Mitzvos through unity with the collective

בת"כ ואהבת לרעך כמוך אר"ע זה כלל גדול בתורה בן עזאי אומר ז"ס תולדות אדם כלל גדול ממנו.

In the Toras Kohanim: "And you shall love your fellow as yourself" — Rabbi Akiva said: This is a great principle (klal gadol) in the Torah. Ben Azzai says: "This is the book of the generations of man" (Bereishis 5:1) is an even greater principle than it.

The famous dispute opens the piece: Rabbi Akiva sees loving one's fellow as the Torah's great klal, while Ben Azzai points to the verse about all mankind descending from Adam as a still greater one.

כי הנה עיקר קיום תורה ומצות בכלל ישראל שע"י הכלל זוכין אל הקדושה כמ"ש ז"ל שפ' קדושים נאמרה בהקהל.

For behold, the essential fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos is within the collective (klal) of Yisrael, for through the klal one merits kedushah (holiness), as Chazal said that the portion of Kedoshim was said in assembly (b'hakhel).

Holiness is attained specifically through the collective of Bnei Yisrael; this is why parshas Kedoshim, which centers on kedushah, was taught to the whole nation gathered together.

ולכן צריכין לעשות כל מצוה בשם כל ישראל לבטל עצמו אל הכלל.

Therefore one must perform every mitzvah in the name of all Yisrael, to nullify oneself to the klal.

Each mitzvah should be done on behalf of the entire nation, an act of bittul in which one joins oneself to the collective rather than standing as an isolated individual.

ואמר זה כלל גדול מכלל דאיכא קטן.

And he said "this is a great klal" — implying that there is also a small klal.

The very phrase "great principle" hints that there must also be a "smaller" principle, which the Sefas Emes now explains.

והכלל הקטן הוא להיות כל המצוה נעשה בכלל כל הרמ"ח אברים של האדם שנק' עולם קטן.

And the "small klal" is that every mitzvah be done with the totality of all 248 limbs of a person, who is called a "small world" (olam katan).

The lesser principle is internal unity: a mitzvah should engage the whole person — all 248 limbs of the individual, who is himself a microcosm of the world.

וכדאיתא ערוכה בכל רמ"ח אברים היא שמורה כנ"ל.

And as it is stated: when [the Torah] is arrayed in all 248 limbs, it is preserved — as above.

Chazal teach that Torah is retained only when it permeates all 248 limbs; this is the "small klal" of personal wholeness.

וכלל הגדול הוא כלל כל ישראל.

And the "great klal" is the collective of all Yisrael.

The greater principle is uniting oneself with the entire nation — the level of "love your fellow as yourself."

והוסיף בן עזאי זה ספר ת"א כלל גדול ממנו שהוא לא זו שצריכין לעשות תו"מ בכלל ישראל כמ"ש ואהבת לרעך כמוך.

And Ben Azzai added that "This is the book of the generations of man" is an even greater klal than it — that it is not only that one must perform Torah and mitzvos within the collective of Yisrael, as it says, "Love your fellow as yourself."

Ben Azzai goes a step beyond Rabbi Akiva: unity is not limited to the present collective of Yisrael alluded to by "love your fellow."

אך צריכין ג"כ לכלול עצמו עם כל הדורות.

Rather, one must also include oneself with all the generations.

The greatest unity reaches across time, binding a person to every generation, past and future.

וזה כלל הגדול כל הנשמות כמו שהיו כלולין באדם הראשון שכולן תלוין זה בזה.

And this is the great klal — all the souls, as they were included within Adam HaRishon, all of them dependent upon one another.

This is why Ben Azzai cites the verse about Adam: all neshamos were once contained within him, and they remain interdependent, one great organism across all generations.

וצריכין לשמור זה הכלל לעשות כל מצוה בכלל כל ישראל ואז חל עלי' שם שמים כדכתי' אני ה'.

And one must guard this klal — to perform every mitzvah within the collective of all Yisrael — and then the Name of Heaven rests upon it, as it is written, "I am Hashem."

When a mitzvah is done on behalf of this all-encompassing collective, Hashem's Name comes to rest upon the act, as the verse seals it with "Ani Hashem."

ופי' ואהבת לרעך כמוך כי בכל עשי' יש רצון ואהבה לתקן נפשו או כשעושה ביותר לשמו ית' שיזכה לעשות נ"ר לבוראו וכמו כן יאהב לחבירו שבזו המצוה יתמשך קדושה לכל אחינו בנ"י ושיהי' להקב"ה נ"ר מכולנו ואז כח הכלל מסייע לזה:

And the meaning of "love your fellow as yourself": for in every deed there is a will and a love to rectify one's own soul — or, when one acts on a higher level, for the sake of His Name, that he merit to give nachas ruach (satisfaction) to his Creator. So too let him love his fellow, [desiring] that through this mitzvah holiness be drawn down to all our brethren Bnei Yisrael, and that the Holy One have nachas ruach from all of us — and then the power of the klal assists in this.

"Love your fellow as yourself" means: just as a person desires his own soul's rectification and to bring nachas to Hashem through a mitzvah, he should equally desire that the same holiness and nachas flow through all of Bnei Yisrael. When one performs a mitzvah with this collective intention, the immense power of the klal comes to his aid.

Summary: The essential fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos is within the klal of Yisrael, for holiness is attained through the collective — hence Kedoshim was taught b'hakhel. There is a "small klal," uniting all 248 limbs of the individual (a microcosm), and a "great klal," uniting oneself with all of Yisrael. Ben Azzai reaches further still: the verse of Adam teaches that all souls were one in him and remain interdependent across every generation. "Love your fellow as yourself" therefore means desiring that the holiness and nachas ruach of one's own mitzvah flow to all of Bnei Yisrael — and when one does so, the power of the klal assists him.