo needs to be understood in multiple ways. For tonight, בעזרת השם בלי נדר, we'll try to understand one aspect of it. The centrality of ahavas Yisrael is of course underscored by the well-known Gemara in Yoma that Bayis Sheini was chareiv because of sinas chinam and when one juxtaposes that to the fact that Bayis Rishon was chareiv because of the Gimmel Aveiros Chamuros: avodah zarah, gilui arayos, and shefichus damim, what emerges is

ללמדך ששקולה שנאת חנם כנגד שלש עבירות: עבודה זרה, גילוי עריות ושפיכות דמים.

You know, sometimes, you see a lashon shkulah, so you have to wonder how literal is it, on what level is the equivalence that Chazal is speaking of? But here it's quite clear that they're speaking of a very real equivalence. They're saying the same way the Gimmel Aveiros Chamuros resulted in churban Bayis Rishon, so sinas chinam caused churban Bayis Sheini. So it's clear just what that equivalence is and how Chazal intended their words to be understood. So sinas chinam, obviously the antithesis of ahavas Yisrael, it underscores the centrality, the indispensability, the overarching importance of ahavas Yisrael. But let's try to understand what the pshat in that is. When the Rambam describes the nisayon of the Akeidah, so the Rambam says the nisayon of the Akeidah went as great as it would be for a father who had the normal healthy emotional attachment to his son to be asked to sacrifice his son, in Avraham Avinu's case it went far beyond that.

ציווה בזה העניין אשר לא ידמה לו לא נתינת ממון ולא נתינת נפש.

What Hakadosh Boruch Hu commanded is something that there's no, was sui generis, you can't compare anything to it. You can't compare a person being asked to surrender all his wealth, you can't even compare a person being asked to surrender his whole life.

אבל הוא מופלג מכל מה שאפשר שיבוא במציאות ממה שלא ידמה שטבע בני אדם יטה אליו.

If it hadn't happened, we would've thought that it's beyond the human capacity. והוא שיהיה איש עקור, בתכלית הכוסף לילד. You have a childless man with the... strongest, deepest, most profound desire for a son imaginable, skipping a few words. Uvoucher and what this man wants more than anything, his whole existence is for the purpose of ובוחר שישאר מזרעו אומה. Avraham Avinu wants to be the progenitor of a nation. He didn't want to simply disseminate belief in Hashem Echad but he wanted that belief to be bequeathed to a nation. ובוחר שישאר מזרעו אומה. And interestingly, when the Rambam in Hilchos Avodah Zarah describes how Avraham Avinu discovers Hakadosh Baruch Hu and then seeks to teach the world, and then he transmits to Yitzchak and Yitzchak to Yaakov, so the Rambam describes as follows: That

יעקב אבינו צוה את בניו והיה הדבר הולך ומתגבר בבני יעקב ובנלוים עליהם.

The momentum of the belief in Hashem Echad became increasingly stronger and stronger ונעשית בעולם אומה שהיא יודעת השם. Meaning the dream of Avraham Avinu, the vision of Avraham Avinu materialized. Whatever the pshat is, maybe the pshat is that Avraham Avinu understood that for emuna baHashem to endure, it wouldn't endure if it was only the credo of yichidim, no matter how many yichidim there were. It would only endure as the emuna, as the lifeblood of a nation. Either way, it's clear from the pesukim in Chumash that Avraham Avinu in that desire sheyisha'eir mizar'o uma, the vision that was with Bnei Yaakov materialized of ונעשית בעולם אומה שהיא יודעת השם. It's clear that Avraham Avinu was mechavein leda'as hamelach. Hakadosh Baruch Hu says ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם והייתי לכם לאלהים. And then in Parshas Yisro, if we'll accept the Torah, ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש. In both contexts, Hakadosh Baruch Hu emphasizes that his bris, his relationship is not with a myriad of yichidim, it's not with 600,000 yichidim, it's with a nation. In Kol Dodi Dofek, the Rav quotes and explains the etymology of both the terms am as well as goy. Again, quoting from kadmonim, he says am is lashon im, with, that it denotes when you have those who are together. It's a lashon of yachdav, of achdus. That's how it's the same word, the same shoresh as im. And goy is milashon geviya. Geviya means a body. Again, it's one entity.

מצוה על כל אדם לאהוב כל אחד ואחד מישראל כגופו.

It's the kegufo was not only a shiur in the mitzvah, it's the essence of the mitzvah is that sense of being one goy, being one geviya. The the famous Yerushalmi in in Nedarim commenting on the lav of lo sikom. Yerushalmi says if a person is cutting something and the knife slips and and he accidentally cut his other hand, so he doesn't turn around and then and then avenge what happened by by cutting the hand which had been holding the knife. And it's interesting that it's right after that:

כתיב לא לא תיקם ולא תיטור בני עמך. הוה מקטע קופד ומחת סכינא לידוהי תחזור ותמחי לידיה?

And right after that, this is where it appears in in in in the Yerushalmi, it's also in the Medrash, but the way it appears here is right after that the Yerushalmi continues and says Ve'ahavta lere'acha kamocha, Rabi Akiva omer זהו כלל גדול בתורה. That's the pshat in Rabi Akiva זהו כלל גדול בתורה. Kegufo means because on one level there is supposed to be an awareness, a feeling, an identification of being kegufo. Goy, lashon gviyah. עד היכן הדברים מגיעים? Bnei Noach relate to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. They can and if they properly exercise their bechirah do. Relate to Hakadosh Baruch Hu as yechidim. A Jew is not given that option. A Jew does not have the option of relating to Hakadosh Baruch Hu solely as a yachid. A Jew has to relate to Hakadosh Baruch Hu as part of goy echad, as part of Am Yisrael. Within that, yes of course every individual, every Jew has his individuality and personal relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. But only in the context of being part of goy echad ba'aretz. Tanu rabanan. גר שבא להתגייר בזמן הזה. So what's the first question that we should pose to the ger? Do you believe, do you believe in the Ribono Shel Olam? Do you believe in Torah min hashamayim? Do you realize what's involved in the commitment you're about to make? So ultimately Chazal do say that those questions are are posed to the ger, but that's not the first.

