Each member of Kenesses Yisroel is endowed with an inherent Kedusha which manifests itself both individually and collectively. A true oveid Hashem not only strives for personal piety and religious growth, but also concerns himself and identifies with the aims and needs of others.
The Torah ascribes added significance to a mitzva by virtue of its collective nature. Hence, should an individual loose a close relative during a festival his personal obligation to mourn is suspended until the conclusion of that festival in order to allow him to allow him to fulfill the obligation of simcha (rejoicing) during that yom tov. In explaining the priority given to that simcha, the Talmud (Moed Kattan 14b) states: "Asi ase d'rabbim v'dachy ase d'yachid" ("a positive collective commandment comes and pushes aside a positive individual commandment"). The Rambam maintains that both of these obligations, mourning the loss of a relative and rejoicing on a festival are biblical commandments. Hence, even from a biblical perspective, preference is shown to a collective obligation. Furthermore, basing themselves on an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer freeing a slave in order to insure tefillah b'tsibur, Tosafos asserts that even a collective rabbinical obligation can override a personal biblical prohibition.
The distinction between individual and collective obligations is often evident in the Torah's formulation of the commandment itself. Whereas individual commandments are often stated in the plural, collective imperatives are formulated in the singular, thus emphasizing the collectivity as a whole. An example of the latter is the obligation of counting the Yovel (Jubilee) cycle. Unlike the mitzva of taking a lulav on Succos which is formulated in the plural, "u'l'kachtem lachem" (Vayikra 23:40) ("and you shall take for yourselves"), here the Torah states, "u'safarta l'cha" (Vayikra 25:8) ("and you shall count for yourself"). For this reason, the Sifrei (ibid) comments, " 'u'safarta l'cha' - b'beis din" (" 'and you shall count for yourself' - in a rabbinical court"), limiting the obligation of counting the Yovel years to the highest court which represents the people of Israel as a whole.
Another example is the obligation of counting the omer which, although initially rendered in the plural, "u'safartem lachem" (Vayikra 23:15) ("and you shall count for yourselves"), is later repeated in the singular "tispar lach" (Devarim 16:9) ("count for yourself"). Accordingly, the Torah requires each individual to count the omer, thereby accounting for the initial plural formulation of this commandment. However, basing himself on the second singular formulation, Rabbi Eliezer argues (Menachos 65b) that the counting must be t'luya b'bais din, dependent on the highest court as well. Hence, this court, the collective representative of Israel, must determine when the counting begins. The Sifre (Devarim 16:9) requires that the omer be counted twice, once individually and a second time collectively, by the highest court.
A further example of a Parsha which contains individual as well as collective elements is the tochacha, the portion of this week's Torah reading which discusses divine retribution. The Tochacha, like the commandment to count the omer, is found twice in the Torah. In Vayikra (26), it is formulated in the plural, addressing each individual member of B'nei Yisroel. In Devarim (28), however, it is repeated in the singular, which the Gaon of Vilna explains is directed to the collective unit of Kenesses Yisroel. The collective quality of this tochacha is emphasized by the verses (Devarim 29:13-14) which follow it:
"v'lo itchem l'vadchem anochi kores es habris hazos v'es ha'alah hazos, ki es asher yeshno po imanu omeid hayom lifnei Hashem Elokeinu v'es asher ainenu po imanu hayom" ("not only with you do I make this covenant and oath; but with him that stands here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day").
Rashi explains that the phrase "v'lo itchem l'vadchem" includes even "doros ho'asidim l'hiyos" - generations that are destined to yet come into existence. Thus, the collective nature of the tochacha in particular, and Kenesses Yisroel in general, includes any future member of B'nei Yisroel as well. Accordingly, the Gemora in Sotah(16b) and Sanhedrin(43b) derives the concept of arvus, communal responsibility, from the tochacha, which emphasizes the collective unit of B'nei Yisroel. In this sense, Rav Yeruchum Perlow (Sefer HaMitzvos L'Rasag, Chapter 57) explains the view of the Bahag who counts the tochacha and its blessings and curses among the 613 mitzvos. He suggests that he Bahag was not referring to the ceremony and ritual of the tochacha, but rather to the mitzva of arvus which is rooted in the tochacha itself.
The reading of the tochachca this Shabbos is not coincidental, but rather a Takanas (enactment of) Ezra requiring that the tochacha be read before Rosh Hashana. We must approach Rosh Hashana and the yemei hadin (days of judgement) with a heightened appreciation and awareness of the uniqueness of arvus and Kedushas Yisroel. May the reading of the tochacha realize our fervent tefilos, "she tichle hashana u'klaloseha" (the year and its curses come to an end).