The phrase "Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh" means "all Jews (or all the people of Israel) are responsible for one another." What is the best way to interpret this phrase today, that we are all responsible for the world's Jews, or that we are responsible for everyone in the world?
First, it is important to understand the origin of this teaching and the way it has generally been used.
The phrase, “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh b'zeh”, All Israel is responsible one for the other, first appears in the early midrash and in the Babylonian Talmud. In each instance it teaches that the whole of the Jewish people are responsible for each other's behavior. Sifra, commenting on the verse in Behukotai (Leviticus 26:37): “And they shall stumble one upon another”, teaches that when one Jew errs and commits a sin, all Israel is responsible one for the other. The actions of an individual were related to, and impacted upon the entire Jewish people. The Midrash Lekakh Tov on Parshat Ekev draws the obvious conclusion that this responsibility requires Jews “to learn, teach, observe, do and fulfill” all of the commandments. If we are to be responsible one for the other, we need to assure that everyone knows their obligations. By analogy, Israel is envisioned as an organic whole, one body and one soul.
It is not surprising, then, that this phrase gets used in a variety of ways. Some invoke its ethic to encourage common political efforts and to promote Tzedakah (charity) on behalf of Jews in need around the globe. In the mid-19th century the kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara by the Vatican led to the founding of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, which defined its mission to care for Jews across the globe in line with this teaching. This slogan serves as a rallying cry for synagogue and Federation campaigns and to raise support for the State of Israel. In each case the underlying message is that no Jew stands alone.
When a Jew makes headlines for their illegal behavior, we see the dark underside of this teaching. Our mutual responsibility means that in some sense we are all tainted by their sin. From Bugsy Siegel to Bernard Madoff, from Yigal Amir to rabbis accused of selling human organs for profit, we cringe when we read of Jewish misdeeds; it is a shanda far de goyim, a communal embarrassment.
Against this background we can ask if this reading, that the phrase kol yisrael arevim zeh b’zeh addresses the responsibility that Jews have for each other, remains the best understanding of this teaching.
An organizer for Amnesty International once told me that no one ever contacts him asking to work for human rights in the abstract. Rather, they first act on behalf of someone with whom they have an identification, be it religious, national or social, and then come to understand that these same afflictions are found across the globe. By the same token I believe that this ethic, All Israel is responsible one for the other, is addressed to the Jewish community and not to the world as a whole. The statement, I am a Jew, identifies a person with a discrete community within the family of nations. Within that group one learns to deal with the world in appropriate ways – in this case to learn mutual responsibility. It is through learning these principles in the particular experience of one’s own group that one learns how to apply them to humanity as a whole.
Jewish tradition certainly teaches that we bear a broad responsibility for the world as a whole, a parallel obligation to that expressed in the statement that all Jews are responsible one for the other. Consider, for example, the teaching by Rabbi Elazar ben R' Shimon, Since the world is judged according to the majority as the individual is judged, when one performs a single good deed he should be happy that the has benefited both himself and the entire world (Kiddushim 40b). There are dozens of other teachings one might cite which echo our responsibility to repair the world (Tikkun Olam) and to work together with Jews and non-Jews to bring peace into the world (Mipne darkhe shalom).
These two ethics thrive side by side. We are better equipped to serve the world as a whole if we can recognize and identify our individual place within the world community. Our particular identity as Jews, and our acceptance of our responsibility to our own people, informs our ability to work for the improvement of the entire world.
The concept of Kol Yisrael … applies specifically to Jews out of the recognition that historically the Jewish people needed to rely on itself rather than waiting for the world to save it. In modern times the Holocaust demonstrated the reality of Jewish isolation, and modern Israel, irrespective of its political leaders, continues to experience such isolation and the need for Jewish self-sufficiency. Nevertheless, the concept of Kol Yisrael… does not exclude the Jewish requirement of Tikun Olam, which is based on other concepts of international responsibility.
Jews are expected to be a “light unto the nations”, presenting a model of morality and brotherly responsibility. Specifically in terms of Kol Yisrael.. the hope is that other peoples will see how Jews help each other and will try to do the same for their own people. A few years ago the Dalai Lama met with some Jewish Federation people to understand how we have survived and at times prospered all these years in exile. He was most impressed with Jewish cohesiveness and Jewish support for Jewish organizations and the Jewish needy. Once again this did not mean he overlooked the support Jews give to non-Jewish causes, but understood that our emphasis on Jewish survival has kept us alive and thriving.
The phrase "Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh" means "all Jews (or all the people of Israel) are responsible for one another." What is the best way to interpret this phrase today, that we are all responsible for the world's Jews, or that we are responsible for everyone in the world?
Rabbi Mark Greenspan
Thank you for your question. I can’t think of a more important question for contemporary Jews to think about: What is our responsibility to the Jewish people and to the larger world, and what is the relationship of these two sometimes conflicting sets of responsibilities? Anyone with a conscience must wrestle with this question on a daily basis, constantly weighing our place in the world and our responsibility for our own people.
This is not a new question. We find the following discussion in the Talmud: “Whosoever has the capacity to protest to prevent his household from committing a crime and does not do so is accountable for the sins of his household; if he could do so for his fellow citizens, he is accountable for the crimes of his fellow citizens; if the whole world, he is accountable for the whole world.” (Shabbat 54b) This statement suggests that from the perspective of the sages, responsibility is not either/or but and/also. If we have the ability to make a difference in our own family or community then we must do so. And if we can better the world in some way we can not turn our backs on others.
Are there priorities in making choices about who we choose to help and when to help others? I believe that the expression, Kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh applies specifically to the Jewish people but that does not mean we do not have a sacred responsibility to the larger world as well. One might think of our social responsibilities as a series of concentric circles, beginning with oneself (Hillel, “If I am not for myself who will be for me,”), continuing with family, one’s community, the Jewish people and, then, the larger world. We are taught in the Shulchan Aruch, the authoritative code of Jewish law from the sixteenth century: “The poor of one’s city take precedence over the poor of another city. The needy of Israel receive priority over the poor of the Diaspora. Obligations to local resident poor precede those owed to transient poor who have just come into one’s city. One’s impoverished family members come before another poor person. Parents have priority over children (who can support themselves.) One’s self comes before anyone else.” (Yoreh Deah 251:3)
Helping a fellow Jew is extremely important because we have a moral and social responsibility as members of an extended family and a historic community. To quote the old adage, “Charity begins at home?’ If Jews do not support the land of Israel, for instance, who will? While there are many food pantries, we have a responsibility to make sure that there is a place that provides kosher food for those who want it. But we should not forget that we are part of a larger community, ‘the family of humankind.’ We live in a global village and cannot ignore the suffering of others and the needs of the world. In ways that were inconceivable for our ancestors, we are aware of what is happening in the far reaches of our planet. As a result, our responsibilities to our fellow human beings continue to grow. The actions of others have global implications and our lives touch people around the world. The sages understood that knowledge implies responsibility: when we see someone in need, no matter who it is, we cannot remain indifferent. “Don’t stand idly by the blood of your fellow man,” applies equally to Jews and non-Jews.
The specific expression that you have asked about does apply to the Jewish people. But it is only a small part of the bigger question of our responsibilities to the world around us. We have a glorious responsibility, litaken et haolam, to repair the world, and to make the world into a place of both justice and compassion.
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