Rosh haShana to Sukkot - From Individual to Collective

Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe asserts that personal development requires than one first be an individual and then become part of the collective (klal), a new entity, not merely the sum of its constituent members, which is, thus, greater than the sum of its parts. Indeed, one whose entire essence is the collective and has no individuality not only will not be able to contribute to the collective, but has nothing to contribute.

Our Sages teach that the essence of Rosh haShana is Israel’s coronation of God as King of the Universe, and as such the holiday focuses on the collective, not the individual.  

Looking ahead toward Sukkot, Rabbi Wolbe notes that our tradition sees the seventy sacrifices offered during the festival [Numbers 29:12-34] as being offered on behalf of the seventy nations of the world. The concept of concern for all other nations is uniquely Jewish.

In essence, there is a progression: only when one is an individual can he/she become part of Klal Yisrael (the Collective Israel), and only when one is part of Klal Yisrael can he become part of the World Collective.