Collective Responsibility

There is a story told in the Talmud about Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi and the Prophet Eliyahu. Despite the fact that Eliyahu had been dead for centuries, he would appear to Rabbi Yehoshua on a regular basis. ( We believe that Eliyahu comes to every Brit Mila and we open the door for him at our Passover Seder.)

On one occasion, Eliyahu no longer appeared to Rabbi Yehoshua. He fasted and prayed with the hope that he will again merit being able to have a relationship with the great prophet.

Eliyahu did appear to him again and explained that he temporarily cut off ties because an unidentified murdered corpse was found in the town where Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi had lived.

It was a sign that he was lacking in merit, for such a tragedy would not have occurred, had the people of the town and Rabbi Yehoshua, had been on a higher level.
This refers to the ceremony of עגלה ערופה, where they broke the neck of a calf. The members of the city declared, “Our hands did not spill this blood.”

This was an unusual ceremony that was meant to teach the idea of collective responsibility. This is what sets the Jewish people apart from the rest of the religions.

The pain of one Jew, is the pain of every Jew. We care when Jews are being oppressed anywhere in the world. We see it as our obligation to do what we can to alleviate his pain.

In reality, we are not a religion, but a family-nation. We evolved as descendants of Yakov’s family of seventy. Like a family, we care about every one of its members.
This is the lesson of the “Egla Arufa.” We must look out for one another and stick together like a family. The only ones we can truly rely upon is Hashem and each other. This is a lesson that we must not forget.