(ט) ישתדל אדם להתפלל בב"ה עם הציבור ואם הוא אנוס שאינו יכול לבא לב"ה יכוין להתפלל בשעה שהציבו' מתפללין [וה"ה בני אדם הדרים בישובים ואין להם מנין מ"מ יתפללו שחרית וערבית בזמן שהצבור מתפללים סמ"ג] וכן אם נאנס ולא התפלל בשעה שהתפללו הציבו' והוא מתפלל ביחיד אעפ"כ יתפלל בב"ה:
(9) A person should try to pray in the synagogue with a congregation, and if they are unable (lit. "anoos", coerced) to come, they should intend to pray while the congregation is praying [This applies to people living in small setttlements, unable to pray in a minyan -- they nevertheless, should pray Shacharit and Arvit during the time of congregational prayer] If they (the person) could not pray at the time when the community prays, and is praying alone, nevertheless they should pray alone in the synagogue.
(ז) וְאֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ לְהוֹדִיעַ לְאֵלּוּ שֶׁזִּכָּה לָהֶן מֵעֶרֶב יוֹם טוֹב. אֲבָל הֵן צְרִיכִין לֵידַע שֶׁכְּבָר זִכָּה לָהֶן אַחֵר וְעֵרֵב לָהֶן וְאַחַר כָּךְ יִסְמְכוּ עָלָיו וִיבַשְּׁלוּ וְיֹאפוּ. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא יָדְעוּ אֶלָּא בְּיוֹם טוֹב הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ מֻתָּרִין. וְיֵשׁ לוֹ לְאָדָם לְעָרֵב עַל כָּל הָעִיר וְעַל כָּל הַקָּרוֹב אֵלֶיהָ בְּתוֹךְ הַתְּחוּם וּלְמָחָר מַכְרִיז וְאוֹמֵר כָּל מִי שֶׁלֹּא הִנִּיחַ עֵרוּבֵי תַּבְשִׁילִין יִסְמֹךְ עַל עֵרוּבִי:
(7) And he does not need to inform those for whom he acquired [it] from the eve of the holiday. But they must know that another person acquired [it] for them and made an eruv for them; and afterwards they may rely upon it and cook and bake—even though these [people] did not know until the holiday, they are surely permitted. And a person should make an eruv for the whole city and for all that are close to it within the perimeter; and on the morrow, he should announce [it] and say, "Anyone who did not put down an eruv tavshilin may rely upon my eruv."
Discussion Questions:
Eruv tavshilin (the ritual that allows for cooking on yom tov in preparation for shabbat) and the notion of praying at the same time as the community call on us to do something together while separated.
What might these halachot say about what connects us as a community, even when we're not gathered in the same place?
Aish Kodesh, Parashat Yitro s.v. Vayishma Yitro
We learn in the holy book Beit Aharon that the fact that God gave the Torah to the Jewish people in the wilderness was of great significance. The Beit Aharon's teaching is in reference to Rashi's explanation of the verse (Deut. 6:5) "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart." Rashi explains: "Your heart should not be divided against God." The Hebrew name for God in this Rashi is HaMakom, which in this context is translated as "omnipresent," but normally translates as "place." The Beit Aharon explains Rashi as saying, "Your heart should not be divided against the place." That we must never say, "In this place, I can worship God but in another place it would not be possible." Wherever we are, we must worship God. If the Jewish people had received the Torah in their own land, the land of Israel, they might have assumed that they could fulfill the commandments only in their own homes, and not when they were exiled and preoccupied with survival. This is why God gave them the Torah in the wilderness, while they were traveling and busy - so they would know to keep the Torah everywhere...
תני אהבה בריה דר׳ זירא וכו'. פי׳ כל ברכות המצות אע״פ שיצא מוציא שאע״פ שהמצות מוטלות על כל א׳ הרי כל ישראל ערבין זה לזה וכולם כגוף א׳ וכערב הפורע חוב חבירו ובכלל זה גם ברכות דק״ש שש״צ מוציא י״ח מהם אפילו את הבקי ובלבד בצבור כדמוכח בפ׳ מי שמתו אבל בק״ש ותפלה אינו מוציא את הבקי כדאמר טעמא בירושלמי בדין הוא שיהא כל א׳ וא׳ משנן בפיו ושיהא כל א׳ מבקש רחמים על עצמו וכן בכל ברכות של שבת אע״פ שיצא מוציא:עברית
Ritva on Rosh Hashanah 29a:8
...All blessings over commandments, even though one already fulfilled the obligation, he may still fulfill another’s obligation. For even though the commandments are placed on each individual, behold all Jews are guarantors for one another, and they are all as a single body, and as a guarantor who repays his friend’s obligation.
הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, אַל תִּפְרֹשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר...
Hillel said: do not separate yourself from the community.
(ג) אַל תִּפְרֹשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר. אֶלָּא הִשְׁתַּתֵּף בְּצָרָתָם. שֶׁכָּל הַפּוֹרֵשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר אֵינוֹ רוֹאֶה בְּנֶחָמַת הַצִּבּוּר (תענית יא):
(3) "Do not separate yourself from the congregation": but rather share in their troubles. As anyone who separates from the congregation will not [live to] see the consolation of the congregation (Taanit 11a).
יכין אבות ב׳:ל״ב
אל תפרוש מן הצבור
כלל בזה ה' עניינים (א) שלא יפרוש ממנהגי הצבור, וכמ"ש חז"ל אזל לקרתא אזל לנמוסוא [ב"מ דפ"ו ע"ב]: (ב) כשמתכנסין לקבוע שיעור לימוד, או להתפלל, או להתיעץ בעסק מצוה או בצרכי צבור, לא יאמר יחליטו הם מה שירצו ואני מתרצה בכך או בכך, רק צריך ליעץ לטובת הצבור ולסייע בכל דבר לעבודת ד'. (ג) כשהצבור ולא הוא שרויים בצער, ירגיש צרתם כאילו הוא עצמו ג"כ שרוי עמם בצער [כתענית י"א א]. (ד) כשמתפלל על עצמו, ישתתף א"ע בתפלתו עמהן, לכלול א"ע בכלל כל הנצרכין בזאת. (ה) אמנם כל עוד, כשנתמנת למנהיג הצבור, אף שאז אינך רשאי להתערב עמהן ממש, שלא ידמו שאתה כאחד מהן ושוה להן, אפ"ה לא תפרוש מהן לגמרי, כאילו אתה האדון שאין כבודו להתערב בין עבדיו, שעי"ז תאבד אהבתם שיחשבוך לזר המתגאה עליהם. וזהו שאמר החכם היודע לרקח הסלסול והענווה במשקל נאות שוה בשוה, לפי הזמן, והמקום, והאדם, הוא האיש המוצלח, אשר יהיה אהוב, ומכובד לכל. [ושמור אלה הדברים המועטים, כי הם סוד יקר, אשר יכשלו בו רוב בני אדם במדת הן חסר והן יתיר]:
Tiferet Yisrael on Pirkei Avot 2:4 (R' Israel Lipschitz; 1782-1860, Germany)
[Hillel's teaching] includes five ideas:
- That one should not separate himself from (minhagei tzibur) the customs of the community.
- When the community gathers at its routine times, one should rouse himself for study, for prayer, to discuss matters of mitzvah, or the needs of the community. A person should not say, "They can decide what they want, and I--myself--will agree and accept what has been decided." Rather, one should assume a role in the communal gatherings, advising for (l'tovot ha-tzibur) the health of the community and always in the service of God.
- When the community is in a troubled state, even if the individual is not in that same sadness, he should feel their troubles as if he too were troubled. Thus, he can be with them in their sadness.
- When one prays for his own needs, he should include in his prayers the same wish for all those who are needy, thereby including himself among those who are in need.
- For one who is appointed to oversee the (minhagei tzibur) customs of the community: if the heads of the community are all mixed up in conflict, and they do not represent the community, even if the overseer is one of them and equal to them, he should not separate himself entirely from the general community, in order for him to manage them. There is no honor in getting mixed up among his servants. He works for the community's love, since they think of him as a stranger who is proud to be among them.
This is what the Sage is saying: One who knows the correct (middah) value of blending together confidence for the community with humility, one who can suitably balance measure for measure, at the appropriate time, in the appropriate place, with the appropriate person -- that is a person who is accomplished and should be loved and always respected.
Discussion Questions:
Based on these texts, what bonds us as a Jewish community?
What do you think it means to be a part of a Jewish community, and what does it mean to not separate from it, even at times when we're physically separated?