[Avodah] Cave or desert island

[Michael Makovi]

> R' Michael Makovi writes:
>
> >> But the purpose of the Torah is to perfect the society! As Rabbi Aryeh
> Carmel puts it in Masterplan, the aim of the Torah is not the
> perfected individual, but rather the perfected society.
>
> Any individual by himself can be righteous. And it's not because it's
> easy. Rather, there's nothing to do! True, I haven't stolen or lied or
> injured, but I couldn't if I wanted to! There's a saying, something
> like "When there's nothing to steal, the thief regards his virtue as
> real". So it isn't merely that the achievement was easily won. Rather,
> there's no achievement at all whatsoever! <<


> It may be true that the ultimate goal is to perfect society, but if the
> choice is living in a corrupt society and trying to influence them, or
> becoming a hermit/going to live in a cave for fear of them influencing you,
> the Rambam in 6th Perek of Hilchos Deos is very clear on which option to
> choose...

Very true. If you live in Sodom, leave ASAP. But this is not
l'hatchila. The ideal is that you live in a society and participate in
it. Rambam elsewhere says that a man who cuts himself off from the
community, even if he still does mitzvot, has no Olam haBa.

In other words: were one to go off and be a tzadik by himself, even if
he's more of a tzadik than he would be in the community, he has no
olam haba. Period.

To leave the community is only a last-resort when the society is so
sinful that you're going to go down with it. This is not the ordinary
situation, and it is not the desired outcome. Assuming a normal,
decent society, you are not to leave.

Mikha'el Makovi