Whenever I speak to Christians, there’s one question I often hear: “Rabbi, you believe in the Bible, but when I watch TV, I see famous Jews who don’t live by it. Not only that, but they mock religion and oppose everything we faithful Christians stand for. And why do American Jews vote for politicians who hate Israel and reject biblical values?”
There are many historical reasons why most American Jews have drifted away from traditional Judaism over the last 150 years. But one reason, in particular, has been on my mind lately.
During the time of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, the three righteous Jews whom God miraculously saved from Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace, there were other men who sought the mantle of Jewish leadership. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of two such men, Ahab and Zedekiah:
Who were these treacherous men?
The sages explain that Ahab and Zedekiah were false prophets who tried to deceive the daughter of the Babylonian Emperor Nebuchadnezzar. Ahab told her, “God commands that you give yourself to Zedekiah,” while Zedekiah claimed, “God commands you to submit to Ahab.” Confused, she went to her father, King Nebuchadnezzar, for advice. Knowing that the God of Israel despises immorality, he told her, “When they come to you again, send them to me.”
The next time they approached her, she directed them to the king. Nebuchadnezzar asked, “Who told you this?” They replied, “The Holy One, blessed be He.” The king responded, “I consulted with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and they told me it is forbidden.” Ahab and Zedekiah replied, “We are prophets just like them. God didn’t tell them, but He told us.”
Nebuchadnezzar, unconvinced, said, “Then you should be tested, just like Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.” He ordered them to be thrown into the fiery furnace—and unlike Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Ahab and Zedekiah were burned to death (Sanhedrin 93a).
Living a Godly life and keeping God’s commandments is not easy. There will always be false prophets, like Ahab and Zedekiah, who preach a more convenient version of God’s law. They speak with great confidence, pretending to be prophets on par with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, but unlike God’s true messengers, these charlatans twist God’s laws to justify their own sins.
When Jews began immigrating to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was very difficult to live a traditional Jewish life. At the time, most Americans worked a six-day workweek, with the only day off being Sunday. This forced Jews to work on Saturdays, a direct violation of the Sabbath. Desperate to make a living, most Jews chose to work on the Sabbath. Initially, they felt guilty. But soon, false prophets, in the guise of non-Orthodox rabbis, rose up to justify their actions. These rabbis confidently told Jews that, in the modern world, the Sabbath no longer applied as it used to. They justified the breaking of Sabbath laws and many other commandments, just as Ahab and Zedekiah justified adultery in God’s name. And so millions of Jews abandoned their biblical values, leaving them susceptible to political ideologies fundamentally at odds with Judaism.
Tragically, most American Jews of the current era grew up with little understanding of traditional Judaism. They are the grandchildren of Jews misled by these false prophets, rabbis who undermined the faith. It’s not their fault that they embrace secular and progressive values—they’ve never known anything else.
But all is not lost. Many Jews across America are waking up and returning to their roots. The horrors of October 7th and the wave of antisemitism on the progressive left have served as a wake-up call. Everywhere I go, I meet Jews with a newfound passion, eager to reclaim their heritage. They now realize they were misled by the false prophets of non-Orthodox Judaism and are desperate for the real thing—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And so I say to my dear Christian friends – Don’t give up on the Jews just yet!
Allowing a Palestinian terror state in the heart of Israel would destroy the Jewish State.
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