Maimonides writes in his Laws of
Repentance [2:6]:
Though repentance
and crying out (to God) is always good, during the ten days between Rosh
haShana and Yom Kippur, it is especially good, and will be immediately
accepted, as the verse [Isaiah 55:6] says, “Seek God while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.”
My father compared
this to the seasonal lowering of the price of fruit. Since the Ten Days of
Penitence are the season of repentance, the “cost” is lower.
Maimonides continues
by distinguishing between the individual and the collective:
The above is true
for the individual, however, concerning the congregation, whenever they repent
with sincere hearts, they will be answered, as the verse says, “Whenever we
call Him.” [Deuteronomy 4:7]
Continuing my
father’s comparison, it is as if God grants a special discount to the congregation
which is not available to individuals.
Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe
explains that the collective is not the sum of its constituent members, but
rather a new entity. True, most people think they can live as individuals,
alone and independent, however one who achieves deeper insight concludes that
the individual requires the collective for him to have a significant existence.
Rabbi Wolbe asserts that a person must reach the understanding that the
collective is the source of vitality for the individual. Indeed, this
understanding explains our Sages’ insight into the inclusion of helbana (by
itself, foul smelling) among the eleven spices of the incense offered in the
Temple:
Said Rabbi Ḥana son
of Bizna in the name of Rabbi Ḥisda the pious: A fast in which none of the
sinners of Israel participate is no fast; for behold the odor of ḥelbana
is unpleasant and yet it was included among the spices for the incense. Abaye
says: We learn this from the verse [Amos 9:6]: “And his union was founded upon
the earth.” Babylonian Talmud, Kritot 6b
Looking
forward to Sukkot, Rabbi Wolbe’s understanding explains our Sages’ comment:
It was taught: Of
the four kinds used for the lulav two are fruit-bearing and two are not;
those which bear fruits must be joined to those which bear no fruits and those
which bear no fruits must be joined to those which bear fruits. And a man does
not fulfill his obligation unless they are all bound in one band. And so it is
with Israel's conciliation with God, (it is achieved) only when they are all in
one band, as it is said [Amos 9:6], “And his union was founded upon the earth.”
Babylonian Talmud, Menachot
27a
Rabbi
Wolbe questions the Sages’ understanding that the righteous ones of Israel are
dependent upon the unrighteous, and explains that every Jew, simply by virtue
of being Jewish is part of Klal Yisrael (the collective Israel), and
therefore, Klal Yisrael cannot exist without those who are not
righteous.
Returning
to the basic point that the individual must see himself as part of the
collective, Rabbi Wolbe quotes the Gaon of Vilna, who says that in prayer one
must have intention (kavana) not for his personal needs, but for the
perfection of Klal Yisrael. Given that this is true on a daily basis, it
is all the truer regarding the High Holiday prayers.
May it be His will that each of
us contribute his/her part to the collective and through our own merit and the
merit of Klal Yisrael, may we all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life.
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