Gedaliah’s Legacy

Today we observe the Fast of Gedaliah. Gedaliah was the governor of the land of Israel, under Babylonian rule, after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Beit HaMikdash. Many of the Jews that had fled before the churban returned and there was a fledgling Israelite Yishuv movement with a few thousand people. The king of Ammon sent Yishmael ben Netanya to assassinate Gedaliah. He also killed many other Jews and the Babylonian soldiers stationed here by Nebuchadnezzar. The remaining Jews fled to Egypt, fearing Nebuchadnezzar’s vengeance. This ended any vestige of Israelite autonomy in our land for the first time.

Gedaliah had been warned about the impending assassination, but refused to believe loshon hara about a fellow Jew.

He was a politician, the least honest profession in the world. He had to know the tricks of backroom dealing and watching one’s back. Yet, in the aftermath of the churban, Gedaliah chose to insist on a better way to do things. He maintained his willful innocence in an attempt to rebuild a proper Israelite community among the ruins of the land of Israel.

I think that is the reason why we fast. Not just for the end of our presence in the land. Not just because a tzaddik was killed (we’ve lost many tzaddikim). But because Gedaliah was the model of what a God fearing politician should be. Trusting and honest. He invited his guest to join him at a holiday meal with honor.

And while it is probably impossible for a politician to be that תמים, Gedaliah is the דוגמא אישית for how politics should work.

May we be zoche to build a culture where we can work together to build the perfect, God-fearing society, even when we don’t agree on all of the fine points. A society where we respect each other and trust the intentions of others, even our opponents.