"Few are guilty; all are responsible.

"
- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
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What do you think of when you read about the Civil Rights Movement? You may think
about African-Americans fighting for their right to be treated as equals. But what you
might not think about are the other minorities who supported the Movement. One of these
minorities is the Jewish people. They had just emerged from the Holocaust where they
suffered atrocities that cannot be described in words.
One such Jew was Abraham Joshua Heschel. Rabbi Heschel was a very active
supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. When he wrote the aforementioned quote, he
was saying that everyone is responsible for the actions of the guilty. To make up for the
evils that the guilty commit, we must help those who are the victims. When I read this
quote, I am reminded of a poem written by Pastor Martin Niemoller that shares his
reflections on Nazi Germany.
"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a
Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't
a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up
because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time no one was
left to speak up."
If other minorities hadn't stood up for the African-Americans, how long might it have
been before the guilty turned against them? Together, we must recognize evil before it
evolves; together, as a united society, it is our responsibility to defeat it. -William

I believe the quote, "Few are guilty; all are responsible," by Abraham Joshua
Heschel, means that even though you can't be proven guilty for doing nothing,
you can be held responsible for doing nothing. For example, during the
Holocaust, many people realized their neighbors were missing, but didn't speak
up. They weren't guilty for not saying anything, but they were responsible for
not doing anything about it. How are we supposed to accomplish anything if we
don't give our opinions? If you believe strongly in something, then you must tell
people about it. Right now, we are responsible for the racism that still exists
today. We're not doing anything, and we're responsible. -Shira

Abraham Joshua Heschel once said, "Few are guilty, all are responsible." I believe
Heschel was referring to the Holocaust. During the 1930's and 40's, much of the
world stood by while the Nazis of Germany killed millions of people, most of whom
were Jews. Heschel felt that because of this, the whole world was responsible for the
deaths of millions of people. If the world had been brave enough to stop the Nazis,
millions of lives could have been saved and a major calamity could have been
avoided. Heschel felt so strongly about the Holocaust, because the Nazis had
murdered his mother while two of his sisters died in concentration camps. As a result,
Heschel devoted his life to helping to stop similar racial and religious discrimination
from happening to other people. To fulfill his commitment to himself, Heschel
marched at every one of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s rallies. In fact, Heschel would lock
arms with Dr. King while marching through cities. Although Heschel and Dr. King
were of different races and religions, they shared a common goal for the world. If
Heschel was here today, I am sure that he would be proud of the progress that man-
kind has made. -Alex

Quote: "Few are guilty; all are responsible."

This quote reminds me of a story in the TaNaCH. In Sefer Yehoshua, Achan

ben Carmi from the tribe of Judah stole from the city of Jericho, and Hashem
was mad. Joshua sent spies to determine whether or not to fight the city of Ai,
and the spies came back and said that Israel could easily win; that they didn't
even need to send their whole army. So Joshua listened to them, but Ai won
the battle easily and 36 of Israel's men were killed. This was the first time
Israel lost one of their battles and the first time that some of their men were
killed.
I think of this story because one person was guilty, but all of Israel had to
suffer the consequences. In my opinion, [Heschel’s] quote and this story
teaches us two things: we are all responsible for each other's actions and we
can't be self-absorbed.
When you work together as a team, you do everything together: win, lose,
practice, receive the same punishment/reward, etc. For example, at basketball
practice we all must work together and try our hardest. If someone decides not
to listen, then we all have to run [laps] because of that person. If someone
makes a shot, then we are all rewarded for it. In the same way, we all work
together in the games; we all play different positions, but without just one of
the positions, we cannot win.
We can't be self-absorbed, either. Again, in a basketball game one person
can't try to make all of the shots or take all of the credit. For example, if
someone tries to shoot, but isn't open and the opponent gets the ball instead,
then the whole team suffers because that shot could have won the game for us.
Going back to the story in Sefer Yehoshua, Achan was being selfish and lost the
battle for Benei Israel.
I think Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's quote is a very important one to
remember. We are all humans and we all need to help each other out. If one
person does something wrong, then everyone takes responsibility for it - we all
must work together to accomplish whatever goal we might have!
-Marni