In the second chapter, we find references to the importance of community and communal participation. The Talmud in the tractate of Ta'anis elaborates on this lesson. The Talmud writes that when an entire community is beset with troubles, each and every community member must feel the pain. When Hillel writes that we should not separate ourselves from the community, he means that when the community hurts, we should hurt as well. If we feel the pain of the community, the Talmud tells us that we will also feel the comfort that eventually comes the way of the community.
Individuals are important as they make up a community.
When the community is happy, we are to be happy. When the community is sad, we are to be sad. We are the community. Another teaching in the second chapter of Avos expands this definition of community. We must act with pure intentions, with no ulterior motives.