By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — I am not a grammarian. In fact, while in Seminary I barely passed my Biblical grammar exam. However, I did find two interesting commentaries on a grammatical detail of this week’s parasha that I thought were worth sharing.
“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man, thus breaking faith with the Lord, and the person realizes his guilt, he shall confess the wrong that he has done. He shall make restitution…” (Num. 5:5-7)
Here’s the grammatical problem: the verse begins in the (Hebrew) plural (“when a man or woman commits…”) and ends in the (Hebrew) singular (“He shall…”). If the Torah makes a change from plural to singular, it must be to teach us a lesson!
Rabbi Menachem Beker writes that the change from plural to singular teaches us that kol yisrael areivim zeh ba zeh, Jews are responsible for one another. A person may not say, “I have saved myself” while ignoring those around them. All Jews have to pray for their neighbors’ well-being, as well as their own. All Jews have to pray for their neighbors’ sins to be forgiven, as well as their own. What’s more, all Jews are responsible for preventing other Jews from sinning.
This corporate responsibility is why the Yom Kippur confessional is in the plural, “Ashamnu, Bagadnu, Gazalnu...,” “we have sinned, we have trespassed, we have stolen….,” to remind us that we are responsible not only for our own good, but for the welfare of our neighbors, too.
The second interpretation of this grammatical change is from the Tzaddik Rabbi Mordechai of Naskiv. Rabbi Mordechai teaches that for many people there is a gap between words and action. It is relatively easy to confess our sins and promise to atone for them. However, promises don’t always lead to action.
That is what the change in grammatical case in our parasha teaches us. The word “confess” is in the plural because many people readily confess their sins. However, “He shall make restitution” is in the singular, because fewer people feel compelled to follow through with their deeds and make restitution with those they have harmed.
Which is the “correct” interpretation? I don’t think we have to choose! We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper and we need to make sure we follow our words with our deeds.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue. You may comment to him at leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com or post your comment on this website provided that the rules below are observed.
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