There is an interesting section of the Talmud at the end of Tractate Sotah describing the potential deterioration of society prior to the coming of the Moshiach –Messiah:

תלמוד בבלי – סוטה מט:

בעקבות משיחא חוצפא יסגא ויוקר יאמיר הגפן תתן פריה והיין ביוקר ומלכות תהפך למינות ואין תוכחת בית וועד יהיה לזנות והגליל יחרב והגבלן ישום ואנשי הגבול יסובבו מעיר לעיר ולא יחוננו

וחכמות סופרים תסרח ויראי חטא ימאסו והאמת תהא נעדרת נערים פני זקנים ילבינו זקנים יעמדו מפני קטנים בן מנוול אב בת קמה באמה כלה בחמותה אויבי איש אנשי ביתו פני הדור כפני הכלב הבן אינו מתבייש מאביו ועל מה יש לנו להשען על אבינו שבשמים

Talmud Bavli - Sotah 49b

He also said: In the times of the approach of the Messiah, impudence will increase and high costs will pile up. Although the vine shall bring forth its fruit, wine will nevertheless be expensive. And the monarchy shall turn to heresy, and there will be no one to give reproof about this. The meeting place of the Sages will become a place of promiscuity, and the Galilee shall be destroyed, and the Gavlan will be desolate, and the men of the border shall go round from city to city to seek charity, but they will find no mercy. And the wisdom of scribes will putrefy, and people who fear sin will be held in disgust, and the truth will be absent. The youth will shame the face of elders, elders will stand before minors. Normal family relations will be ruined: A son will disgrace a father; a daughter will rise up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his household. The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog; a son will no longer be ashamed before his father. And upon what is there for us to rely? Only upon our Father in heaven.

One of the Talmud’s descriptions of the decline prior to redemption is that the face of the generation will be like the face of a dog. The implication of this statement is not immediately clear.

קובץ מאמרים – ר׳ אלחנן ווסרמן

פני הדור כפני שלב פני הדור –בדור שבן דוד בא פני הדור כפני הכלב

מנהגו של כלב להתקדם ולרוץ לפני בעל הבית לכאורה נדמה כאילו הכלב מתהלך לו כאות נפשו והאדון נגרר אחריו המכבד את רצון כלבו. כל זאת לכאורה והנה באמת יודעים אנו כי נהפוך הוא: בעל הבית ילך אל אשר ירצה והכלב רץ לפניו ונשמע לפקודתו. אם רק יבחר בעל הבית בכוון אחר מיד הכלב מסתובב אף הוא ומתקדם לפני אדונו בכוון החדש. בשנים כתקונן, עת היהודים נשמעו להוראות התורה, הורו פני הדור את הדרך, הם קבעו לאן ללכת והדור צעד בעקבותיהם. בעקבתא דמשיחא ימוגר שלטון התורה, הדור יבחר את הדרך כראות עיניו ופני הדור ירוצו בדרך זו לפני ההמון ככלב לפני אדון (בשם הגאון ר' ישראל סלנטר ז“ל). יש רבנים בדורנו הנגררים אחרי דעת הקהל משתדלים להוכיח עד כמה מעורבים הם עם הבריות ומתדרדרים מן הפסגה אל התהום.

Collected Essays - Rav Elchonon Wasserman

It is the nature of dogs to run ahead of their master, and it at first glance appears that the dog is leading in the direction it pleases while the master is honoring the wishes of his dog. This is all how things look, but we know that in truth it is the opposite: the owner goes where he wishes, and the dog runs ahead and obeys his instruction. If the owner heads off in a different direction, immediately the dog will turn around and begin to run ahead of his master in the new direction. In times where things operate properly, the Jews listen to the instruction of Torah, the leaders provide direction, and the generation commits to follow that direction and follow upon their heals. In the times approaching the Messiah, the authority of Torah will be diminished such that the people will choose the path as they see fit, and the leaders will run ahead like a dog before its master (reported in the name of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter). There are rabbis in our generation who are drawn after public opinion, to prove they are in touch with the people, and they plunge from their exalted position into the abyss.

Rav Yisrael Salanter, as recorded by Rav Elchanan Wasserman, explains our enigmatic statement in the Talmud. The “face of the generation” refers to its leaders, and the descriptor “is like the face of a dog” provides an informative analogy. When people walk with their dogs, the dogs run out ahead and it appears as if they are leading. As the comedian Jerry Seinfeld so succinctly puts it, “If aliens are watching this through telescopes, who would you assume is in charge?” (Season 3, Episode 4). The reality is that even though it appears that the dog is leading, he is looking back constantly and following the direction of his master. Similarly, in the times before the Messiah, as the fabric of society frays, the leaders only appear to lead, but are really following the opinion of the masses. The Rambam describes the role of leaders in a time of distress:

רמב"ם תעניות א:יז

(יז) בכל יום תענית שגוזרין על הציבור מפני הצרות, בית דין והזקנים יושבין בבית הכנסת ובודקין על מעשה אנשי העיר, מאחר תפילת שחרית עד חצי היום. ומסירין המכשולות של עבירות, ומזהירין, ודורשין וחוקרין על בעלי חמס ועבירות ומפרישין אותן, ועל בעלי זרוע ומשפילין אותן, וכיוצא בדברים אלו. ומחצי היום ולערב, רביע היום קוראין בברכות וקללות שבתורה, שנאמר "מוסר י"י בני אל תמאס ואל תקוץ בתוכחתו" (משלי ג':י"א), ומפטירין בנביא בתוכחות מענין הצרה, ורביע היום האחרון מתפללין מנחה ומתחננים וזועקין ומתוודין כפי כוחן:

Rambam – Laws of Fast Days 1:17

(17) Whenever there is a communal fast that was instituted for a distressing circumstance, the [community's] court and [its] elders sit in the synagogue and review the conduct of the city's [inhabitants] from the time the morning prayers were concluded until noon. They remove the stumbling blocks that lead to sin. They give warnings, enquire, and investigate all those who pursue violence and sin, and [encourage them] to depart [from these ways]. Similarly, [they investigate] people who coerce others and humble them. They also occupy themselves with other similar matters. [This is what would happen] from noon until the evening: During the [third] quarter of the day, they would read the blessings and the curses in the Torah [as implied by Proverbs 3:11]: "My son, do not despise the instruction of the Lord, and do not reject His rebuke." As the haftarah, they would read a portion from the prophets appropriate to the distress [for which they are fasting].During the [fourth] quarter of the day, the afternoon service is recited, supplications are made, [the people] cry out [to God] and confess according to their capability.

Leaders must be at times willing to tell people what they may not want to hear. That is critical in a time of distress, when we are prompted to reflect and look for ways we can improve. When leaders simply follow the whims and will of the masses, they cease to be leaders. They may retain their leadership roles in form but not in function.

References

Maimonides, M., Touger, E., Kaplan, B., Abramson, Z., & Silverstein, S. (2007). Mishneh Torah. New York: Moznaim Pub. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh-Torah.htm

Steinsaltz, A., In Weinreb, T. H., In Schreier, J., & Hotsaat Koren (Jerusalem),. (2017). Koren Talmud Bavli, the Noe edition: Talmud Bavli. Retrieved from: https://shas.alhatorah.org/

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