אומרים לו: מה ראית שבאת להתגייר? אי אתה יודע שישראל בזמן הזה דוויים דחופים סחופים ומטורפים וייסורין באים עליהם?

Don't you see what the plight of the Jewish people is? And if you're coming and clearly what's between the lines is, and if you're coming to be misgayer, you're not coming simply to elevate from 7 to 613. First and foremost you're coming to join the Jewish people. So the first question is, do you want to to to cast your lot with the Jewish people?

אי אתה יודע שישראל בזמן הזה דוויים דחופים סחופים ומטורפים וייסורין באים עליהם? אם אומר יודע אני ואיני כדאי,

so then mekablim oso. And then you begin, you tell him about mitzvos. Then modi'in oso, only then modi'in oso. The Mishnah in perek Cheilek:

כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא. שנאמר: ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ. ואלו שאין להם חלק לעולם הבא: האומר אין תחיית המתים... האומר תחיית המתים מן התורה ואין תורה מן השמים ואפיקורוס.

So the mishna in the reisha makes this sweeping all-inclusive statement כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא and then before the ink is dry seemingly the mishna is backtracking. Well, it's not exactly that way, not exactly כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא because אלו שאין להם חלק לעולם הבא. So that's obviously not the pshat. So it's clear that this is what prompts the Rambam to write after in the peirush hamishnayos after listing the Yud Gimmel Ikkarim the Rambam writes

כאשר יהיו קיימים לאדם כל היסודות הללו ואמונתו בהם אמתית הרי הוא נכנס בכלל ישראל. וכאשר יפקפק אדם ביסוד מאלו היסודות הרי זה יצא מן הכלל.

So what emerges is that the mishna according to the Rambam is telling us two things: A, it's telling us which is its real focus in the context of masechet sanhedrin אלו שיש להם חלק לעולם הבא and rachmana litzlan אלו שאין להם חלק לעולם הבא. But agav deit the mishna also tells us that on a certain level there are some aveiros that cause a person to be yotzei min haklal and to lose his status as Yisrael on a certain level. So is that just a מילתא אגב אורחא קמשמע לן? Again the primary focus is who יש לו חלק לעולם הבא, who rachmana litzlan אין לו חלק לעולם הבא. But the way the mishna says it simultaneously we're also told a chiddush that those who lose their chelek l'olam haba they also lost their shem Yisrael and all the mitzvos bein adam l'chaveiro don't apply. So clearly the pshat is again as we said a Jew doesn't have the option of oveid Hakadosh Baruch Hu as a yachid without first being a part identifying with actively being a part of the klal. And he has no entry way to olam haba either unless he's part of Yisrael. כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא means the pshat is only betoras Yisrael. There's no other entry point. Yes the mishna is interested in telling us who יש לו חלק לעולם הבא who isn't and it's only someone who's part of the klal שיש לו חלק לעולם הבא. That's what the Rambam writes in

פרק ג הלכות תשובה הפורש מדרכי ציבור ואף על פי שלא עבר עבירות אלא נבדל מעדת ישראל ואינו עושה מצוות בכללן ולא נכנס בצרתן ולא מתענה בתעניתן.

So he's medakdek b'kala k'vachamura the Rambam says but as an individual. As an individual he doesn't identify, he doesn't integrate. אינו עושה מצוות בכללן ולא נכנס בצרתן. The tzara of other Jews is not his tzara. And when they declare a taanis

ולא מתענה בתעניתן אלא הולך בדרכו כאחד מגויי הארץ וכאילו אינו מהם אין לו חלק לעולם הבא. ללמדך ששקולה שנאת חינם כנגד ג' עבירות

that for sinas chinam the beis hamikdash was chariv is because sinas chinam rachmana litzlan unravels and destroys our relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Our relationship to Hakadosh Baruch Hu again everyone has... everyone has their individual relationship reflecting the fact that everyone's an individual, but it has to be an individual within the context of the klal. It's an individual, a prat within the context of the klal, an individual within Knesses Yisrael, not an individual who stands alone and apart. An individual within the klal, he identifies with, he integrates within. To be a ma'amin and an oved Hashem for a Jew means to have a sense of brotherhood with other Jews, a sense of achrayus, care, concern. מלמד שכל ישראל ערבים זה בזה. The Rambam says about mitzvas tzedakah,

חייבים אנו להיזהר במצות צדקה יותר מכל מצות עשה שהצדקה סימן לצדיק זרע אברהם אבינו ואין כסא ישראל מתכונן ודת האמת עומדת אלא בצדקה.

The throne of Yisrael can only be established, can only stand through tzedakah. ואין ישראל נגאלים אלא בצדקה. In halacha beis he continues,

וכל ישראל והנלוה עליהם כאחים הם ואם לא ירחם האח האח מי ירחם עליו?

So here the immediate context and application is mitzvas tzedakah, but clearly that mindset and sense of self that we're supposed to have is one that's not limited to the context of mitzvas tzedakah. And that's what it means, לאהוב כל אחד ואחד כגופו because ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, lashon geviya. And it's only in that context that HaKadosh Baruch Hu invites us, allows us to be oved Hashem.