“Each and every one of us contributes to the creation of the environment in which we, our community, and our society live. By dedicating ourselves to Torah learning and Mitzva observance, we not only help ourselves, but also help make our environment more oriented towards holiness, which naturally impacts the people around us. Conversely, if we neglect or underemphasize Torah and Mitzvot, we help create an environment of religious apathy, which has the effect of lowering other people’s standards. We then bear a degree of guilt for other people’s misdeeds.

For this reason, Rav Zeitchik explains, the Torah says that when an individual sins, “Ve’hidvadu Et Avonam Asher Asu” – everyone must confess their wrongdoing. Although the sinner bears full accountability for his actions, we all share some level of responsibility…

The way we conduct ourselves has a profound, albeit indirect, impact upon the people around us, and even upon society as a whole. Everything we do and say, and the way we live our lives, helps determine the accepted standards. We must recognize the immense responsibility we have not only to ourselves and our families, but to our society, and conduct ourselves accordingly, so we can do our share in maintaining proper standards of Torah observance throughout our community and throughout Am Yisrael.”