29 May 2026
Question
I believe rabbis like you spend too much time chasing after wayward Jews. Why focus so much energy on those who’ve turned their back on us? Wouldn’t it make more sense to invest in the Jews who are committed? What message are you giving your children? Rebel and get attention. Be good and get ignored.
Answer
I don't agree with you. Neither does G-d. If He did, we never would’ve had Moses.
The Midrash tells us that before Moses became the leader of the Jewish people, he was a shepherd. One day, a sheep ran away from the flock. Moses chased after it, tracked it down, and finally found it drinking from a stream.
Moses didn’t scold the sheep. He didn’t say, “How dare you abandon the flock?” He simply said, “Oh… you were thirsty.” Then he lifted the sheep in his arms and carried it back.
At that moment, G-d said: That’s the leader I want for my people.
Now think about this. Moses left the entire flock behind to chase one stray sheep. What kind of shepherd does that? Should you sacrifice the entire flock for the sake of one rebel?
The answer is: the sheep wasn’t rebellious. It was thirsty. Becasue Moses realised that, he was the right man to be a leader.
Most Jews who wander aren’t running away from Judaism. They’re running toward meaning, purpose, identity, spirituality, truth. They’re thirsty souls looking for water. Sometimes they drink from strange rivers, foreign ideologies, fashionable movements, or empty philosophies. But it’s not because they hate Judaism. It’s because they never properly explored it. They seek distant waters because nobody showed them the deep well in their own back garden.
It takes a Moses not to take it personally when a Jew walks away. A lesser leader says, “If they left, let them go. We don’t need them.” Moses says, “Maybe they’re just thirsty.”
And when Moses carried that sheep back, he wasn’t neglecting the flock. He was teaching them the most important lesson of all: You matter to me individually.Every sheep watching understood: “Moses loves me not just as another sheep in the flock, but he loves me for who I am. If I ever get lost, Moses will come for me too.”
That’s why we never give up on a Jew. Not because the connected Jews don’t matter, but because every Jew matters.
And when our children see us embracing the distant, searching for the lost, and loving the disconnected, they learn something unforgettable:
Judaism is not an exclusive flock that forgets the sheep who wander. It is a family where everyone is precious, and every lost sheep is carried home.
