Bo 5763 - Rabbi Shmuel Wagner

Having just completed the intricate Perek of Mesechet Sanhedrin, "Hachelek," in the Daf Yomi cycle, I'd like to offer some interpretive thoughts of the Mishna of "Kol Yisroel yesh lahem chelek l'olam haba- every Jew has a share in the World to Come," and connect it to this week's parsha.

The Mishna tells us that "Kol Yisroel" have a chelek l'olam habah, yet we know that there are individuals whose sins are so great that they lose their share. The Rambam, in Hilchos Teshuva (Perek 3, Halacha 6) lists many types of resho'im that don't have a share in Olam Haba: minim, apikorsim, etc. If so, what does the mishna mean when it says, "Kol Yisroel"?

Perhaps one could answer this by positing a yesod in our existence. A Jew has a dual being - the individual himself, and his connection to Klal Yisroel. His own chelek in Olam Haba is based on his performance in this world regarding zechuyos and avonos, merits and liabilities. A person who is part and parcel of Kal Yisrael also has a communal share in the Olam Habah of "Kol Yisrael." If a person separates himself from the Klal, he in turn is denied this communal share. Most of those mentioned in the above Mishnayos are prime examples of those that have strayed from the Klal.

We find an argument between Moshe and Paroh concerning the question of "mi vami haholchim- who will be going." Paroh argues that only those capable of slaughtering the karbanos, namely adults, should be allowed to go since this was allegedly the purpose of the yetzia. Moshe counters: "bena'areinu ubizkenenu nelech ki chag Hashem lanu." All of us, including our youth, should go because it's a "chag Hashem lanu." What point did Moshe want to hammer home with these words? Clearly yetzias Mitzrayim was not only a yetzia for the individual shishim ribo but rather for the Klal. Yetzias Mitrayim is the beginning of the formation of Klal Yisroel and that's "Ki chag Hashem lanu," with the accent on "lanu." This creation of the Klal culminates at Matan Torah with the utterance of "Na'aseh V'nishma."

The pasuk that the Tana brings to show "Kol Yisroel yesh lahem chelek ba'olam habah" is "V'amech kulam tzadikim, l'olam yirshu aretz, netzer mata'ay ma'aseh yaday lehispa'er." The words, "netzer mata'ay," literally mean the "branch of my planting." The meforshim point out that there are 2 words that denote planting: zeriyah and netiyah. Zeriyah is for grain and vegetables, netiyah is for fruit. There's an intrinsic difference in the growth process between the two. Zeriyah could not take place until the mother or previous plant decays totally. It therefore has no connection to the previous plant. Netiyah, on the other hand, must have the tree still alive and supplying sap, otherwise it can't exist. The connection to the mother tree is critical. This is the beauty of the Jewish People, the interconnection to the previous generation of Klal Yisroel being essential. We all retain the chelek of the Klal when we stay close to the tree. This is also perhaps the meaning of "Etz chaim hi lamachazikim bah," the etz and its growth process being essential to our chayim.

Chazal tell us in Masechet Kidushin, "Kol hamelamed ben beno k'ilu kiblah Torah misinai," meaning a grandfather who teaches Torah to his grandchild, it's as if he received the Torah at Har Sinai. Why isn't this dictate applied to a father teaching his son as well? When a father is teaching his son, he's giving over the Mesoras HaTorah, but a grandfather who is one generation closer to Har Sinai is a much stronger link. He has a greater ability to see the meaning that the earlier generations possessed.

For the gentile nations, earlier generations are considered primitive and it's an imperative to forget, like the growth process of zeriyah. But Jews bless our children to be like earlier generations, like the growth process of netiyah, as Chazal say, "chayav adam lomar, masay yagiyu ma'asay lema'aseh avosay?" Some meforshim explain that one should ask: when will my actions connect with the actions of my forefathers?