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                                                                                                                  The Ba’al Hatanya says that the Torah delineated all of the various levels
                                                                                                                  in Am Yisrael to indicate that the nation needs both the important people
                                                                                                                  and the simple ones. Bnei Yisrael are compared to a body, composed of
                                                                                                                  a head and feet, unable to exist without both.

                                                                                                                  Achav merited victory in battle and had untold authority despite the
                                                                                                                  fact that he promoted idol worship. He displayed tremendous reverence
                                                                                                                  for the Torah, and there was mutual kinship among his people. Their
                                                                                                                  Yetzer Hara for avodah zarah, though, was overwhelming, drawing
                                                                                                                  them into sin.

                                                                                                                  David Hamelech’s generation were believers, but they fell in battle due to
                                                                                                                  the sin of lashon hara and rechilut. Achav’s generation had the advantage
                                                                                                                  of unity.

                                                                                                                  Yeravam sinned and caused the masses to sin, due to his pursuit of honor.
                                                                                                                  He was unable to do teshuvah because the sin of the multitudes is
                                                                                                                  attributed to him. The tzaddik sins so that when he repents, he can pull
                                                                                                                  up the neshamah of the rasha with him, due to the achdut prevalent in
                                                                                                                  Am Yisrael. Not only does the tzaddik benefit the rasha; the rasha benefits
                                                                                                                  the tzaddik, for the tzaddik’s neshamah is purified through the teshuvah
                                                                                                                  he does after this sin.
                                                                                                                  Moshe told Bnei Yisrael, “You are standing today,” and not, “We are
                                                                                                                  standing,” in order that the nation should never wrongly believe that the
                                                                                                                  obligation of responsibility toward the people rests solely with Moshe
                                                                                                                  Rabbeinu. On the contrary, it is an obligation of each and every member
                                                                                                                  of the nation. Moshe demonstrated the trait of taking responsibility for
                                                                                                                  others when he tried to lighten his brothers’ burdens in Egypt. He thus
                                                                                                                  merited becoming their leader.
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