סנהדרין מ

When an elderly man, a ירא-שמים went to visit a kibbutz, he saw that everyone was eating בגילוי ראש and without ברכות before and after the meal.   Commenting on this, he said:  “I’ve always had difficulty understanding ומי כעמך כישראל גוי אחד בארץ.  After all, if the reference is to ישראל, why mention a גוי?  And if the reference is to גוי, why say כישראל?  Now, I understand that the verse is exact.  It says כישראל, that is not ישראל ממש but like a ישראל, with the מנהגים of a גוי.  And should you ask where can such a situation be found, since generally we find that some people in a community are religious and some are not, I will point you to this kibbutz where everyone is Jewish and yet it’s גוי אחד.  That’s why the פסוק says בארץ.”

06/10/2021