MUSSAR D’ORAISA
Parshas Behar-Bechukosai 5764
"ורדפו
מכם חמשה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה ירדפו ונפלו אויביכם לפניכם לחרב" (ויקרא
כ"ו: ח)
וכי כך הוא החשבון. והלא לא היה צריך לומר אלא מאה מכם שני אלפים
ירדופו, אלא אינו דומה מועטין העושין את התורה למרובין העושין את התורה.
(רש"י שם.)
"And five of you will pursue one hundred and one hundred [will pursue]
ten thousand and your enemies will fall before you by the sword." (Vayikra
26:8)
Is
this the correct calculation? Shouldn't it say one hundred of you will pursue
two thousand? Rather, the few who serve Hashem are not comparable to the many
who serve Hashem. (Rashi ibid.)
Among the blessings bestowed on Klal
Yisroel in this parsha is a blessing that if we keep Hashem's Torah
properly, we will be made miraculously superior to the nations of the world. Five will be able to pursue one hundred. This is
an incredible miracle, that we should be able to overcome our enemies even at a
ratio of
This is not a logical physical strength, obviously, but a manifestation
borne out of spiritual strength and unity, the spiritual strength of one affecting
the next, and in turn enabling physical protection. We can understand in this
light the difference between the individual and the community. A
Torah-observant community is far more conducive to individual spiritual growth
than no community or a non-observant community, and it is only in a community
that our spiritual goals can be achieved; as the pasuk says, "…And your
enemies will fall before you by the sword." This is said only after
and in relation to the second part of the pasuk, which states, "one
hundred will pursue ten thousand…" rather than after "five
will pursue one hundred", because only with the combined greater
strength of the community can our greater individual spiritual pursuits be
realized.
The converse is also true. When one person stumbles and transgresses a prohibition of the Torah it certainly has a spiritual effect on Klal Yisroel, but when an entire community, a whole section of Klal Yisroel, openly transgresses Hashem's Law, it is exponentially worse. The Rambam point out, in his hakdama to Horayos, that should an individual inadvertently commit a crime that carries the penalty of kares (spiritual excision), he must atone by bringing a korbon chatas (sin offering) consisting of a goat. But if Beis Din should err and rule that one of these crimes is permissible, the necessary atonement is far greater. Beis Din rule for the community, and when as a community a certain crime is permitted, a communal bull-offering is necessary for atonement, much more stringent than the goat-offering required of an individual.
Every Jew wages a constant battle with his yetzer hara. When he is victorious, he grows spiritually and is even more prepared for the next, possibly tougher battle. When his entire community recognizes a certain transgression of the community and battles it together, they can be even more successful at overcoming the yetzer hara. Even if most people would fail in the battle as individuals, they can succeed when battling alongside other members of the community.
We had a powerful example of this
recently in the yeshivish communities here in Yerushalayim. It was discovered
that many of the wigs worn by the women of our community had been imported from
places that had used the materials for idolatry, rendering the wigs forbidden
to use or even to derive benefit from them. Were individuals faced with the
test of monetary loss versus possibly transgressing laws related to idolatry,
many would have possibly stumbled in transgression, ח"ו. But the Gedolim issued a psak
regarding this transgression and the community faced the battle together,
resulting in people throwing $2000 sheitlach into bonfires rather than
transgress the halacha. I believe that this sort of widespread spiritual strength
is only possible because of the strength of the community battling the yetzer
hara together and striving together for spiritual success.
Unfortunately, there are also communities among Klal Yisroel that
routinely permit further breaches of halacha on a communal level, רח"ל. The
members of those communities believe that their forbidden acts are permissible
since they have the approval of community leaders. Halacha is disregarded on a
widespread scale. Were an individual to choose to daaven after the
permitted time or a married woman to not cover her hair, for example, the
results would be bad enough and would affect that person and his family, but
the community as a whole would recognize the personal breach of halacha and
work to strengthen itself and its individual members in those areas that need
work. But when entire communities discard certain aspects of halacha entirely,
their members do not know that there is even an inadequacy that needs to be
addressed, and this is spiritually detrimental to Klal Yisroel.
When as a community, we do not fulfill our obligation to keep Hashem's
commands, we cannot hope to merit the blessings connected to that covenant. We
must all work as individuals to strengthen our communities in the spiritual
areas that they are lacking. In this manner we can merit the ability to achieve
our spiritual goals even in the face of hardship and adversity.
Yitzchok Pinkus
Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim