What Is the Jewish People's Doomsday Weapon?

There have been times—numerous times—in Jewish history when the situation appeared so dire that only our faith gave us confidence in a better future. At such times, who wouldn’t want to have a “Doomsday weapon” at hand to be put into action at zero hour...

It turns out that such a Doomsday weapon actually exists and is ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice, not just by the generals but by each and every foot soldier.

“Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: In the generation of [King] David, they were all righteous, but because there were informers among them, they would go to war and fall...

“In [King] Ahab’s generation, however, they were idol worshippers, but because there were no informers among them they would go to war and be victorious, as Ovadiah said to Eliyahu Hanavi (the prophet Elijah): ‘Was it not told to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Hashem, how I fed them bread and water...’ And Eliyahu proclaimed on Mount Carmel: ‘I alone am left a prophet to Hashem,’ and everyone knew but did not inform the king” (Jerusalem Talmud, Pe’ah 4:2).

The Talmud is discussing the period of history when King Ahab and Queen Jezebel reigned over the Kingdom of Israel (as opposed to the Kingdom of Yehudah—Judah, which was then ruled over by King Jehoshaphat). Ahab, and Jezebel especially, were evildoers and Jezebel did her utmost best to murder every last prophet. She might have succeeded if not for Ovadiah, who hid a hundred prophets in caves and provided for all their needs.

Obviously, this wasn’t something he could finance from his own pocket, and he was forced to fundraise. In fact, he was in such urgent need for money that he even took interest-bearing loans from King Ahab himself, while disguising their purpose. Needless to say, the mission had to remain top-secret, otherwise it would cost Ovadiah and all the prophets their lives.

What are the chances of keeping a plan secret when everyone around you sees you scrambling day and night for donations, loans, food and water, and more, for a hundred “wanted” individuals? It would only take one person deciding to exploit the situation to ruin everything and bring about calamity. Not only did that not happen, but even at the grand ceremony on Mount Carmel, where Eliyahu Hanavi proved that all the idols were worthless, no one challenged him when he proclaimed before everyone, “I am the only prophet of Hashem left.” Everyone knew the secret and no one said a word!

And the result? Victories in wars without any casualties on our side! Our Sages did not tell us that the generation merited this because of Ovadiah’s self-sacrifice for the prophets. Rather, it was because of regular Jews, Jews who possessed a valuable secret and guarded it faithfully.