Emuna: Level-Headed Jewish Morality

by Rav Azriel Ariel, head of the Society and Family Department in the Torah and State Institute and Rabbi of the town of Ateret, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Israel has the most moral army in the world – but what does this mean? What are the principles of Jewish ethics by which the IDF must act and defeat its enemies? They are neither the corrupted morals of the Western world, nor do they approach the cruel norms of Hamas. 

But to accurately answer this question, let us consult a recently-published work entitled "Master of Wars, Grower of Salvations" (Baal Milchamot, Matzmiach Yeshuot), by my father and teacher Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan. It provides a Halakhic-Jewish outlook on war in general and on the current war in Gaza in particular. 

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Torah sets certain ethical ground rules for war: The king can lead Israel into an optional war only if the Sanhedrin approves of it and determines that it is justified. Even a mitzvah war, such as a war of defense or other obligatory war such as against the Seven Nations, is waged only under certain conditions: We must first offer peace; we must leave open a corridor for retreat; and even fruit trees must not be destroyed. In addition, the encampment must be "sanctified" via the specific mandated manner in which the soldiers may relieve themselves. 

The Torah thus emphasizes that war does not allow us to break through our ethical boundaries; these must rather be defined. The difficulty in making clear ethical decisions during wartime was expressed by our Patriarch Yaakov, who, in the words of Rashi to B'reshit 32,8, "was afraid that he might be killed, and was troubled that he might have to kill others."

This responsibility for retaining our moral restrictions requires clear and level thinking. Therefore, even though vengeance is essentially a positive emotion, in that it expresses our sense of obligation to justice and tikkun olam (rectification of the world), it must be actualized only for the sake of Heaven, based on solid legal principles, and certainly not with abandon. See, for instance, Psalms 149: "Lofty praises of G-d are in their throats, and a double-edged sword is in their hands, to execute vengeance among the nations… to execute upon them written judgement – that will be the splendor of all His pious ones."

For this reason, and without offering final judgement on whether Shimon and Levi did the wrong thing in Sh'chem, their father Yaakov sharply reprimanded them specifically for their hot-headedness (B'reshit 49,10) that did not allow for appropriate assessment of what they had set out to do. 

INDIVIDUAL VS. COLLECTIVE

An altercation between two individuals has rules of what may and may not be done, but a war between two collectives is not governed the same way. A body is made up of individual organs, yet is treated as one entity, and the same is true for an enemy nation: Just like an enemy's right leg is fair game for his rival even though the latter was kicked with the former's left leg, we also do not seek to ascertain exactly what role the enemy's individuals played in their national war effort against us. Rather, when a national entity or body stands against us in war, we view each individual as a partner in the war effort against us, and we may target him (though see below). 

Conversely, each of our soldiers must see himself and his comrades as inseparable parts of our national organism that is defending itself, to the point where he must sacrifice his life for the victory, and even, under certain circumstances, to save another soldier.

This does not mean that indiscriminate killing of the enemy is blanketly permitted. Striking the enemy is necessary for victory, and if non-combatants are incidentally hurt or killed, this is the enemy's responsibility. However, in general, striking non-combatants is not necessary for victory; harming non-combatants under such circumstances is not permitted. This is why King Sha'ul called upon the elders to stay away from the battlefield, so that they would not be hurt in the war against Amalek. Sometimes extraordinary means must be taken, not only for a short-term battle victory, but also to ensure the achievements for the long-range. Rav Kook writes (Letters I, 89) that there are times when extreme measures are needed to "instill fear in the wild enemy, even via cruel measures." 

On the other hand, when King Amatzia of Judea fought against Edom (Chronicles II 25,12) and captured 10,000 enemy fighters and threw them off a cliff, this led to further ethical deterioration, and he was severely censured. That which is necessary is a mitzvah, and pointless persecution is a sin. 

THE SOCIETAL NATURE

One is permitted to strike at enemy forces only if he is acting as an appointed representative of his country. But if one acts on his own volition, without official public authorization, he does not receive the same "dispensations" that a wartime soldier receives. This is because the ethical basis for his actions has disappeared. On the contrary; if he kills an enemy soldier against the army's rules, this could be considered an act of murder. There are also situations where individuals taking the law into their own hands endanger the entire nation. The collective is an organized group, not a vigilante mob.

BOOTY

The basic law is that all private property that remains in conquered territory is ownerless and may be taken (D'varim 20,14). This rule, too, is rooted in the communal, national nature of war. However, IDF regulations forbid taking booty. This raises the question of whether one who does take booty is in violation only of army rules, and/or of stealing from a non-Jew, and/or of stealing from the State. In any event, it is forbidden to do so even if there are open questions that have not yet been resolved.

THE HOSTAGES

The issue of our hostages in Gaza must also be addressed in terms of the public-national nature of war. 

When hostages are taken by criminals for ransom, Jewish Law famously states that "captives are not redeemed for more than they are worth." This is so that the community not be impoverished, and so not to encourage further kidnappings. However, when we are dealing with captives who were essentially sent by the nation – as is the case with soldiers, and even settlers of the western and southern Negev – the State has an extra responsibility towards them that must be taken into account. This is true even if it means the State must pay a high price. 

And on the third hand, in wartime, there are even more considerations to consider: What will contribute more to a lasting victory – the soldiers' and settlers' knowledge that the State will rescue them under any and all circumstances? Or will refraining from surrendering to the terrorists' dictates contribute more? The answer to this question, obviously, is not simple – but formulating the dilemma in this manner gives the decision-makers clear lines and a solid scale of values by which to approach it. 

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR WARS

Israel does not fight only for its own existence, and certainly not for territory and resources, which have been the goals of most wars in history. The State of Israel, even if it is not consciously aware of it, represents not only its own citizens, but the entire Nation of Israel throughout all its generations. It also stands for the faith of Israel and the G-d of Israel. No one can ignore the religious dimension of our wars of the past 76 years since Israel was established – and certainly not regarding the current war which began when we were cruelly attacked by an extremist Islamist organization. This war is a fight between two clear ideologies: Jewish morals and Islamic murderousness. Our end-goal, even if not all of us are regularly conscious of it, is the Sanctification of G-d's Name and the rectification of the world in the Kingdom of G-d. 

As such, let us adopt the call of King David (Shmuel II 22): "I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not return until I had consumed them… Exalted is the Rock of my salvation, the G-d Who avenges me… saves me from men of violence."

Aharei Mot: The Beginning of Judicial Reform – in 1538

by Rav Netanel Yosifun, Rosh Yeshivat Orot Netanya, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

It was in the year 1538. Thousands of Jews from all over the world descend upon the holy city of Tzfat in the Galilee. Among them are very many expellees from Spain, former Anusim who were forced to convert to Christianity when they were young to escape the Inquisition. They were later somehow able to escape from Spain and return openly to their Judaism.

These repentant Jews, true baalei teshuvah, pine with all their hearts to atone for the many grave sins they committed in their early years. They turn to the Sages of the generation, asking for the way to true repentance. They even ask to receive lashes, as prescribed in the Torah for certain sins – for they know that those who are liable for the heavy punishment of karet (a form of cutting off from Israel and even the afterlife) can avoid it if they are flogged.

However, the Sages find themselves powerless to help them. Only a Beit Din (Torah court) of Sages who have received genuine ordination – i.e., from one who has been ordained by rabbis in an unbroken chain starting from Moshe Rabbeinu – are authorized to sentence and administer lashes. It is a matter of consensus that such a forum of Sages does not exist at that time. 

There were some very great rabbis in Tzfat at the time, however, including the renowned Rav Yaakov Berav, as well as the author of the Shulchan Arukh, Rav Yosef Karo. They and others convened, and found a solution: the renewal of s'michah (genuine rabbinic ordination). How was it to work?

Rav Berav cited a ruling by Maimonides (the Rambam), whose words carried, and still carry today, tremendous weight in the world of Jewish Law. Maimonides wrote in the Laws of Sanhedrin (4,11): 

"It appears to me that if all the Sages in the Land of Israel agree to appoint and ordain specific judges, these judges are thereby 'officially ordained,' authorized to levy fines and ordain others." 

