Special Bond of the Jewish People

Upon examination of the character of Yehuda that led him to becoming the leader of the family, there is one incident that stood out.

Rav Kook felt that the convincing of Yakov to send Yosef with him to Egypt, was huge. Yehuda told his father that he would be an “Arev” for his brother. Generally, the word “Arev” is translated as a guarantor. In this case, it meant a lot more.

He was expressing absolute responsibility for his younger brother. He was willing to risk losing his share of Olam Haba, the World to Come, if he did not protect Binyamin from harm.

Yehuda was demonstrating how Jews are responsible for one another. As we say in Hebrew, כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה. This became a characteristic that was unique to Judaism.

The Jewish people feel a sense of collective responsibility for one another. The pain of one Jew, regardless of where he might be, is the pain of every Jew. We are a Nation-Family, and we are taught to care for one another.

We do not find this to be true with any other religion. There does not seem to exist that same type of bond. Douglas Murray, the very eloquent non-Jewish journalist, has pointed this out specifically in the Muslim world.

There isn’t a collective sense of responsibility for the plight of the Arabs living in Gaza. Muslims in other neighboring countries, do not see this as their responsibility.

We grew up going to rallies to save Soviet Jewry. We were concerned for the Jews of Ethiopia, Syria, and Iran. Yehuda is the one who taught us that we must learn to be “Areivim” for our Jewish brothers and sisters, wherever they might be. This is but another reason, that makes being Jewish so special.