I would like to suggest that this issue relates to Rav Dessler zt”l’s idea of nekudas habechira. The way I understand it, he recognizes that we are not malachim nor are we able to jump to be malachim. We are taking steps on the ladder that is “rosho magia hashaima”. Therefore, just because someone sees an individual not doing something properly, or even a significant portion of the community not doing something, correcting them on a communal level may not be helpful and may just embarrass the person or make things worse. Since everyone is on a different level and has a different point at which he or she makes a choice to be makpid on something or not or to keep a particular mitzva, rebuke and improvement must be undertaken by a person at that person’s level – as long as one is continuing to try to improve, that is what is expected. In my view – people need an individual like a rav who can understand them and where they stand and direct them accordingly as to how they can improve themselves individually and what is appropriate.
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