Judaism and Responsibility
(this is meant to be given as a dvar torah)
Kol Yisrael arevim zeh b'zeh is the Jewish value that translates to "all Jews are responsible for one another." As a child I learned that this value meant supporting and caring for other Jews. But the word "responsible" does not only mean that we are responsible for each other's wellbeing. It also refers to responsibility for each other's actions. The phrase itself is located at the very end of Shavuot 39a, which is all about how punishments are meted out--especially communal punishments. Here, it is specifically referring to our responsibility to for wrongdoings commiteed by other Jews. Shavuot 39b goes on to say that this applies to anyone who could have protested or done something to prevent the wrongdoing, but didn't.
As Jews we put a lot of value into our status as a community and a people. Kol Yisrael is cited again and again to remind us that we must take care of each other regardless of our differences. I argue that while this is absolutely true, we're losing something by not including the full meaning of the phrase.
Jewish halacha often emphasizes our duty towards justice and compassion. We're told to speak up, to take action to create a better world. Often this is on behalf of people who are strangers to us. This is awesome and I love being part of a religion where social justice is a core tenet. However, I've noticed that there is sometimes (frequently) a layer of hypocrisy in Jewish spaces when it comes to pursuing social justice. We are so eager to help others, but the moment it's implied that a problem is actually our problem--and yes, I'm talking about Israel right now--excuses start popping up.
We're so far away from Israel, nothing we do has any impact on what happens there. It's offensive to expect American Jews to publicize their stance on Israel because of the dual loyalties trope. You would never require [x group of people] to take responsibility for the actions of [y country] that they no longer live in! It's not possible for me to care about every single problem in the world anyway. Israel/Palestine is a nuanced issue that requires advanced knowledge of the historical conflict and I am not qualified to do anything about it. Et cetera.
Now I want everyone to take a couple of seconds and be mad at me for saying all of that in an accusatory manner that made you feel like I was criticizing you. Allow yourself to think Oy, what does she even know?
And then release that impulse to stop listening to me. I promise I'm going somewhere with this.
My point is, responsiblity for one another comes with two meanings, and you can't have one without the other. Us being a community, a people, means we have to take responsibility together. Even if we don't know each other, or like each other, or feel that we were involved in the original wrongdoing. If I didn't believe in the importance of Jewish community and caring for each other, I wouldn't spend so much time trying to talk other Jews around to my way of thinking.
There is an anti-racist connection here. A slogan I heard a lot in 2020 was "white silence is violence". I believe that our silence as Jews when it comes to the atrocities committed by Israel is also violence. We can't decide to be neutral when our refusal to speak up may as well be condoning inaction. Community responsibility can be a powerful tool, something the Talmud acknowledges. When we care for each other, and correct each other, we can truly become the best versions of ourselves.