What creates a community?

What truly defines a strong Jewish community? What is the ultimate measure of a successful society? How do we know if we’re investing where it matters most? 

This week’s parsha, Shoftim, opens with the command, “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates.” 

The command seems simple. Every city needs a reliable system of justice. But why does the Torah specify that it must be established “in all your gates”? 

A gate is the place where private and public worlds meet. It is the point where people enter a city and where the life of the city flows outward. Placing judges and leaders at the gates ensures that the Torah’s values shape every part of city life. 

There is a broader message here about the Torah’s vision for a Jewish community. Judaism is not intended to be lived only in the privacy of our homes or hearts. It must shape the places in which we live, the way we conduct our businesses, how we resolve disagreements, and how we care for one another. 

Good intentions are not enough. Jewish life needs shuls, schools, welfare organisations, and places where people can learn, celebrate, and support one another. These institutions give permanence to the beliefs we cherish and allow them to be passed from one generation to the next. 

The strength of a Jewish community cannot be measured only by the number of people who attend services or communal events. It is also measured by how many people understand that Jewish life is something they are responsible for helping to create. 

It is easy to ask, “What does my community provide for me?” A stronger question is, “What am I helping to provide for my community?” 

Each of us has something to contribute, through our time, abilities, or resources, or simply by helping another Jew feel welcome. Our institutions can remain strong only when ordinary people recognise that their involvement matters. 

South African Jewry has earned a reputation far beyond our size for the strength of our shuls, schools, and welfare organisations. We are also known for the way we come together when it matters. When a need arises, people step forward. When one institution succeeds, the entire community is strengthened. 

But this is not something we can take for granted. Each generation must care for the institutions it inherits and consider what it will leave behind. The unity for which South African Jewry is known is more than a feeling of togetherness. It can be seen in the way people show up, give generously, and look after one another. 

I witnessed this during our recent campaign to help complete the new home of Pine Street Shul. It was profoundly moving to watch people donate, volunteer, get involved, and reach out to their friends and family encouraging them to participate. Many who had already contributed continued working to bring others on board. They understood that this was not someone else’s project. It belonged to them too. The support we received went far beyond our own shul congregation to the entire South African Jewish community because we know that strong shuls are anchors for our entire community. 

While a shul may be constructed from bricks and steel, what truly fills it with life are the people who enter its doors, take responsibility for one another, and ensure that there will always be a place for another Jew. 

Shoftim reminds us that strong Jewish life does not happen by itself. It is created when each of us stands at the gate and asks, “What can I help build?” 

• Rabbi Motti Hadar, Pine Street Shul