The Depth of Sharing in the Community's Sorrow: Feeling the Pain of Every Jew

Class No. 40 | Friday, Parashas Ki Tavo, 20 Elul 5755

When disasters strike the Jewish people, it is our duty to feel the pain and share in the sorrow of the community. The article explains through the words of the Gemara, the Midrash regarding the self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) of Moshe Rabbeinu, and the teachings of the 'Leshem', how every Jew is part of one complete spiritual stature, and what is the power of the tzaddikim who bear the yoke of the generation.

A person must know that everything is one spiritual stature, and everything is one person. As the author of the "Leshem Shevo V'Achlama" says, Hashem brings tzaddikim down to the world so that they can rectify all the wicked.

When we hear about killings and tragedies, such as buses exploding, Heaven forbid, a person is forbidden to say: "What do I care about these wicked people dying?" A person must know that if we were truly worthy, they would have done teshuvah (repentance). When a person sees Jews being killed and does not sit on the ground and cry, the Gemara in Tractate Taanis (11a) says:

"When Israel is immersed in distress, and one of them separates himself... the two ministering angels who accompany a person come and place their hands on his head and say: 'This person, who separated himself from the community, shall not see the consolation of the community.'"

A person is forbidden to think that whoever was killed died because of his own sins and that it is none of his business. On the contrary, a person must say: "I committed sins, and because of my sins, he died." That person who was harmed is considered a tinok shenishba (a captive infant, someone raised without Torah knowledge). When all of Jerusalem is in mourning and everyone is crying, and a person does not shed a tear, does not recite a chapter of Tehillim (Psalms), and makes no gesture of sharing in the sorrow, the angels accompanying him immediately come and testify against him that he has separated himself from the community.

The Danger of Apathy: "Eat and Drink, For Tomorrow We Die"

Another Baraisa teaches: When the community is immersed in sorrow, a person should not say, "I will go to my house, eat and drink, and peace be upon my soul." How can one eat breakfast when hearing about such a disaster?

If a person hears about a disaster and is just sitting down to eat, he must stop his meal, recite a chapter of Tehillim, and shed a few tears. He needs to be shaken by something, and not just continue with his daily routine as if nothing happened. Regarding a person who continues to eat and drink peacefully, the verse says:

"And behold, joy and gladness, slaying of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating meat and drinking wine: 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die.' And it was revealed in my ears by Hashem of Hosts: 'Surely this iniquity shall not be atoned for you until you die'" (Yeshayahu 22:13-14).

The Self-Sacrifice of Moshe Rabbeinu

If a person does not feel the sorrow of the community, it is a sign that he is not connected to the true tzaddik, because the true tzaddikim feel every pain. The Midrash (Tanchuma, Parashas Ki Tavo) relates regarding Moshe Rabbeinu, who pleaded before Hashem: "Let me cross over, I pray, and see the good land."

Hashem said to him: "I have sworn two oaths - one that you will die, and one that I will destroy Israel. If you want to enter the Land of Israel, Israel will perish in the desert. And if you are willing to stay and die in the desert, the Jewish people will enter the Land. You cannot hold the rope from both ends."

When Moshe Rabbeinu heard this, he immediately said: "Let Moshe and a thousand like him perish, but let not a single one of Israel perish!" Moshe Rabbeinu was willing to die a thousand deaths, provided that even the greatest evildoer in the Jewish people would not die. Another version in the Midrash states that Moshe said: "Let Moshe and a hundred like him die, but let not the fingernail of a Jew be harmed." Moshe did not agree that even a light scratch should harm a Jew.

Who Testifies Against a Person?

A person is alone in his house, hears that a bus exploded, yet continues to eat the delicacies prepared for him. He thinks to himself: "Who sees me? Who will testify against me that I ate during the time of the disaster?" Regarding this, the Gemara says: The stones of a person's house and the beams of his house testify against him, as it is stated:

"For a stone shall cry out from the wall, and a splinter from the woodwork shall answer it" (Chavakuk 2:11).

The stones cry out, the walls shout, the heavens and the earth rise up. The school of Rabbi Shila says: The two ministering angels who accompany the person will testify against him. Rabbi Chilkiya says: The soul testifies. The soul is part of the collective of Israel, and when it hears about a disaster, it wants to cry, but the person prevents it and chooses to eat. Even a person's body and limbs will testify against him.

Neturei Karta: The True Guardians of the City

When we cry and shout over the community's distress, this crying alone sweetens the harsh decrees. The prophet Amos rebukes those who do not share in the sorrow:

"Who drink from bowls of wine, and anoint themselves with the finest of oils, but they are not grieved over the ruin of Yosef" (Amos 6:6).

A person cannot say, "I am from the tribe of Yehudah, what do I care about the ruin of Yosef?" You must be "Neturei Karta" - the true guardian of the city. The guardian of the city is the one who prays to Hashem that all of the Jewish people will return in teshuvah (repentance), that no Jew will die, and who cries in his prayer for the sake of the collective.

The Tzaddikim: The Heart of the World

The disciple of the Vilna Gaon, the author of the "Leshem Shevo V'Achlama," explains that the tzaddikim come into the world and have mercy on the entire generation. They constitute the reality of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the Mikdash (Holy Temple), and their role is to rectify all of reality and return it to the state before the sin of Adam HaRishon. Hashem dwells within each and every tzaddik, who turns his body into a sanctuary for Hashem.

Every generation is one spiritual configuration (partzuf) and one person. Just as the brain and the heart are responsible for all the limbs of the body, so too the tzaddikim are the brain and the heart of the generation, and they oversee and draw down life-force to all the limbs.

The Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin (99a) says regarding the verse "To My heart I revealed it, to My limbs I did not reveal it," that there are hidden tzaddikim who are considered the aspect of the heart. The word "to My heart" (l'libi) has the numerical value (gematria) of 72. These are 72 hidden tzaddikim in the ultimate state of concealment, who are, as it were, the heart of Hashem. They have mercy on the entire generation, protect the world, and sustain it.

Whoever distresses himself with the community will merit to see the consolation of the community. May it be His will that we all truly merit a complete Geulah (Redemption) speedily in our days, Amen.

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