If the actions of Ezra and his assistants had amounted to organizing a mass divorce, we would hardly consider them worthy of imitation. But for Ezra, divorce and the family tragedies associated with it were not an end in themselves. The mass divorce becomes part of a renewed covenant with the Lord, by which the people once again undertake to remain united with Him and faithfully follow His commandments.

Let us note that no one forbids husbands who do not wish to part with their pagan wives from accompanying them into exile. Nor do we hear a single voice protesting against Ezra. Such a response gives rise to doubts about how strong those severed family bonds had been in the first place. Moreover, for some reason no mention is made of whether any of the foreign women had accepted faith in the God of Israel. Could it be that their husbands had not taken care to unite them with their own people and reveal to them the meaning of that people’s hope in the Lord?

But in any event, the breaking of close relationships, especially on such a massive scale, brought pain and the reality of human tragedies. Whatever arguments may be used to justify what happened, there is no escaping this...