Question:
"Kol yisroel aravim zeh lazeh." "All Jews bare responsibility for their fellow Jews." It doesn't seem fair that we are held responsible for something someone else has done, especially if we could not influence their choice in what they were doing.

 
Reply:
"Kol yisroel aravim zeh lazeh" - is based on a passage in Lev. 26:37, "When one brother will stumble (because of - [Rashi] ) his brother......
This does not mean in all cases, one is punished for what his brother does.
As a matter of fact, the Torah teaches that a son is not punished for his father's sins unless he continues in his father's ways. (Tal. Sanhedrin, 27b)
 
The Rabbis state that a person is only punished for his own sins. Of course we shouldn't stand idly by while one corrupts himself. We must do what is possible to get him on the right path. There's no guarantee that we'll be successful, so we're not punished if he keeps to his corrupt ways.
 
If however we simply do not get involved while someone is making a mistake when we can help, then we are responsible (Tal. Sanhedrin, 27b). It's a corruption in ourselves that we don't care enough about our fellow Jew to admonish him about his error. It is wrong to allow one to make a mistake and not tell him he's doing so. This type of activity represents that we care about our own perfection, more than another Jew. Who is to say who is more important? Not us for sure.
 
Many forms of information target us today in our society. All with the message that, "You are number one". Due to this pervasive media, our society has become ingrained with caring for the self more than for another.
 
This is not Judaism.
 
We recognize that we have existence, and equally true, others have existence. It is G-d's will that others exist as we do, and as such, we must demonstrate this with our actions by involving ourselves with benefiting others, as we want to benefit ourselves.


Philosophy | Tnach | New Postings | JewishTimes | Audio Archives | Suggested Reading | Live Classes | Search | Letters | Q&A's | Community Action | Volunteer | Links | Education | Chat | Banners | Classifieds | Advertise | Donate | Donors | About Us | Press | Contacts | Home

 

Mesora website designed by NYDesign.com
© 2003 Mesora of New York, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Articles may be reprinted without permission.