“Another matter, Moses said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Why are You angry at them? Not that they engaged in idol worship, for You did not command them.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Did I not say in the second commandment: “You shall not have [other gods before Me]”?’ (Exodus 20:3). He said before Him: ‘You did not command them, You commanded me. Did You perhaps say to them: You [lakhem] shall not have? You commanded me. If I engage in idol worship, “please erase me from Your book.”’ When the Holy One blessed be He saw that he was giving his life on their behalf, He said: ‘For your sake I am giving them the Torah,’ as it is stated: ‘Write for yourself these matters’.” (Shemos Rabbah 47:9)

I would first like to thank all of you who came to the Melaveh Malkah, making it an enjoyable and inspiring evening. The concept of community, where each individual pitches in for the greater good is expressed in an explanation of the following Medrash: Hashem wanted to destroy Klal Yisrael and Moshe Rabbeinu responded, “You didn’t tell Klal Yisroel not to serve idols – you only told me! Therefore, I should be the one who is destroyed!”. This is a difficult statement to understand. Even if Hashem had really just intended the commandment for Moshe Rabbeinu and not for all of Klal Yisroel, we still would not be able to understand why Moshe should be killed, as Moshe did not serve the golden calf at all!

Rav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi (1929-2023) explains this with the very old concept of community, where there are no individuals, rather it is everyone together as one. Thus, Moshe said to Hashem, “If you are choosing me to be the one to continue Klal Yisroel’s legacy, then obviously you consider me one of them. And if you look at me as an individual, then You gave over the commandments to me and not to them (therefore, they are not liable).” This reinforces the idea that when we are in it together, we all are to blame. On the flip side, when the community at large does something positive together, we all get credit.

Last Shabbos afternoon I was asked to explain the idea of making a communal siyum. How could it be that by each person learning only a blatt or two, we can all make a siyum? Who finished the mesechta? I asked in response, “If we all daven shemoneh esrei together, where is the tefillah b’tzibur? Each person prayed with his own thoughts and ideas – what binds all of our different prayers together?” (This is indeed a halachic discussion – See Shevet Halevi 4:11).

The Purim story emphasizes the relationship between the individual and the community. Haman decided to destroy all of the Jews because of Mordechai, an individual in the community. Esther is told by Mordechai, “If you set yourself apart from the community, the community will be spared and you will be lost.” Achashveros in turn also saves all of the Jews because of Esther, who is part of that community. We learn from this is that no Jew is ever alone – each Jew is always part of the Jewish people.

In addition, the special mitzvos of the upcoming Yom Tov of Purim accentuate our need for having positive relationships with those around us. Mishloach manos, matanos l’evyonim, megilla b’tzibur, and seudos Purim are all communal affairs. They are not fulfilled as individuals, rather as the gemora says, “family – family”.

Shortly after that, we move on to Pesach, which has the ultimate tradition of families joining together at the seder. This is not by mere chance. The verse tells us that we are supposed to eat the Korban Pesach in a group which must be defined in advance, and that every Jew is part of a group.

We are all blessed to belong to this wonderful community.