When people speak about and reflect on our community, they usually complain. They point out the problems that plague our youth, the high cost of living, and the pressure of having to look and act a certain way.
All these issues are real, and should be addressed. But they tell much less than half the story about what our community is.
The first two pesukim of Parashat Beshalah tell us about Beneh Yisrael’s departure from Egypt:
When Pharaoh sent the nation, G-d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines…because G-d said: Lest the nation regret [leaving] when they see warfare, and return to Egypt. G-d led the nation along a circular route, by way of the desert…
The Keli Yakar noted that the Torah here repeatedly calls the Jewish People here העם – “the nation.” At the time they left Egypt, they were not בני ישראל – the nation of Israel – but just העם, the nation.
The reason, the Keli Yakar explains, is because at this moment, this is all they were – just an עם.
At this point, they did not yet develop true faith in Hashem, they did not really connect to Hashem, and they did not live according to the Torah. All this would happen in the ensuing chapters, when they experienced the miracle of the sea, sang the special song of praise to Hashem, ate the manna, and received the Torah. These events gradually brought them to the great level of בני ישראל. But at this point, when they first left Egypt, they were nothing more than העם – a nation.
The Keli Yakar is teaching us something very powerful. The first stage is to be an עם, a unit, a group, a team. Once we’re together, then everything else – the emunah, the commitment to mitzvot, the connection to Hashem – will come, in due time. The Jews were able to achieve all this because they started out as העם, as a team.
I am convinced that there is no group in the word that does this better than our community. We make an unbelievable team. Wherever we go on vacation, we see each other and instantly become like family. No matter what it is that a community member needs, he has so many connections and so many people who can and want to help out.
People complain about the pressure on the young men in our community to earn a lot of money. This is true, but it is also true that every young man in the community has many relatives and family friends to give him advice or help him get started. People complain about how the community talks when somebody does something wrong or has a problem. This is true, but it is because everybody cares about one another. We’re a team, and on a team, every member matters, and every member cares about every other member.
When 700 people attend a community wedding, it means that 700 people care about the young couple that is getting married. And that there are some 700 others – if not more – who also care about then, but didn’t make the list.
Yes, we have many problems in our community that must be addressed. But we’ve achieved the first step better than any group on earth – we’re an amazing team. And once we’re an עם, we are well on our way to growing into בני ישראל, into Hashem’s special nation, worthy of His blessing and of a close, beautiful connection to Him. By continuing to strengthen our bonds with one another, we will inspire one another and strengthen also our bond with Hashem, amen.