The Same Ma’akeh, Different Paths

by R. Eliezer Simcha Weisz

In Parashat Ki Teitzei, the Torah tells us:

“When you build a new house, you shall make a guardrail for your roof, so that you will not place blood in your house, should someone fall from it.” (Devarim 22:8)

When a person builds a home, it is not enough for it to be beautiful, strong and well planned. He must also think about what could go wrong. If there is a place from which someone could fall, he must put up a ma’akeh. The Torah does not tell us to wait until something happens and then react; we are expected to recognize the danger and prevent it.

The home must be protected not only from dangers that come from outside, but also from things within it that can weaken it.

Immediately afterwards, the Torah discusses kilayim: “You shall not sow your vineyard with a mixture,” and “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” These are, of course, separate mitzvos and should not be made into one halachic subject, but their proximity gives us something to think about.

Kilayim reminds us that differences are real. The Torah does not ask us to erase every distinction. There are different species, different qualities and different purposes, and sometimes they must remain distinct. But being different does not mean that we cannot live together.

A Jewish home can contain people with different characters and different ways of thinking, yet they are all living under the same roof. So too with Am Yisrael. We do not have to become the same or give up our traditions, our different rabbanim or our different approaches. We can recognize the differences between us and still know that we are travelling within the same larger framework.

The ma’akeh surrounds the whole house. It protects everyone who lives there. So too, there may be different paths within the religious community, but we are all under the same ma’akeh: the same Torah, the same emunah, the same history, the same people and the same responsibility for Am Yisrael.

We are living through a very difficult period. Our enemies continue to threaten us, our soldiers carry a heavy burden, many families have endured experiences no family should have to face, and there is still great uncertainty about what lies ahead. We all need the rachamim of the Ribbono Shel Olam. At such a time, it is especially painful to see the divisions within our own ציבור become so pronounced.

There are different communities, different batei midrash, different rabbanim and different approaches. There are genuine differences concerning the State, society, leadership and many other matters, and each person must follow the guidance of his Rabbonim. We should not pretend otherwise. At the same time, we must recognize how much we share. We learn the same Torah, daven to the same Ribbono Shel Olam, belong to the same people and live in the same Land. We want our children to grow up with Torah, mitzvos, emunah and good middos. We care about the future of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, daven for the safety of our soldiers and for families carrying such a heavy burden, and want to see the Torah world continue to flourish.

These are not small things. They are the foundations of who we are.

Chazal give us a remarkable example in the relationship between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel. Their disagreements in halachah were genuine and sometimes fundamental. Yet Chazal tell us:

“Beis Shammai did not refrain from marrying into the families of Beis Hillel, nor did Beis Hillel refrain from marrying into the families of Beis Shammai.” (Yevamos 13b)

They disagreed in Torah, but they did not allow those disagreements to destroy their relationship. This does not mean that every opinion is equally valid, or that differences in Torah outlook should be ignored. It means that a disagreement does not have to make us stop respecting the person with whom we disagree. We can firmly hold our own position and still recognize another Jew as someone who is trying to serve Hashem and as a member of our ציבור.

This is especially important now, as we approach the forthcoming elections. Political arguments naturally become sharper, and it is easy for people to begin speaking in terms of camps and labels. There is nothing wrong with having strong political convictions, voting according to one’s understanding of what is best for the country and Am Yisrael, or following the guidance of one’s Rabbonim.

But an election lasts for a day; the Jewish people remain one people afterwards.

We may vote differently and still daven together. We may have different views of leadership and still recognize one another as brothers. We may disagree about the direction of the State and still know that we are responsible for one another. We may walk on different paths, but we are still living under the same ma’akeh.

The purpose of a ma’akeh is to prevent the fall before it happens. There are words spoken in times of tension that may seem harmless but leave a lasting impression. Children hear how adults speak about another group and learn from it. Friendships can be damaged by political arguments, and people can begin to see someone from another camp as less religious, less committed or less worthy. These are dangers we have to recognize before they become permanent.

