"When you harvest the produce of you land, you shall not cut the corners of the field. You must leave them for the poor and the stranger."

This mitzvah is known as "Peah"-one of many laws designed to make sure that the underprivileged would be taken care of.

In the original Hebrew text there is a grammatical anomaly-one that is lost when the verse is translated into modern English. Unlike ancient English, when there were two different words, "you" and "thou," the contemporary version does not distinguish between you in the plural and you in the singular. In Hebrew the one is Atoh and the other Atem.

A more accurate translation of the section about the law of Peah should read, 'When all of you (plural) harvest the produce of our land, then you (singular) may not cut the corners of the field.'

The Klei Yakar explains the change from plural to singular as follows. At harvest time, everybody is busy cutting down the fruit of their fields. An individual may think that it is not his responsibility to worry about the poor. No need for me to observe the mitzvah of Peah. Those in need will be able to look after themselves by taking from other fields.

To emphasize that this obligation is incumbent upon the individual, the Torah therefore switches from the plural to the singular. Thou shalt not cut the corner of the fields. Each and every single one of you is obliged to observe this mitzvah.

This is one of several illustrations of the power and the responsibility of the individual we find in this Shabbat's double portion, Acharei and Kedoshim.

At the beginning of the first of the two portions the Torah describes the service of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. "No man shall be in the Tent of Assembly when he enters to atone." The practice was therefore that on Yom Kippur, as the Kohen Gadol prepared to enter the sanctuary to perform the Avodah, the entire area was cleared of people.

Commentaries explain that this also alludes to each and every one of us.

When we approach Hashem to serve Him, we must feel that there is nobody else around. Pretend there is no one else in the world. Nobody else can do the job for you. There is no need for you to be embarrassed or intimidated by anyone watching you. There is no reason for you to become proud or conceited since no one can see you anyway.

Similarly at Mount Sinai, Moses was told by Hashem, "No man shall go up on the mountain with you.." For Judaism is the responsibility of the individual.

Nonetheless, the revelation at Sinai involved the entire Jewish nation gathered. Not only were all the Jews living at the time present, all the souls of all Jews of all time were also there. Had only one Jew been missing, Hashem would not have been able to give us the Torah.

Thus at the beginning of the second of this week's portions, Hashem tells Moshe, "Speak to the entire Jewish nation and tell them to be holy." Rashi comments that this passage was told to a general assembly of all the Jews, because fundamental precepts of Torah depend thereon.

Torah demands that we function within a society, that we interact with people. That we learn from and teach those around us; that we influence and are influenced by our peers. Obviously, without forgetting to be holy.

Torah is about the individual and the community. Corporate and individual responsibility. There is the "We" and the "I"-inseparable.

This is why we believe that when Moshiach arrives to take the Jewish people out of Exile, it shall be the entire Jewish nation as a whole. Since Mount Sinai all those centuries ago, we have worked each on own and all of us together to transform this world into a G-dlier place. When the job is finally done, in the words of the famous Avraham Fried song, "No Jew will be left behind."