Rav Berav concluded that certainly the Rambam did not mean "all the Sages" literally. In addition, since at that time the Sages of Tzfat comprised the majority of Sages in Eretz Yisrael, they as a body – the vast majority of which agreed with Rav Berav – can agree to renew the ordination process.

The Sages of Tzfat then convened and decided to ordain Rav Yaakov Berav, writing in the ordination decree as follows: 

"We have determined and chosen the greatest among us, the absolute Sage, our teacher and rabbi, Rabbi Yaakov Berav, to be ordained, to be called Head of the Yeshiva and Rabbi – and he will convene and ordain others of the wisest among us, and they will be ordained from now on and forever... And if a sinner receives lashes [based on these Sages' rulings] as mandated by the Torah … he will be exempt from karet…"

And thus Rav Berav became the first ordained rabbi, who later ordained the renowned Beit Yosef - Rav Yosef Karo - and other giants of the generation.

It turned out, though, that this ordination process did not last for many generations, mainly because of the dissenting opinions of great scholars such as the Radbaz and the Ralbach, and the fact that the scholars in other parts of the Land, mainly in Jerusalem, were not involved in the process. 

The original ordination decree makes clear that the rabbis involved were mainly seeking a solution for the specific problem of the Anusim from Spain. But from the Rambam's ruling, on which the Tzfat rabbis mainly relied, we can see that what bothered the Rambam was the actual renewal of ordination in order that the Sanhedrin be renewed. As he explained in his commentary to the Mishna (Sanhedrin 1,3): 

"If we do not say this [that genuine ordination can be effected in this manner], there will be no possibility of ever having a Great Beit Din, because each of its judges must be indubitably ordained, and G-d has already promised that the Sanhedrin will be renewed, in saying, 'I will restore your judges as at first' (Yeshayahu 1,26). And if perhaps you might say that the Messiah will appoint the judges even if they are not ordained, this is unsustainable, because as we explained in our introduction to these books, the Messiah will not add or detract from neither the Written nor the Oral Torah. And I am of the opinion that the Sanhedrin will be restored before the Messiah is revealed, and in fact this will be one of the signs of his arrival…"

That is, according to the Rambam, the renewal of ordination and the Sanhedrin is a vital stage in the Redemption process, and must happen before the arrival of the Messiah. The Anusim of Spain simply sought to atone for their sins, but ended up nearly meriting us an important milestone along the way to the coming of the Messiah.

This is actually a very profound statement, which also touches upon the events of recent generations. Sometimes, people set out to do something that is important for the moment, while behind the scenes hides G-d, the G-d of the history of the Nation of Israel, Who pushes the processes forward to bring Redemption to the world.

Something similar can be found in this week's Torah portion of Acharei Mot (Vayikra 16-18). The commentators discuss where exactly in the Tabernacle did Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, bring the forbidden incense offering that lead to their deaths. 

The Ibn Ezra notes the fact that the portion opens with a mention of their deaths and then immediately states that no one may enter the Holy of Holies, except the High Priest on Yom Kippur. He says that this proves that Nadav and Avihu brought the unauthorized incense fire all the way into the Holy of Holies. 

Nachmanides, however, says that the brought the offering on the incense altar, in the outer part of the Sanctuary. He brings several proofs, but one of them is this: "How would it ever occur to them to enter the place that even their father did not enter? For Aharon brought the incense upon the inner altar [in the outer area], so why should they bring their incense even further in than his?" 

Thus, Nachmanides holds that Nadav and Avihu brought their offering on the Incense Altar, and not in the Holy of Holies – where until that day, no one ever thought to enter. And only because of this incident did G-d in fact issue a command that the Holy of Holies should be entered precisely once each year, by the High Priest. Thus, because of the need to atone for the problem that had been created, we merited to ascend and progress to a level higher than what we had attained previously. 

