There is a teaching from the Sages that I cannot shake. It’s one of those teachings that lives in the back of my mind, a teaching that unsettles me every time I think of it.
During the period of the Judges, a civil war erupted among the tribes of Israel. By the time it was over, some seventy thousand Israelites were dead and the tribe of Benjamin was almost entirely exterminated.
“And the men of Israel turned upon the children of Benjamin and smote them with the edge of the sword, (destroying) from the city even the cattle, even all that was found. Also, all the cities which they found they set on fire” (Judges 20:48).
Out of an entire tribe, only six hundred men survived. It is, unquestionably, one of the most horrific moments in all of Jewish history.
How could this happen among God’s chosen people?
The Sages give an astonishing answer:
“Those seventy thousand who were killed at Gibeah of Benjamin—why were they killed? Because the Great Sanhedrin that Moses and Joshua had established should have girded themselves—tying ropes of iron around their waists, lifting their garments above their knees—and traveled through every city in Israel: one day to Lachish, one day to Bethel, one day to Hebron, one day to Jerusalem, and likewise to every place in Israel. They should have taught Israel the way of proper conduct…
But they did not do this. Instead, when each one of them entered the Land, every single one retreated to his vineyard, his wine, and his field—saying, ‘Peace unto you, my soul’—so as not to burden themselves with the trouble.”
The image is unforgettable. The leaders of Israel should have been trudging from town to town, teaching and warning the people. They should have been willing to inconvenience themselves, to leave the comfort of their homes and travel the dusty roads of ancient Israel in order to strengthen the nation.
More importantly, the Sages believe their efforts would have worked. The men of Benjamin did not become depraved overnight. A society does not descend into moral chaos in a single day. The corruption that culminated in the atrocity at Gibeah had been developing for years. Had the leaders traveled from city to city teaching Torah, correcting abuses, and calling people back to God’s ways, the decline could have been arrested long before it reached the point of catastrophe.
The Torah refers to the leaders of Israel as einei ha’eidah—”the eyes of the congregation” (Numbers 15:24). The title carries an enormous responsibility. Eyes are supposed to see what others miss. They are supposed to recognize dangers before everyone else recognizes them.
Looking back through Jewish history, one cannot help wondering how many tragedies might have been avoided had the eyes of the congregation done their job.
The Jews of Egypt did not become slaves overnight. Generations passed between the arrival of Jacob’s family in Egypt and the rise of Pharaoh. Long before the enslavement began, there must have been warning signs that Egyptian society was changing. Had leaders traveled among the people warning that Egypt was changing, reminding them that exile was never meant to be permanent and that their future lay in the land promised to Abraham, perhaps many would have left before Pharaoh’s trap snapped shut.
The same was true in Persia. Haman did not emerge from nowhere. Persian Jews spent decades becoming comfortable in exile. Esther concealed her identity. Mordecai’s parents gave him a Babylonian name. The Jews had grown accustomed to thinking of Persia as home. Had leaders gone from community to community teaching the people that they were not Persians who happened to practice a different religion, but members of God’s covenantal nation temporarily living in a foreign empire, perhaps the crisis would never have reached the point that it did.
This is what troubles me about the teaching from the Sages. It insists that disasters are often preceded by warning signs. It insists that societies rarely collapse overnight. Most importantly, it insists that leaders bear responsibility for helping people see those warning signs before it is too late.
I believe American Jews are approaching such a moment.
For decades, American Jews enjoyed a level of prosperity and acceptance unprecedented in Jewish history. Yet today, warning signs are appearing everywhere. Synagogues require armed guards. Jewish students face harassment on elite campuses. From the Left and from the Right, American Jews are increasingly told that their attachment to Israel makes them suspect—that they are not quite trustworthy, not quite loyal, not quite fully American.
Perhaps these warning signs will amount to nothing. I pray that they do. But the teaching from the Sages leaves me unable to dismiss them so easily. The leaders of Israel were held accountable not because they failed to prevent a disaster that had already happened. They were held accountable because they failed to recognize a disaster while it was still unfolding.
I wrote Countdown: American Jews and God’s Plan for Redemption because I am worried about American Jews. I am worried that many do not see the warning signs for what they are. I am worried that a community which has grown accustomed to comfort and security is ignoring developments that are becoming harder to dismiss with each passing year. Perhaps I am wrong. But if I genuinely believe we are approaching a moment of reckoning, I have no right to remain silent.
The leaders criticized by the Sages were not wicked men. They loved their people. Their failure was that they remained in their vineyards while a preventable disaster grew larger with each passing year.
I believe American Jewry is facing such a moment now. That is why I left the vineyard.
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