All Israel are Responsible for One Another ATID JConnect Session 1 10/19/15

ריטב"א ראש השנה כט עמוד א

שאע"פ שהמצות מוטלות על כל אחד הרי כל ישראל ערבין זה לזה וכולם כגוף אחד וכערב הפורע חוב חבירו.

Ritva Rosh Hashanah 29a

Because even though the commandments are placed upon each individual, all Jews are guarantors of one another, and they are all a single body, and it is like a guarantor who repays the debt of his friend.

What is our responsibility as American Jews with a connection to Israel with regard to the current situation, or at any other time in history? Why do you think this is so?

תהילים קל״ז:ה׳-ו׳

(ה) אִֽם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵ֥ךְ יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח יְמִינִֽי׃ (ו) תִּדְבַּ֥ק־לְשׁוֹנִ֨י ׀ לְחִכִּי֮ אִם־לֹ֪א אֶ֫זְכְּרֵ֥כִי אִם־לֹ֣א אַ֭עֲלֶה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֑ם עַ֝֗ל רֹ֣אשׁ שִׂמְחָתִֽי׃

Psalms 137:5-6

(5) If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning. (6) Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, If I remember thee not; If I set not Jerusalem Above my chiefest joy.

This selection from Psalms is sung at every Jewish wedding in Israel (and many throughout the world), right before the breaking of the glass under the chuppah. What do you think the connection is, and why still do this?
Think about this text (which is from the Psalm that begins "On the River of Babylon" which is read on every day that is NOT Shabbat or a Festival at the beginning of Birkat Hamazon) as you read the next text, by Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi.

יהודה הלוי

לִבִּי בְמִזְרָח וְאָנֹכִי בְּסוֹף מַעֲרָב
אֵיךְ אֶטְעֲמָה אֵת אֲשֶׁר אֹכַל וְאֵיךְ יֶעֱרָב
אֵיכָה אֲשַׁלֵּם נְדָרַי וָאֱסָרַי, בְּעוֹד
צִיּוֹן בְּחֶבֶל אֱדוֹם וַאֲנִי בְּכֶבֶל עֲרָב
יֵקַל בְּעֵינַי עֲזֹב כָּל טוּב סְפָרַד, כְּמוֹ
יֵקַר בְּעֵינַי רְאוֹת עַפְרוֹת דְּבִיר נֶחֱרָב.

Yehuda HaLevi (trans. Nina Salaman)

My heart is in the east, and I in the uttermost west--

How can I find savour in food? How shall it be sweet to me?

How shall I render my vows and my bonds, while yet

Zion lieth beneath the fetter of Edom, and I in Arab chains?

A light thing would it seem to me to leave all the good things of Spain --

Seeing how precious in mine eyes to behold the dust of the desolate sanctuary.

Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi was a prolific poet who lived in Spain, which was primarily a Muslim country at the time. The era he lived in was referred to as the Golden Age, and Jews had a relatively positive experience while living there. However, he felt that he was compelled to be in Eretz Yisrael. In 1141, he traveled to Eretz Yisrael, and presumably reached it. We do not know much about his visit, but legend has it that he was trampled to death in Jerusalem.
The idea of the first line of his poem is, like the texts above, that he is tied to Israel even when he is not there. How would you interpret this line today? How do you feel when Israel is in the news? How do you feel about anti-Semitism that has spilled over from anti-Zionism into the places where we live as Americans, or elsewhere in the world?

ויקרא י״ט:י״ח

(יח) לֹֽא־תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃

Leviticus 19:18

(18) Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Read the attached article from today's Times of Israel. What do you make of the connection between this text from Leviticus/Vayikra and Prime Minister Netanyahu's remarks?

שמות כ״ג:ז׳

(ז) מִדְּבַר־שֶׁ֖קֶר תִּרְחָ֑ק וְנָקִ֤י וְצַדִּיק֙ אַֽל־תַּהֲרֹ֔ג כִּ֥י לֹא־אַצְדִּ֖יק רָשָֽׁע׃

Exodus 23:7

(7) Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked.

In light of the news clips you have seen this evening, what is your responsibility when you see falsified or questionable news claims about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
What do you think, then, about those who have taken the law into their own hands? What is the difference between subduing a terrorist and taking the life of someone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?
What does it mean to "love your neighbor as you do yourself" especially now? Who is the neighbor?
How can we read these two texts as providing us with guidance for our response to the current situation (or can we?)?

ירמיהו כ״ט:ז׳

(ז) וְדִרְשׁ֞וּ אֶת־שְׁל֣וֹם הָעִ֗יר אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגְלֵ֤יתִי אֶתְכֶם֙ שָׁ֔מָּה וְהִתְפַּֽלְל֥וּ בַעֲדָ֖הּ אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֣י בִשְׁלוֹמָ֔הּ יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶ֖ם שָׁלֽוֹם׃ (פ)

Jeremiah 29:7

(7) And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto the LORD for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

This is the basis for maintaining civility in a multicultural civilized society. Is this lesson lost on Israel's radical minority?

שבועות ל״ט א:כ״א-כ״ב

וכל עבירות שבתורה נפרעין ממנו וכאן ממנו ומכל העולם כולו (שנאמראלה וכחש וכתיבעל כן תאבל הארץואימאעד דעביד להו לכולהולא ס"ד דכתיבמפני אלה אבלה הארץ)וכל עבירות שבתורה מכל העולם לאוהכתיב(ויקרא כו, לז) וכשלו איש באחיו איש בעון אחיו מלמד שכל ישראל ערבים זה בזה

Shevuot 39a:21-22

And for all of the transgressions of the Torah is not the whole world punished? Isn't it written: “And they shall stumble one upon another?!” (Leviticus 26:37) [That is to say,] one because of the iniquity of the other. This teaches us that all Israel are sureties (responsible) for another!

Is this the same interpretation of "Kol Yisrael areveim zeh lazeh" that you came up with earlier? Are both interpretations needed? If so, why? If not, why not?