Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Rav Kook's Ein Ayah: Not Distancing Oneself From the Community

(based on Berachot 1:108)

Gemara: Do not pass behind a synagogue at a time that the congregation is praying.

Ein Ayah: This is because separating oneself from the ways of the congregation destroys, Heaven forbid, the nation’s foundations. It is thus proper that those who separate themselves from the community are among those who lose their place in the world to come. The matter of separation is especially prominent in the realm of service of Hashem. When one is disjoint from the community’s service, the spirit of sanctity that enters the hearts of Hashem’s nation as a whole will not enter his heart. Slowly but surely his heart and soul become distant from the Jewish holy qualities, causing bad for him and his offspring by separating them from the nation. 

When the number of people who do this multiplies, a “‘bald patch” develops in Israel, and the House of Israel becomes fractured and broken into splinters. Therefore, it is worthwhile to stay far away from anything that displays that he does not care to be part of the community regarding service of Hashem, even if that is not his intention. This is because the seriousness of the matter and the negative outcomes that can result are severe enough to distance oneself from it. That is why one must not pass behind a synagogue at the time the congregation is praying.

No comments: