Parashat HaShavua: Vayikra
In a speech about racial discrimination in 1963, Rabbi Heschel said “an honest estimation of the moral state of our society will disclose: Some are guilty, but all are responsible.”
In what sense is this true today? In our society, are we responsible for the actions of others? For what wrongdoings are we collectively responsible?
Parshat Vayikra identifies the particular sacrifice that should be brought, “should the whole community of Israel make a mistake” (“ve’im kol adat yisrael yishgu”). While the more basic idea that an individual brings a sacrifice as a way of taking responsibility for their sin or mistake is a thread in the book of Vayikra, it seems initially quite strange to create a ritual for a sin committed by the entire nation. What does this mean? Under what circumstances could the ENTIRE congregation be considered to have sinned?
One common interpretation, is that this “congregation” (“adat yisrael”) is the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of ancient Israel. In other words, if the most authoritative legal authority of the Jewish people makes a mistake, this is equivalent to a sin committed by the entire nation. The legal system is responsible for the entire nation’s behavior, and vice versa. In this view, if justice is not served, in some sense, we are all responsible.
It’s possible to see echoes of this idea in a separate passage in the Torah, in a mitzvah known as the “Egla Arufa” (Devarim 21:1-9), an offering that is brought in a case where someone is found murdered on the road outside of a city by an unknown assailant. The elders of the closest city to the site of the unsolved crime must bring an atonement offering because that city carries collective responsibility for not protecting the murdered individual. This mitzvah gives us insight into the Torah’s idea of communal responsibility – we have to take proactive steps to make sure that justice is preserved. What environment have we created? What is each of our individual roles in the communal job of preserving life, dignity, and the collective good? If a grave mistake is made in our community, we may not be guilty or deserving of punishment – we aren’t the individual who committed the act – but we are responsible enough to “arrive at the Temple” owning that mistake.
Although the Torah distinguishes between an individual transgressor and the failure of the collective, certain violations are so core that everyone involved must atone. In imposing these obligations, the Torah imposes a mindset of communal responsibility, that you think not only of yourself, but of how your action, or failure to act, impacts those around you. Taking this idea one step further, Hillel (of the Mishna) teaches: “If I am not for myself, who will be? But if I am only for myself, what am I?” While we have to advocate for ourselves, we also have to remember to affirmatively advocate for those around us. It is this spirit of being responsible for and actively trying to help each other that defines our community.
Rabbi Benji Shiller
High School Limudei Qodesh Department Chair
