Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Rav zt’l, teaches that, “The Jewish people constitute an edah when they are united in acknowledging and loving G-d, and when they have a shared desire to live a sanctified life. In such times they form an edah not because they take pride in their intellectuals, scientific geniuses, or inspired authors. Their edah is distinguished by virtue of its embrace of the prophets, tananim, amoraim, and other holy and heroic people who forged the character of the nation of Israel. When constituting such an edah, the Jewish nation is recognized for its holiness, ethical purity, humility, eternity and nobility of spirit... In such times, Adas Yisrael is bathed in a sea of divine light, an ocean of eternal radiance, from which G-d’s Shechina emerges...
“There are also times when Jews come together as a machaneh - whether out of fear of an Amalek or a Haman, or because it is impossible for them to assimilate. Such is the case in our own time, when our sanctity is diminished, Shabbos is in exile, Jewish family life is under assault, and our past spiritual glory is in tatters. We are bereft of the ancient commitment to spirituality that united us in the past. Today we are forced to invoke intellectual and pragmatic considerations for Jewish solidarity, such as fear of the enemy who despises us, or shared economic interests that often entail a disregard for the mitzvos. But such things by themselves cannot bind our camp together in lasting fashion. Yes, it is true that some of us come together occasionally for the sake of mutual protection, but this has no staying power, for there is no strong group identity. Proof can be found in the dismal failure of American Jewry when it comes to its organizational life. How much ink has been spilled, how much quills have been broken, how much energy and effort expended in attempting to consolidate the Jews in this country into a single entity! It is all to no avail.
“Where there is no shared spiritual vision, fear and trepidation are the only recourse to bring people together. But fear is a negative emotion, utterly incapable of building a lasting unity. Even though a machaneh might be formed on an emergency basis, its internal divisions will always resurface once the danger has passed. The only unity among Jews that can persist over time is the unity of an edah, which, like a tzibbur or kahal, is characterized not by shared fear or anxiety, but by a collective spiritual goal and purpose” (Chumash Masores HaRav, Vayikra, p.71-72).
Two and a half years after the horrific and terrifying pogrom of October 7th, how powerful, true, unsettling in their reality, and awesome are the words of Rav Soloveitchik. They deserve to be read, and read again. In order for our nation to achieve lasting unity, it must be through the spirituality, holiness and purity of shared Torah goals, as the mamleches kohanim and goy kadosh (cf. Shemos 19:6) that we are destined to be.
May we merit it speedily, in our days and in our time.
שלום ושבת טובות בשורות בברכת