The enemy outside does not distinguish between the different groups within our community. When Am Yisrael is in danger, the danger does not stop at the boundary of one community or political camp. The pain of a family, the safety of a soldier and the future of the Jewish people do not belong to one group.

Our responsibility must therefore be greater than our differences.

There is a great difference between saying, “We are not the same,” and saying, “We do not belong to one another.” We may have different traditions, rabbanim and approaches, but we still belong to one another.

Perhaps each of us should ask ourselves: Have I begun to see another Jew only through the prism of his political or communal affiliation? Can I recognize the Torah and goodness in someone even when I disagree with him? Do I know what we share, or have I become accustomed to seeing only what separates us?

There is no need to surrender principles in order to answer these questions honestly. Chazal teach:

“Just as He is compassionate, so should you be compassionate; just as He is gracious, so should you be gracious.” (Sotah 14a)

Our avodas Hashem is not confined to the Beis Midrash. It is also expressed in the way we speak about another Jew and in the way we regard him.

At the same time, we must be careful not to make cheshbonos about why particular tragedies happen. We do not know the calculations of Heaven, and it is not our place to explain why one event occurred. But we certainly have to make a cheshbon about ourselves.

The Ribbono Shel Olam gave us one Torah and one people. Within that people are many communities and approaches. That is part of the richness of Klal Yisrael, but all of them are within one larger home. When that home is under pressure, we all have a responsibility to strengthen it.

This is the lesson of the ma’akeh: do not wait until the fall to recognize the danger. We have to be careful before political disagreements become personal hatred, before children learn to look down on another Jew because of his community, and before differences in outlook become permanent distance between people who should still be able to speak to one another.

And now, in the month of Elul, this takes on another dimension.

Elul is the time of cheshbon hanefesh, when a person looks honestly at his actions and asks the Ribbono Shel Olam for selichah and mechilah. We naturally think about bein adam laMakom—our mitzvos, our tefillos and our relationship with Hashem—but Elul also demands that we look carefully at bein adam lachaveiro.

It is not enough to ask Hashem for forgiveness while ignoring how we have treated another Jew. We should think about the words we have used, how we have spoken about other communities, the judgments we have made and the distance we may have allowed to develop between people who are really brothers.

This is a time to put aside some of the anger and suspicion that have accumulated—not to surrender our principles or pretend that legitimate differences do not exist, but to put those differences in their proper place. For the sake of Am Yisrael, we have to find our way back to one another.

That means speaking with greater respect, listening to one another, and making room for the fact that another Jew may see an issue differently without becoming our enemy. It also means asking the Ribbono Shel Olam for the wisdom to know which boundaries are necessary and which have become walls, the strength to overcome anger and resentment, and the humility to recognize the Torah, sincerity and goodness in another Jew even when we disagree with him.

This is precisely the time to strengthen what we share and make a real effort to bring Jews closer to one another for the sake of Am Yisrael. In our tefillos during Elul, let us ask the Ribbono Shel Olam to give us the wisdom and strength to repair what needs repairing and to overcome the divisions that have grown between us.

And we turn to Him to protect all of Am Yisrael, the residents of Eretz Yisrael, our soldiers and their families, and all our brothers and sisters who are suffering and in captivity.

“Hashem will give strength to His people; Hashem will bless His people with peace.”

The responsibility is ours, and so is the effort and the teshuvah. We ask the Ribbono Shel Olam to help us fulfill that responsibility faithfully.

In this month of Elul, when we ask for selichah and mechilah, let us remember that our teshuvah must include both bein adam laMakom and bein adam lachaveiro. Let us put aside what does not need to divide us, strengthen the bonds between us, and do our part for the sake of Am Yisrael.

We are different, but we are not separate. We may follow different paths, but we live within the same house, under the same ma’akeh, and we have a shared responsibility to strengthen the home that belongs to all of us.

May the Ribbono Shel Olam give us the wisdom, courage and siyata diShmaya to do our part faithfully, strengthen Am Yisrael from within, and bring yeshuah, peace and blessing to all of Klal Yisrael.