And in our own generations, as we have learned from the Gaon of Vilna (Kol HaTor 1,13), "In the generation of the Footsteps of Messiah, from every tribulation emerges a salvation; salvation comes from amidst the troubles, as is written: "It is a time of trouble for Yaakov, and from [within] it he will be saved" (Yirmiyahu 30,7) – from every tribulation will ultimately result a great salvation and uplifting even higher than before.

Holidays: "Pull and Take" the Passover Lamb

by Rav Yosef Naveh, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

When the Israelites were preparing for the Exodus, Moshe Rabbeinu told their elders: "Pull and take for yourselves sheep for your families, and slaughter the Pesach sacrifice" (Sh'mot 12,21). The fulfillment of this charge involved no small miracle, in that sheep were the Egyptians' god, yet they were powerless to stop the Jews from using and slaughtering them.

Shabbat HaGadol – the Great Sabbath, the last one before Pesach – was set as the day on which we remember this miracle and Israel's dedication to fulfilling G-d's word. As the Tur explains in Orach Chaim: "The Sabbath before Pesach is called Shabbat HaGadol, because of the great miracle of that day." He explains that we were commanded to take the sheep on the 10^th day of Nissan, which came out that year on the Sabbath, as the Exodus took place five days later, on Thursday.

But this raises the following question: It's true that the miracle happened on a Sabbath, but why shouldn't we commemorate the miracle on the 10^th day of Nissan every year, no matter what day of the week it falls out on?

The Chidushei HaRim writes that the 10^th day of Nissan is like the 10^th day of Tishrei – Yom Kippur, the day of atonement for all our sins. (This explains the custom of reciting the Pesach Haggadah, up to the words "to atone for all our sins," on Shabbat HaGadol.) That is to say, this Sabbath is a time to do teshuvah (repentance), a time to shore up our powers of improving ourselves and our deeds.

To do teshuvah, one must strive and work steadily – and what type of work? That of thinking and meditation. The word gadol (as in Shabbat HaGadol) is of the same letters as dilug, skipping; this Shabbat empowers us to do the skipping type of teshuvah, that is, teshuvah in which we skip the difficult stages between "Pull" and "Take" and go directly from one to the other. When a Jew fulfills "pull," pulling himself away and detaching himself from his bad deeds, he can immediately reach the stage of "take," in which he is taken to become the essence of that which is acquired to the Creator, for His purposes.

Of course, however, there is no guarantee. When one's service of G-d is done in the mode of "skipping," there are liable to be some falls and tumbles, because what he acquired quickly in terms of spirituality can sometimes be lost quickly as well, as it takes time for it to be well-grounded in one's soul. But via the special qualities of the Sabbath, which is kvia v'kayma [permanently fixed, precisely every seven days, week in and week out – as opposed to the Festivals, which are dependent on the rabbinic court's determination based on the sighting of the moon and other factors], these new spiritual qualities are rendered more permanent.

This is why our Sages chose to mark the taking of the lamb on the Sabbath every year, and not on the 10^th of Nissan – which generally falls out on a weekday – for weekdays do not have the power of stability and permanence.

This Shabbat grants us the ability to "pull" all at once, to withdraw our hands from any contact with foreign items, to purify our morals and actions. "Pulling" in its simple meaning is a legal form of acquisition; in our context, it means that we become "acquired" to G-d as His servants by pulling ourselves away from all unacceptable behavior and anything that is the opposite of the holiness of Israel.

Another reason can be given as well to explain why the Sages chose the Sabbath as the commemoration of the great miracle. We ask in our Sabbath prayers that G-d grant us a day of "love and desire." The Divine desires that we can arouse on the Sabbath cannot be activated on weekdays, and without the Sabbath, Israel would not be able to arouse within itself a strong and internal will to truly be G-d's servants. It is therefore specifically the Sabbath, with its boost of upper-level desire, that was chosen as the Shabbat HaGadol.

And on this Sabbath, we begin to draw to ourselves and accept the lights of the holiday of Pesach. The Talmud states (B'rachot 17a): "Our will is to do Your will, but the 'yeast in the dough' – i.e., our evil inclination – and our subjugation to foreign kingdoms prevent us." On the night of Passover, there is no 'yeast in our dough.' On this night, we are totally free to reveal our inner spirituality, our true inner will to perform G-d's desire.

