The Sinai Experience, which we celebrate during the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, has some fascinatingly paradoxical components.
On one hand we became a nation, as it states, “You will be unto Me a kingdom of nobles and a holy nation.”
On the other hand, the Ten Commandments were addressed to each individual, as evidenced by the singular form that G-d uses for all ten of them. (E.g. I am the L-rd your (singular) G-d.)
On the other hand, the covenant was made with the people collectively, as it states, All the people responded together and said, “All that G-d has spoken, we will do.”
On the other hand, the covenant was made with each individual, as evidenced by the notion that every single Jew alive at the time, along with the future souls of Jews, native and convert, were present for the establishment of the covenant at Mt. Sinai.
On the other hand, the mandate for mutual responsibility, Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh La’zeh, comes from Sinai.
Are we an individualist society or a collectivist society? I would have to say neither, or perhaps a blend of both ideals. Certainly, Hashem desires a relationship with each of us individually. There are certain obligations and privileges that Judaism affords us as individuals. Along with that, we also recognize the value of being part of something bigger, of which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Take a Minyan for example. The power of communal prayer is more than just 10 times the power of the individual. There is also a qualitative difference between them.
A takeaway from this seeming paradox is that while the right of an individual is highly respected in Judaism, a Jew is encouraged to embrace the strength of the collective, recognizing that it augments his or her own individual value in a most powerful manner. At the same time this power does not blur the value of the individual.
A Torah scroll contains 304,805 letters. If one letter is missing, the entire scroll is unfit for use. Additionally, each of the letters must be ringed by “white space.” Every Jew is a letter in G‑d's scroll. The people of Israel comprise an interdependent entity. The lack of a single Jewish soul, G‑d forbid, would spell a lack in us all. Yet equally important is the inviolable "white space" which distinguishes each of us as an individual. True, the letters spell a single integral message. But this message is comprised of hundreds of thousands of voices, each articulating it in its own manner. To detract from the individuality of one is to detract from the integrity of the collective.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Shavuot. May we merit to receive the Torah in a deeply meaningful and joyous manner!
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin