There is a Talmudic concept:
Every Jew is responsible for every other Jew. The exact word used to express
this responsibility is "ahreiv," which if precisely defined
means a guarantor, a co-signer. Think of the concept, if you will, as a
business-related issue—Every Jew must act as a guarantor for every other Jew.
Not just family, friends, and business associates; no, you must be prepared to co-sign
a loan for someone who might be a complete stranger to you, as long as
he/she is a fellow Jew!
Can it be any clearer than that??
We are all linked one-to-another. We are all pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle; our
raison d'etre only comes about through the entirety of the picture. What
gives meaning to our lives is the totality of the Jewish People; period!
Why this mini-dissertation as a
prelude to discussing this week's Parasha, Shoftim? Because a careful reading
of the closing segment in the Torah portion highlights this concept. The
Parasha closes with the famous story of the "Eglah Arufa," the
axed heifer. If a stranger's dead body is discovered inter-city, the elders of
the city determined to be located closest to the corpse bring the axed heifer as
a "sin" offering. Some commentators define the sin as allowing an
environment in their locale in which total strangers can be wantonly murdered.
But others define the sin as
having failed to fulfill the precept of responsibility to fellow Jews. Did the
elders see to it that he had somewhere to eat, to sleep? Did they find someone
to accompany him on his way, so that he would not be the victim of this heinous
act? Did they act as his guarantor, his co-signer?
No, and for that reason, they must
repent. The closing verse says it all: "And you shall remove the innocent
blood from your midst, when you do what is right/just in G-D's eyes (Deuteronomy
21:9)." Such as acting responsible for every other Jew!!
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