We read in Psalms: "to do Your will, my G-d, I have desired, and Your Torah is within me" (40,9). The author of Lev Simcha explains the last words as alluding to the non-fermented matzah that enters our bodies, thus naturally helping us fulfill the first part of the verse – doing G-d's will. For on the night of Pesach, we burn out the bad, and come to have a true desire to wholeheartedly do G-d's will.

Metzora: The Tongue and the Heart

by Rav Naim ben-Eliyahu, of saintly blessed memory, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The Torah tells us that two birds must be taken for the purification ceremony of the leper. Why two birds? R. Yehuda ben Levi answers in the Talmud: "The leper did an act of pitter-pattering, therefore the Torah says that he should bring a sacrifice of something that pitter-patters."

The Sages have cited many allusions to the fact that leprosy is a Torah punishment for sins of speech, such gossip, speaking ill of others, and the like. This is seen here as well: When a person gossips about others, he is actually behaving like a sparrow – called a "bird of freedom" in Hebrew – chirping with no limits. When a person speaks lashon hara or maligns another, he is acting like a sparrow, which does not accept authority from anyone, has no discipline, and spouts off whatever comes to it. It chirps all over the place with no restraints, always squeaking and making noise – just like a person who does not watch his mouth, speaks whatever and wherever he wants, without regard to whether it might harm someone or cause damage. 

The Medrash tells us a story about a king who once took ill, and was told that only milk from a lioness could cure him. This presented a major challenge, as who would ever dare to come close to a lioness, let alone obtain her milk? The king announced that whoever would succeed in bring him a cup of lioness milk would receive a large fortune and be appointed his highest advisor to boot. One man came forth and said he could do it – but that he required a flock of sheep. He went to the lions' den and, from a distance, threw a lamb to the lioness. The carnivore was puzzled but happily ate the lamb. The next day the man came a bit closer and threw the lioness another lamb, and the same thing happened. Each day he came closer and closer, until after a month the lioness allowed him to come very close and even to pet her. At that point, the man took out a bottle from his pocket, and while the animal was busy eating, he gently milked her until the bottle was full.

On his way back to the king, he dreamt a strange dream, in which all his organs were arguing amongst themselves about who deserves the credit for this great accomplishment. The legs said, "If not for us, how would you have ever gotten there?!" The hands said, "We milked her!" The eyes said, "We showed you the way!" Etc. etc., until the tongue tried to speak up, but got shouted down by the others: "You're the smallest among us, you have no bones, and you live in a dark, wet place!" The tongue said, "Tomorrow you'll see how I actually totally control all of you."

The next day, the man arrived in the king's palace, and announced dramatically: "I have returned, and I have the dog's milk that you requested!" Predictably, the king was infuriated, and ordered the man thrown into the dungeon. His organs took up from where they had reached in the previous night's dream, but with the new-found understanding that it was the tongue that had the final word over them. 

The tongue said, "OK, now you'll see how I can save you." The man asked the dungeon-master to return him to the king so that he could appeal. He explained: "O master and king! Whatever I said before – what does it matter? Drink the milk, and if it heals you, that's what's important! And anyway, there are some languages in which a lioness is called a dog, which is why I said dog instead of lioness…" The king agreed to drink the milk, and lo and behold, he was cured of his disease, and rewarded the man as he had promised. 

We thus see that "death and life are in the hands of the tongue" (Proverbs 18,21). Regardless of its small size, it has a tremendous effect on our lives. The same is true with a sparrow that weighs but a few grams, but its sound, its influence, can be heard and felt from afar. Let us not make light of what our mouths can do. 

And now a word about Fear of Heaven: "The beginning of wisdom is Fear of Heaven," we read in Psalms 111. It is the first gate one passes through on his way to effective Torah study. What exactly is this trait?

We answer this question from the story of the Ten Plagues, and specifically the plague of Hail: "He who feared G-d's word among Pharoah's slaves gathered his servants and livestock into the houses; and he who did not pay attention to G-d's word, left his servants and livestock in the field [where they were smitten]."  

