All For One

“See, I present before you today a blessing and a curse…” (Devarim 11:26)

The Medrash Devarim Rabbah states: Hashem said, “I did not give the Jewish people the blessings and curses to cause them harm; rather, to let them know which path they should choose in life so that they will be rewarded.”

The great tzaddik R’ Yehoshua of Belz asks: Why is the first word of the pasuk, “see,” in the singular and then the pasuk continues in the plural “lifneichem – before you?” Moreover, what is the meaning of the statement of the medrash? Is there anyone who would think that the blessings are intended to cause harm?

The Belzer Rebbe explains that when a person contemplates his obligations in his service of Hashem, he may assess himself as culpable, and not meritorious. In evaluating the caliber of his mitzvos – whether they were fulfilled properly, according to the specific requirements of the law, with the correct intention, and with his entire heart – he will find them lacking. On the other hand, with one small lapse in judgment, the individual is easily ensnared by the Evil Inclination.

Here, says the Belzer Rebbe, the Torah presents the individual with a very practical solution. When a person fulfills a mitzvah, he should include himself with all the other members of the Jewish nation, among whom there are certainly many who performed that mitzvah in its ultimate perfection. All our souls are inextricably bound together; we are as one neshama. Similarly, if a person transgresses and does teshuva – even if his repentance was not flawless – if he includes himself among all the members of the Jewish People they are as one.

The Ramchal points out that there is a neshama pratis, an individual soul for each person, and a neshama klalis – a universal soul, a unified soul that all of Klal Yisrael share.

Thus, the word “see” in the singular addresses each individual member of the Jewish nation to see the blessing and curse that has been given “before you,” i.e. to all the people. The individuals each share in the merits of all; likewise, if segments of the Jewish people do the proper teshuva, then all of Klal Yisrael merits atonement as part of the collective Jewish people.

This clarifies the medrash cited above. A person could think that since it is difficult to fulfill the mitzvos properly, and it is easy to stumble and transgress, it is more likely that he will lose in life than benefit. In such a case that which Hashem is offering the Jewish people could seem to be harmful. Hashem wanted to show that this is not so. Hashem only wants to teach us the proper path that one should choose in order to gain rich reward.

The fact that the pasuk transitions from the singular to the plural indicates that every individual is worthy to be blessed when included in the merit of the community, and the repentance of every individual is also worthy in the merit of the teshuva of the community.

The Pele Yoetz, R’ Eliezer Papo, writes that one should always rejoice when he sees others doing the will of Hashem, and conversely, he should be pained when people transgress. Even if one has not personally attained an elevated level in the service of Hashem, he should celebrate those who are more successful, as it is meritorious for all the people.

The Pele Yoetz compares this to a father whose children care for him. One day one of the sons rebelled and no longer participated in his father’s care. The other children picked up the slack and covered for their brother. In the merit of his brothers’ cooperation, the rebellious son was able to remain in his father’s good graces, as the father was still receiving the care he needed.

Similarly, in our world, the mitzvos and good deeds of those who keep the Torah and mitzvos will outweigh the deeds of those who are not yet Torah observant, and it will allow the population to be judged meritoriously.

We learn that every effort that is expended for the collective Jewish people is a merit for the individual.

HaRav Elchonon Wasserman had come to America on an urgent trip to raise money for the yeshiva in Baranovich that was in dire financial straits.

The first Friday night, when Rav Elchonon spoke at large shul between kabbalas Shabbos and Maariv, he proposed that the congregants undertake to finance the meals for the students of the yeshiva. He promised that an individual who contributed eighty dollars for a week’s worth of meals for the hundreds of bachurim learning in the yeshiva would earn the merit of the Torah study of all those boys.

Rav Wasserman’s words caused waves among the congregants, as many felt that the figure he had given was too high.

The rabbi then chose to ascend the podium and asked to speak a few words. He addressed the assembly for more than 15 minutes, and essentially seemed to subdue whatever impact the Rav’s words had initially made on the congregants. The rabbi concluded by telling the worshippers that every dollar they contributed was holy, even one dollar. It was obvious that R’ Elchonon would not be raising the necessary funds at this shul.

After the Friday night seudah, the rabbi came to Rav Elchonon to apologize, and to justify what he had said to his congregants.

“You are probably critical of me, because you raised so little at my shul,” said the rabbi.

To the shock of all those in attendance, Rav Wasserman asked skeptically, “Critical? Why? Tomorrow we will read in the Torah (Shemos 31:2), ‘See, I have called by the name: Betzalel son of Uri …’ The Tabernacle was going to be built, and Betzalel had been appointed to be the artisan. Moshe Rabbeinu meets a Jew in the street and asks him whether he is Betzalel. ‘No, I am Reuven, the son of Yaakov,’ says the man. Moshe Rabbeinu continues to walk and encounters another Jew. ‘We are getting ready to build the Mishkan. Are you, perhaps, Betzalel?’ The man replied, ‘No, I am Shimon, the son of Yaakov.’

“Would one think that Moshe Rabbeinu is angry at those people because they’re not Betzalel? Moshe knows that only Betzalel was chosen for the task of building the Tabernacle, and those people are not Betzalel,” said Rav Wasserman.

“Similarly,” concluded Rav Wasserman, “how could I be upset? If the members of your congregation were not called to fulfill the task of building Torah in our time, it means that they do not have that merit.”