When Silence Becomes Sin By: Rabbi Elie Mischel
Helpless. We read the news, we see evil being committed everywhere. The massacres of October 7. Nations lining up to condemn Israel for having the gall to defend itself from murderous jihadi terrorists. A lying media that will do anything to keep its chosen political party in power. We see all of this happening, and we feel helpless. What can a regular person do in the face of all this evil?
One of the most cryptic verses in the Book of Isaiah reads:
This same day at Nov He shall stand and wave his hand. O mount of Fair Tzion! O hill of Yerushalayim! (Isaiah 10:32)
Who is standing in Nob, and why is he standing there? And what does this have to do with Jerusalem?
The sages explain that Isaiah is referring to Saul’s most terrible sin – when he murdered the priests of Nob on suspicion of helping David. For generations, God held all of Israel responsible for this sin. When Sennacherib approached Jerusalem with his army, his advisors told him: ‘Today is the last day on which God is punishing the people for Saul’s sin at Nob. If you attack Jerusalem today, you will be victorious!’
Fortunately, Sennacherib disregarded their advice, and delayed his attack against Jerusalem until the next day. That night, all of his army fell dead. This is the meaning of the verse: Sennacherib could have destroyed Jerusalem because of the sin of Saul’s slaughter of the priests of Nob. (Sanhedrin 95a).
As usual, the commentary of the Sages is fascinating – drawing a line from Saul’s sin to Sennacherib’s attack on Jerusalem many generations later. But the premise is hard to understand. It was Saul, as king of Israel, who committed this terrible sin against the priests of Nob – not the nation of Israel! Saul was personally punished for his sin when he and his sons were killed in battle by the Philistines.
Why did God punish the entire nation of Israel for generations because of a sin committed by Saul?
The answer is simple but profound. It’s true that Saul was responsible for this heinous deed. But the entire nation of Israel was held responsible because they did not protest.
(my addition: we see a similar argument in the book of Acts in Shimon’s powerful d’rash: “Men of Israel, hear these words! Yeshua ha-Natzrati—a Man authenticated to you by God with mighty deeds and wonders and signs God performed through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Yeshua, given over by God’s predetermined plan and foreknowledge, nailed to the cross by the hand of lawless men, you killed. 24 But God raised Him up, releasing Him from the pains of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held by it”.
(Acts 2:22-24)
Hold on a moment. Not all the Israelites were responsible for Yeshua’s death. Why then does Peter rebuke them by saying ‘who you killed’? The answer is that although they themselves did not crucify Messiah, neither did they protest against the cruel murder of an innocent man.)
Could the average Israelite living in the time of Saul have stopped their king from committing this evil deed? Probably not. Saul, as king, had the power to kill whomever he believed was a traitor. But though the people could not stop this crime, they nevertheless should have protested.
When evil is committed, we must never say we are “helpless.” All of us – each and every one of us! – has a moral duty to stand up and protest!
Israel’s war for its existence has dragged on for over a year – and there is no end immediately in sight. All of us – Israelis and good Christians and Jews across the world – are tired. Every day, Israel is slandered and attacked; every day, the evil only seems to grow. But we must take strength and remember this: we are never helpless! No matter where we are in the world, we have the ability to stand up and protest – to let our voices be heard!!
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