We see clearly that the opposite of "fear of Heaven" is simply apathy, not paying attention – and he who notes and lives by G-d's word is a G-d-fearing person. And what does G-d expect from us, primarily? We read in D'varim 5: "Would it be that their heart would be this way, to fear Me, and to keep My precepts…"

One who has fear and awe of Heaven is one who knows that he is not alone, and that G-d is with him everywhere – and this keeps him from behaving in an unseemly manner, and specifically from speaking wantonly and badly about others. As R. Moshe Isserles writes in the first paragraph of the classic Shulchan Arukh that he co-authored with R. Yosef Karo: 

"The verse I have placed G-d before me always is a great principle in the Torah and among the righteous, for a person who sits alone at home does not behave or speak the same way he does when he stands before a king… And all the more so when he imbues himself with the idea that he is standing before the King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He – this will bring him fear and awe and surrender to G-d…"

R. Chelbo states in the Talmud: "Whoever has fear of Heaven, his words are heard, as is written in the end of Ecclesiastes: "The bottom line is that everything is heard; fear G-d and heed His commandments" – for his words are not like the chirping of a bird, but are rather thought-out and positive.

It is told about Rav Tzvi Yehuda, the son of HaRav Kook and Rosh Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav, that he rebuked his students for something – and yet a few days later, they did the same thing. He admonished them again, and yet again they did not listen. When it happened a third time, he quickly left and went into a side room. The students were greatly taken aback, and followed after him, and found him there crying. In shock at what they had done, they sought to mollify him: "We're sorry, we made a mistake, we will do teshuvah!" Rav Tzvi Yehuda said, "I'm not worried only about you – but also about myself! After all, if my words are not heard, it must mean that my Fear of Heaven is not strong enough! That's why I am crying!"

This is the extent to which the great giants of Israel were concerned for their fear and awe of Heaven. How much more so must we seek to strengthen this attribute in ourselves!

Holidays: The Month of Turning Sins into Merits

by Rav Yosef Naveh, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

We have entered into the great light of the month of Nissan, which is the month of Redemption both past and future. I saw written in the work HaLekach v'HaLibuv in the name of the Avnei Nezer that these days are considered "very precious, in which each hour is considered a day." How so?

Given that these days are so exalted, every hour of Torah study, good deeds, and prayer is counted in the Heavenly court as a complete day of service of G-d. Why? Because on these days, great light and abundance of spirituality, and of closeness between ourselves and Hashem, descend to the world.

We know that the month of Tishrei – the High Holy Days and Sukkot – is a time for repentance, teshuvah, that stems from fear and awe of G-d, and of the day of judgement. On the other hand, Nissan is a time for repentance based on love of G-d. The latter type of teshuvah is so sublime, the Gemara teaches, that even purposeful sins can turn into actual merits – as amazing as that sounds

It occurred to me that these two concepts can be connected, as follows.

The first concept is truly astonishing, in that when a person spends an hour or so in the month of Nissan preparing for the holiday, collecting mitzvot, etc. – G-d counts this time as a full day of mitzvot! That is, He sees the abundance of holiness of this person - but He also sees the many hours of the past year in which he did not do mitzvot, and might have actually done purposeful sins!  What does G-d then do?

With His great compassion, He spreads the merits that the person created in Nissan, and uses them to fill in all the hours and days of the rest of the year in which he did not do good deeds! That is, all the hours of Nissan that became full days of merits, now fill in for the missing hours and days in which sins were committed – and thus the sins become merits!

These days of Nissan are very exalted from another angles as well. The Rebbe of Lublin said that specifically the first 12 days of Nissan are aligned with the 12 months of the year. That is, the first day of Nissan corresponds to the entire month of Nissan, the second day is aligned with the month of Iyar, and so on. 

What this means is that a person can make a difference and can determine what will be each month of the year – according to how he behaves on the corresponding day! That is, if he increases extra Torah study, mitzvot, and prayer, spiritually and physically, on the fourth day of Nissan, for example, then the fourth month – Tammuz – will be accordingly successful for him.

May this be a catalyst for a good and blessed month!