Communal Responsibility
Halacha places high importance on a community's responsibility to one another. A community is halachically obligated to fund communal needs. These needs include security needs; a community is required to build a wall and gates. These needs also include religous needs; a community is required to build a synagogue and ensure that is well stocked with a sefer Torah and seforim.[1]
Rationales behind Communal Responsibility
Extent of Communal Responsibility
A big component of the halachic discussion around how far communal responsibility extends comes from a crucial Tshuva of the Maharik. This Tshuva of the Maharik is quoted by the Rama[2] and by many generations of Achronim, thereby making it a really focal point for the discussion of communal responsibility.The Maharik argued that in a case where there is a risk to the Jewish people of a region, all Jewish communities are required to pitch in. We will structure the article around the Tshuva and the response of other poskim in order to examine how poskim viewed the question.
Background of Maharik's Ruling
In the late 1470s- a major blood libel broke out in Regensburg. The city of Regensburg imprisoned seventeen leading members of the Jewish community. After repeated negotiations the city of Regensburg agreed to release the imprisoned Jews in exchange for the payment of an immense sum; 23,000 florins. The Jewish community of Regensburg asked all the other communities of Germany to assist in paying the expense. The Rabbonim of Germany in turn asked the Maharik, Rav Yosef Colon (1420-1480), over whether they were obligated to pay. It is to these rabbonim that the Maharik directed his ruling.
Ruling of the Maharik
The Maharik noted that were the blood libel not to be stopped, it would lead to the persecution of other Jewish communities in Germany. The Maharik said that any community that would potentially be a target of the blood libel was obligated to contribute to stop the libel from spreading in Regensburg.
In the Maharik's exact worlds
It is according to my humble opinion that all those communities (the Jewish communities of Germany) which are fit to be considered and almost certainly, that God forbidden, also upon them should pass the poisoned chalice, if this matter is not repaired as much as possible. The law is that they (the other Jewish communities at risk of blood libel) too should bear the burden, for because the safety of the holy community of Regensburg is their safety, and the opposite, the opposite, God forbid.[3]
Proof of Maharik
The Maharik brought proof from the Gemara in Bava Metzia 108a- the gemara there how to assess the expenses for an urban gutter. A gutter must be regularly cleaned in order to allow outflow. The Gemara says that if the downriver community cleans the gutter- the city's residents must contribute to the downriver community's expenses. If the gutter is clogged, the downriver community is first at risk of potential flooding. If the gutter is overfilled, next at risk are the residents of the city. Rashi explains that since the city is saved from potential danger of flooding by the gutter cleaning, it is liable to contribute to the expenses of gutter cleaning.
Maharik's Response to Potential challenges
The Maharik extends this analogy to his case. If the dangerous situation in Regensburg is not resolved, the catastrophic wave of anti-Semitism will engulf all of Germany.
The Maharik notes a potential challenge to his comparison- he is comparing the physical phenomenon of flooding with the social phenomenon of anti-antisemitism. It is among the laws of physics that if too much rain occurs the gutter will flood. There is a certain and predictable danger of flooding. In contrast, the wave of persecution is not inanimate- but the product of human decisions and thereby more uncertain.
But here the danger is not so certain, that one can doubt and say maybe this false libel and slander won't spread in other places.[4]
In response, the Maharik responds with two arguments. The first is a chillingly prophetic analysis on the spread of antisemitism.
We see that, because of our many sins, all of their plots on us are to overpower and ambush us, and Hashem in his great mercy will save us from their hands- every situation like this (of antisemitism) is a certain danger.[5]
The Maharik argues that the current expression of antisemitism in Regensburg is not merely a one-of, but rather an expression of deeper antisemitism that lurks behind the seemingly calm exterior of German society.
The Maharik goes on to say, that even were antisemitism to be a rare threat- Chazal viewed any threat as deserving attention. As chief example, the Maharik notes that communities can nonetheless obligate all of their citizens to pay tax against any threat no matter its likelihood.
Orphans are exempt from paying all Jewish communal taxes, except for urban expenses which benefit the orphans, including the the security expenses of the city. The Gemara lists among the security expenses an enigmatic Turzina. The Aruch explains that Turizna means that the community "purchases horses for the knights so that they can ride outside of the city to see if invaders are coming."
The Maharik argues that if even orphans are required to contribute to a warning system for a potential threat, then that means that even avoiding a potential threat counts as a security expense.
The Maharik brings further proof from the obligation of a city's residents to build a wall. The wall is only built to defend against a potential danger- yet we force all the residents of the community to pay because of the possibility of a threat to the community. On these grounds, ultimately, the Maharik rests his case with the insistence that all of the potential communities in Germany at risk because of the Regensburg Blood Libel must contribute.
Explanations of the Maharik's Ruling
The Maharik's Ruling is startling in its breadth. The Maharik extends the responsibility of an individual to his community on a wider level. The Maharik compares a community's relationship to its citizenry to the relationship of all communities with one another. Yet the Maharik leaves little explanation for why communities have such powers. Answers to this question are raised by many of the later commentators on the Maharik.
Explanation of the Shvut Yaakov
The author of the Shvut Yaakov gives among the earliest explanation in his responsa. The Shvut Yaakov argues that one community has the power to financial obligate other communities based on the principle of Kdeira Debei Shutfei. The Gemara explains that in a certain case, a community can cut down a privately owned tree and pay the tree owner later. How can the community appropriate the tree without even paying for it. The Gemara cites the rationale of Kdeira Debei Shutfei- a phrase that literally means a dish owned by many partners. The Rashbam explains that in a case where a dish has multiple cooks, each cook assumes that the other cook will take responsibility for the dish. Ultimately the dish will not be cooked, because each person will pass off responsibility. In order that community's behave proactively, the community is permitted to chop down and raise the money later.
The Shvut Yaakov explains that any time a community is at risk, Kdeira debei Shutfei- applies. Anyone possibly who has what to gain must contribute to the communal expense.
Explanation of the Netivot Hamishpat
The Netivot Hamishpat links the ruling of the Maharik to a wider rule about partners.[6] The Netivot describes a situation where something is necessary for two people- even if one person refuses to contribute, he is mandated to pay for the service. The Netivot quotes the ruling of the Maharik as an example- it is necessary for the blood libel in Regensburg to be ended, hence all other cities must contribute because of the shared threat.
