[Avodah] Vayelech "Singular to Plural"

[Cantor Wolberg]

"When l bring him to the land that I swore to his forefathers, which  
flows with milk and honey and he shall have eaten his fill and grow  
fat and turn to other gods and they serve them, and they provoked Me  
to anger and broke My covenant" (Devarim 31:20).

You will note that the first part of the verse is in the singular:  
"When I bring him to the land..." and the latter part of the verse is  
in the plural: "and they serve them..." (Interestingly, every chumash  
I have seen translates the first part also in the plural, even though  
it is in the singular).

Why?

Rav Moshe Feinstein offers the following brilliant explanation:

This verse warns us how important our actions are in relation to our  
surroundings. One person straying from the Torah's laws can cause a  
group of people to follow.  On the positive side, the converse is also  
true: following the word of God and acting righteously can have a  
tremendously positive effect on others who witness our actions — and  
will furthermore influence them for good and righteous behavior.
In Bava Basra 60b it says "First adorn yourself, and then adorn  
others."  This saying does not mean that one should wait until one  
corrects oneself entirely before one can correct others (for that may  
take forever).  It means that one's self improvement will influence  
others and may cause them to follow suit.  The mere attempt is a great  
start.

Along these same lines R' Levi Yitzchok of Berdichev said, "When I  
became aware that the townsfolk were not heeding my words, I began to  
examine my own actions.  Then, when I saw that my own family members  
were not behaving respectfully toward me, I intensified my soul  
searching, and by the grace of God, I discovered various defects in my  
character and that others' attitudes toward me were my fault, not  
theirs.  I began efforts to improve myself.  Gradually my family's  
attitudes changed, and then the townsfolk began listening to  
me."  (Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, Living Each Day, p. 229). Such  
humility for such a great man is an inspiration and an important  
lesson for all of us.

We pray that we can be a good example for others, as well as others, a  
good example for us. Then it's a Win Win situation. May this last  
Shabbos of the year be the turning point of going from singular to  
plural in the ethical, honorable and lawful way.

rw





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