Serving Two Masters: G-d or the State?
Are state-sponsored rabbis trapped in a colonial legacy?
In the biblical Book of Numbers, twelve spies—princes of their tribes—are sent to reconnoiter the Promised Land. Ten return with a professional assessment detailing impenetrable defenses, a situation analysis so demoralizing it dooms a generation to perish in the desert.
The Midrash offers an instructive explanation for their betrayal: they acted not from fear of the enemy, but from fear of losing their own position and prestige. In the desert, they were princes; in the Land of Israel, their authority would vanish.
This ancient story of leadership compromised by self-preservation echoes with startling relevance today, not only in the Diaspora but within the State of Israel itself. The core dilemma confronts any rabbi whose authority is intertwined with a secular government, forcing them to serve two masters.
For a chief rabbi in the Diaspora, the “Spy’s Choice” is stark: as antisemitism surges, does he sound the alarm and urge his flock to leave for Israel—effectively presiding over the dissolution of his own community and position—or does he work to preserve the status quo?
Continue reading on Jewish Home News by Mordechai Sones
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