Connected in good times and bad

The challenge is extending our sense of mutual responsibility to fellow Jews who aren’t in need of our sympathy or charity


Rabbi Adam Cutler
Beth Tzedec Congregation, Toronto

Rabbi Adam Scheier
Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, Montreal


Rabbi Scheier: I recently read a fascinating story about Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, the 19th-century Lithuanian founder of the Musar movement. After a Jewish professor in Paris converted to Christianity, Rabbi Salanter gathered his students and informed them that they were (partially) responsible.  

The students were obviously taken aback at their teacher’s harsh criticism. “But he is in Paris, and we are here in Lithuania,” they said. “We’ve never heard of this man, nor have we met him! How could we be responsible?”  

The rabbi responded, “If you were more sincere in your prayers, devoted to your learning and connected to the local Jewish population, then it would have an impact on that Jew in Paris.”

I am fascinated by this story, which seems to suggest a “butterfly effect” to our spiritual life. The sense of responsibility these yeshiva students were taught to have for Jews beyond their immediate vicinity is very moving. 

How do you view the challenge of teaching this message – that we are connected to the lives of Jews around the world, whether they are in Paris, Israel, here in Canada or anywhere else?

Rabbi Cutler: The earliest occurrence of the famous phrase “Kol yisrael areivim zeh bazeh” (“All of the people of Israel are responsible for one another”) comes up in the context of sin. There are communal consequences for individual failures, and it becomes the responsibility of all Jews to monitor and correct the misbehaviour of their coreligionists. 

Over time, though, this concept grew to include the responsibility to provide food, shelter and clothing to our fellow Jews in need, and has fortunately become an essential part of recognizing the familiar nature of the Jewish People.

I think that this concept can indeed be taught. More importantly, it should be experienced. To truly assimilate the idea, one must observe Jews taking care of other Jews, experience the international reach of our institutions, and hear the stories of Jewish refugees and those who were rescued and brought by our community to Israel.

Rabbi Scheier: Kol yisrael areivim zeh bazeh” underscores the necessity of a deep sense of communal unity.

The greatest display of such unity that I have seen occurred while I was in Israel last summer, during Operation Protective Edge. I was struck by how the nuanced differences that normally divide our Jewish society simply ceased to exist. I recall walking through the halls of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, where many IDF soldiers were convalescing, and saw all of Israel there to visit the wounded. There were modern Orthodox, secular, ultra-Orthodox – all there to visit with fellow Jews and to strengthen the sense of mutual destiny felt among our people.

The challenge is extending this sense of mutual responsibility beyond the crucible. How do we live and teach the same connection with Jews who live one neighbourhood or even one street over, and who aren’t in need of our sympathies or charities? 

Rabbi Cutler: When I was a child, my mother would take me with her when she volunteered at Baycrest, Toronto’s major Jewish seniors facility. At my childhood synagogue, there was a centre for Jews with cognitive disabilities. 

We can’t send all young Jews on service trips around the globe to meet and support their fellow Jews. But it’s imperative that we create opportunities for all Jews – especially younger Jews – to see all facets of their local Jewish community – young and old, wealthy and poor. Seeing the face of the other and listening to their stories is the first step toward inculcating a sense of mutual responsibility. 

As for teaching mutual responsibility and connection from the comfort of our own homes, there is nothing stronger than an invitation to a stranger for a Shabbat meal. Upon seeing a new face at the gym, it would be considered bizarre if not dangerous to immediately invite that person into one’s house for a home-cooked meal. Yet, within our community, at our synagogues, it is not only acceptable, but desirable upon encountering an unfamiliar face to extend a Shabbat meal invitation. I have rarely felt more cared for than when travelling or checking out a local synagogue for the first time and being invited over to a stranger’s home for a Shabbat meal. 

After all, nothing says I care for you more than fresh, warm challah.