Based on an article by Rav Meyer Fendel.
In this week's Torah portion of
Nitzavim (Deut. 29,9-30,20), Moshe Rabbeinu tells Bnei Yisrael in his parting
speech as follows: "The hidden sins [of Israel] are for Hashem our
G-d, but the known sins are [the responsibility of] ourselves…" (29,28). The Talmud teaches that the dots that
appear in Torah scrolls atop some of the letters in this verse indicate,
according to Rabbinic tradition, that Israel was not punished for these sins
until after they crossed the Jordan River into the Holy Land (see Talmud Tr.
Sanhedrin 43b).
Rashi explains that the reason for the
collective punishment referred to here is because of the concept of arvut: the
mutual and collective responsibility of each member of Israel, one for another.
It is a matter of Talmudic dispute (ibid.), however, how far this concept
extends. R. Yehuda teaches that the nation was punished for concealed
sins only after crossing the Jordan River, while R. Nechemia holds that they
were never punished for concealed sins – for how can the hidden thoughts of
individuals be known to others? – and were punished for revealed or known
sins only after they entered the Land.
Well-known educator Rabbi
Meyer Fendel <https://mishpacha.com/a-pioneering-spirit/>, who passed
away earlier this year, writes, "We see that Israel's arrival in the Land
of Israel put them on a very high national level, and
upgraded their responsibility one for another. According to the holy Sh'lah, it
is very telling that they entered the Holy Land at Arvot Moav – an
allusion to the arvut that they were about to take upon themselves. That
is, according to R. Nechemia, their arrival in the Holy Land meant that they
were finally responsible for one another's revealed sins - while according
to R. Yehuda, their entry into Eretz Yisrael upgraded their level of love, cohesiveness and
unity so greatly that they became responsible even for each other's private
sins."
But
the question still begs to be asked: How can one be held responsible for the
concealed sins of others, even in Eretz Yisrael and even after arvut applies? How can anyone be punished for a sin
committed secretly by another?
An
answer is provided by Rav Moshe Yechiel Tzuriel:
"If the mitzvah to give rebuke is specific and individual, then in fact it
cannot be expected to apply to sins committed by others unbeknownst to us. But
if this command is actually an outgrowth of our national responsibility and arvut,
then it applies to everything we and others do, whether they are revealed or
not. For arvut means that we are all one body; if one limb in a body is
stricken, it would be unthinkable for another limb to say it doesn’t concern
him…"
The
General Atmosphere
"To
further explain R. Yehuda's opinion," Rabbi Fendel continues, "let us
add that even if we do not know about others' secret sins, we do know of the
atmosphere that we all contributed to forming – an atmosphere that apparently
enabled such sins. As such, we and especially our leaders are responsible not
because we knew about the transgressions, but because we helped, indirectly,
facilitate them. This is the sublime nature of the arvut of
Israel."
The
Minchat Chinukh says
that the mitzvah of giving rebuke when necessary and helpful has two aspects:
the positive command to offer rebuke, and the negative charge "do
not stand by your neighbor's blood"
(Vayikra 19,16), in
the spiritual sense. One who does not reprove his friend when obligated to,
violates both commandments:
*
The negative mitzvah of not standing by a Jew's blood is based on arvut,
that is, one's general responsibility towards all of Klal Yisrael. As we learn
in Tanna D'vei Eliyahu 11: "Whoever can protest against a sin
and does not, or can cause Israel to repent and does not – all blood that is
spilled in Israel is on his hands… for all of Israel is responsible one for
another." Arvut is a type of national mitzvah, one that requires of
all of us to work to ensure the welfare of the nation at large, including by
rebuking or reaching out to sinners to ensure that our nation is not punished.
The obligation is therefore not to give rebuke per se, but rather to safeguard
the nation.
*
But the positive mitzvah, that of giving rebuke, is more pointed. It is not
based on the principles of arvut and nationhood, but is rather a specific,
individual commandment incumbent upon a Jew to give rebuke when the occasion
arises.
The
Situation Today
How
are we to give rebuke today, when sins are so prevalent? The Chafetz Chaim cites an opinion (Sh. Ar. Orach Chaim 608, Beiur
Halakhah) that only when it is within our power
to enforce our rebuke are we obligated to do so. He adds that those who have
totally "denied and shirked the yoke of mitzvot" need not be rebuked.
Furthermore, writes the Chafetz Chaim, even the authoritative Rav Moshe
Isserles, who says that purposeful sinners must be rebuked, would agree that
sinners who perpetually flaunt their Torah violations need not be rebuked.
We
must always keep in mind that which the Chazon Ish, and
many after him, said, based on Maimonides: Most of today's sinners are
considered like tinokot she'nishbu, babies who were brought up by
Gentiles and who therefore have no knowledge whatsoever
of a Torah way of life. They must therefore be approached with love, not anger
or resentment, in order to return them to Judaism – and that is the bottom
line of all rebuke.
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