In this week's parsha we have the somewhat well known pasuk "הנסתרות לה' והנגלות לנו ולבנינו"- from here we learn the important concept (look in Rashi/Ramban) of kol yisrael areivin (ערב=guarantor) zeh bazeh. We have a principle of being responsible for other people’s Torah u’mitzvot. And, sure enough, there are halachic ramifications for this. Rashi (ר"ה פ"ג) says that you have a right to be motzi someone else for Kiddush; but how can you have shomeiah k’oneh if you yourself were already yotzei? Because of kol yisrael areivin zeh bazeh. If there are Jews out there that have not heard Kiddush then you are not completely yotzei.
A certain Rosh Yeshiva like to say there as many different unique aspects of Eretz Yisrael: smicha, egla arufa, nevua, plus the special agricultural aspect… That being said we see that something special is going on above and beyond just the soil. There's a reason why areivut could only begin when Bnei Yisrael entered Ereytz Yisrael. We are primarily a tzibbur when in our holy land, Eretz Yisrael. The atmosphere of its kedushah affcets us and is part of who we are as a nation.
This notion of areivim is a major theme in the parshah, and this means that we are not just individuals but a tzibbur. את אשר ישנו פה ואת אשר איננו פה, tzibbur is something which transcends individual people; it is a new unit which is formed as we enter our land. Hashem should help us to make oursleves deserving of returning to our land to once again become a single unit, an unearthly nation in Eretz Yisrael. Sometimes we forget that we are inherently connected to the Jew next to us, and unfortunately that leads to our own undoing when we cannot bring oursleves to act propelry towards them. How can we be called back to our home if we have not made ourselves decent? We are not in galut for no reason. I think it was from a shiur by Rav Yisachar Frand that I heard this mashal on the churban bayit (and it's definitely a little different than the way I heard it); imagine that a young talmid was brought into the Chofetz Chaim's home to stay there. Such an experience was a reality for certain special and fortunate individuals, and its profoundity can certainly be imagined by any who have notion of the Chofetz Chaim's persona. This young man had a wonderful privelage which he cherished immensly. Then one day he walked into the house to find the tzaddik sitting at his table with solemn look on his face. He looked up and said to the young man, "I'm sorry but you cannot stay in my home anymore. Today I heard you speak lashon hara, you must leave." - We detsroyed ourselves with Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred, and were tossed from our home by the one with Whom we shared residence, HaKadosh Boruch Hu. Unless we try to repair that which we we have cracked, to what end to we expect to come? As the Yamim Noraim approach and we are faced with the dread of our judgement's inscription and the yearning for atonement, maybe we should keep this idea in mind.
(What’s the difference between the tochacha in Bechukotai and the one in Ki tavo? Bechukotai is in lashon rabim and Ki tavo is in lashon yachid. The Gra writes that when you have a chovat tzibbur it often is in lashon yachid. - Where do we see an example of this newfound tzibbur aspect taking effect in E”Y? In Sefer Yehoshua by kibush haaretz, everyone suffered because one man, Achan, did an aveira by taking the verboten booty of Yericho.)
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