Yesterday, we spoke about the Rasha of the Hagada, who separates himself from the Jewish people. This was actually a quote from the Artscroll Sephardic Heritage Haggadah, page 57 (This is a beautiful Hagada to have for Seder preparation).
I saw a similar thought, with a deeper explanation, in the Hagadah, Living Our History, written by Rabbi Reuven Leuchter, a student of Rav Wolbe and a deep thinker.
He also says that the Rasha did not commit any sins, but he adds that when Hashem freed us from Egypt, He took us for Himself to be His nation, which means that Hashem’s relationship ceased to be focused on righteous individuals, and became centered on the nation as a whole. So our job now is in our role in the national mission. The famous mashal is given that every musician in the orchestra contributes to the symphony.
So too, every individual is indispensable, but only in the framework as part of of the symphony.
He says that the Rasha fails to understand that.
When we spoke about this yesterday, we described the Rasha as a fellow who doesn’t go to Shul, and cuts himself off from others. But Rabbi Leuchter describes him as a fellow who regularly attends his local synagogue, and gives Sedaka generously. His problem, he says, is in his mindset. He views his service to Hashem as his own personal matter. He doesn’t realize that the Jewish people is one single organism.
In his words, In one body, the head and the toe don’t merely have something in common, but rather, they are both part of one whole. That is the mistake of the Rasha. He doesn’t realize that he is part of the whole. It’s not just that he has something in common with other Jews, that they all perform Mitzvot together. That’s his mistake.
Rabbi Leuchter says that those that viewed themselves as distinct individuals died in Egypt, for , as individuals, they did not merit redemption.
This is a very powerful added depth.
Initially, we were just talking about the fellow that separates himself from the group in a physical sense, in that he doesn’t show up in shul or in times of Jewish gatherings.
However, this is more about what his mindset is.
It’s really more of an internal question. How do I view myself?
And this is the deciding factor of whether one is part of, or not part of, the Jewish people.
B’ezrat Hashem, we, who are working on our Ahavat Yisrael, will have the proper outlook.
Have a wonderful day.