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Beit Midrash
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The mishna (end of Sanhedrin) explains this pasuk in regard to the World to Come, citing it as the source for the statement: "All of Israel has a portion in the World to Come." Even if some of the populace does not fully and properly keep the laws of the Torah, after they pay the price for their shortcomings, they will reach the World to Come, on some level, due to Divine Mercy. This is also the way the Rambam (Teshuva 3:5) explains the pasuk.
The gemara (Sanhedrin 98a) cites the pasuk as an indication of a very different idea. Mashiach will come only in a generation that is all virtuous or all liable, with our pasuk providing the support for the former possibility. In other words, if we will be all virtuous, then we will get that which we are awaiting.
The gemara in Pesachim (53b) cites the pasuk in a totally different context, as support for the idea that when there is a halachic disagreement, we say that both sides (even the one we reject) are righteous. (This is an important point in halachic pluralism, as is reiterated in the Biur Halacha, 143).
The midrash (Psikta Zutrata, Bereishit 27) takes the pasuk in a counter-intuitive direction. When Yaakov came disguised as Eisav, Yitzchak smelled his clothes (begadav) and blessed him. The midrash explains that begadav actually refers to bogdav (his traitors), and thus our pasuk says that even the wicked within Israel are considered righteous (and thus deserve blessing). This approach, again, seems to contain a self-contradiction, as the wicked are not righteous. The Zohar says that keeping brit mila, which was always widely done, makes one righteous. Bereishit Rabbati says that all Jews receive this distinction as members of the nation that accepted the Torah at Sinai. Rav Tzaddok Hakohen says that it refers to the idea that all Jews, even if they are lacking in some areas, are righteous in at least some mitzvot. All three of these approaches found a way to reconcile the statement with apparently different facts on the ground, and each explains that righteousness in this context is not as far-reaching as we might expect.
The Noam Elimelech has a very different approach to "kulam tzaddikim." Every individual sins, which makes it difficult for him to be considered perfectly righteous. However, if he is attached to kulam (to the nation as a whole) then he can tap into what is right in the nation, which the pasuk tells us is considered perfectly righteous. Individuals can be lacking; the collective cannot.
Let us always focus on connecting ourselves to the collective in Israel and remember, as the days of mercy and forgiveness approach, that in order to be successful on Yom Kippur, it is crucial to be willing to pray with sinners.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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D'varim Judaism’s Social Vision
Re’eh
Giving is more than an act of generosity—it is an essential part of human dignity that belongs to everyone, rich and poor alike. The ultimate goal of help is to empower others to stand on their own.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
