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What makes ten people a community rather than just a group? The evil spies worked in concert as an edah, teaching us that true community requires unified purpose. When ten Jews daven together, they're not pursuing individual needs but making one collective request — transforming the very nature of prayer.
This shiur explores the concept of edah (community) derived from Parshas Shelach and its application to tefillah b'tzibbur (communal prayer). The Torah (תורה) refers to the ten evil spies as "edah hara'ah" (evil community), from which Chazal learn that an edah consists of ten people. Rabbi Zweig examines why this particular group serves as the paradigm for defining community and what it teaches about the nature of communal prayer. The shiur distinguishes between mere cooperation and true community. When people build a school or synagogue together, they are simply pooling resources for individual needs — each person essentially doing for themselves at a feasible cost. This represents a collection of individuals, not a genuine edah. True community requires something deeper.
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Parshas Shelach - Bamidbar 14:27
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