21 Tishrei: The Power of One
THE POWER OF ONE
You shall be gathered one by one, O children of Israel.
(Yishayah 27:12)
A person should always view himself and the world as equally balanced between merit and sin… If he performs one mitzvah, he tips his balance and that of the entire world to the side of merit and brings deliverance and salvation to all.
(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah 3:4)
When G-d redeemed us from Egypt, everyone left together. The final redemption, however, will be different. It will occur one by one. Yet, our sages state, “Like the days of the Exodus from Egypt, I will show you wonders.” This indicates that the redemption from Egypt and the future redemption are comparable.
This apparent conflict can be resolved by exploring two aspects of the Messianic redemption.
True, every person will experience his own Geulah (redemption). Eventually, though, these individual redemptions will reach a tipping point and will bring about the Messianic era. Furthermore, as the Rambam teaches, even one liberated person, or even one liberated act, can generate a ripple effect that will propel the world into Redemption. And surely, every act takes us one step closer to that day.
Tanya, Iggeres Hakodesh, ch. 4
