וְיֵה֗וּא יָצָא֙ אֶל־עַבְדֵ֣י אֲדֹנָ֔יו וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ הֲשָׁל֔וֹם מַדּ֛וּעַ בָּֽא־הַמְשֻׁגָּ֥ע הַזֶּ֖ה אֵלֶ֑יךָ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם אַתֶּ֛ם יְדַעְתֶּ֥ם אֶת־הָאִ֖ישׁ וְאֶת־שִׂיחֽוֹ׃
Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord; and one said unto him: ‘Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee?’ And he said unto them: ‘Ye know the man and what his talk was.’
From David to Destruction
Next time one encounters someone who decries traditional Judaism in the most strident manner, one need not be concerned. Instead, realize that beneath the loud protests lies a subconscious recognition of traditional Orthodox Judaism as the true word of Hashem.140We find a similar phenomenon in Melachim II 9:11-13 where less-than committed members of Am Yisrael ridicule a Navi as Meshuga (crazy; see Radak to Melachim I 9:11) and yet proceed to express their devout recognition of the Navi as speaking the authentic word of Hashem. Sadly, many (but hardly all) Ba’alei Teshuvah report that some family members ridicule them for their commitment to Torah observance, but yet later turn to them for spiritual guidance in times of need.