Shoftim: Standing Silently By

by Rav Moshe Tzuriel ZT"L, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Among the many mitzvot (commandments) in this week's Torah portion of Shoftim (D'varim 16,18-21,9), we read: "The testimony of one witness [regarding a crime] may not be accepted; a case must be established through the testimony of two or three witnesses" (19,15).

The Sages ask (Makkot 5b): "If the testimony of two witnesses is sufficient, why did the Torah state 'two or three'"?

Several answers are offered; let us focus on that of Rabbe Akiva, who said: "The purpose is to exact a price on the third witness, and equate his punishment to that of the first two." That is, if they are found to have lied, not only are the first two witnesses punished, but also the third one – and he cannot claim, 'My words made no difference, since there were already two witnesses, so why should I be punished?'"

The Gemara adds there: "If one who merely joins up with other sinners is punished, how much more so is one rewarded for joining up with those who do good deeds!"

In any event, we learn from this a major principle in "national education:" When the authorities commit an injustice, such as the expulsion of residents from Gush Katif and handing over parts of the Land of Israel to foreigners, it is forbidden to take part! That is, even if police and military forces have already gathered in numbers sufficient to complete the mission, and then other soldiers or police officers are recruited to take part as well, the latter cannot claim that they bear no guilt because the plan can be completed without them. Rather, anyone who joined up with the forces, in whatever role, is guilty – and must repent for this sin. His t'shuvah (repentance) must be a personal decision to never again take any part in evicting Jews from their homes, and also by publicly declaring and educating others that such a great sin must never be repeated.

I would add that we are reminded to speak about this specifically now, because the days of t'shuvah are fast approaching and every Jew must correct what he corrupted in the past.

It is interesting to note that a disagreement has developed among several of the rabbis of the religious-Zionist camp. Some say that a soldier must obey all military commands, even regarding the eviction of Jews from their homes, while others claim that it is forbidden to obey orders that directly contradict Torah law. The latter cite the Rambam, who wrote, "If the king decreed to abrogate a commandment, he is not listened to" (Laws of Kings 3,9, based on Sanhedrin 49a). Several rabbis were interviewed in the media this week who instructed their students to obey the army's orders regarding the eviction of Jews from a building in Hebron. It is puzzling to me that I did not hear any of those rabbis relate to the apparent violation of the Rambam's halakhic ruling.

It should also be noted that no Rosh Yeshivat Hesder pre-military academy head is permitted to rule on this "question," because of his personal "interests" (biases) regarding continued funding from the Ministry of Defense for his yeshiva.

Back to the fundamental point: A person will have to account in the Heavenly court for having stood by sinners, and will be punished for not having protested their acts. This concept is also seen elsewhere in the Torah, such as regarding the rebellion of Korach and his gang. When Moshe Rabbeinu heard that there was to be a Divine punishment, he declared before all, "Move away from the tents of these evil people… lest you be consumed by [the punishment for] their sins" (Bamidbar 16,26). This raises the question: Since G-d knows who is guilty and who is not, what's the difference where they all stood? G-d could have punished only those who actively rebelled!

The answer is: "Woe to an evil person, woe to his neighbor" (Mishna Nega'im 12,6). The very fact that the neighbor did not distance himself from an evil person brings upon him punishment. 

Our Sages were clear on this point: "Distance yourself from a bad neighbor" (Ethics of the Fathers 1,7). Rabbeinu Yonah explains that this means that one must not think that he can join up with the evil ones only temporarily, or even just superficially – because he could end up being punished simply for being with him and not protesting.

This of course also applies to being with people who speak gossip, slander, or impure/unclean speech. See also Proverbs 22,14, from which is learned that everyone in the vicinity of a sinner will be punished, unless they protested.

Our military failures in the Second Lebanon War, a year after the Disengagement, refute the position of those young rabbis who instructed their students not to disobey IDF orders during that expulsion of Jews. They claimed that disobeying orders would weaken the IDF. But look at what happened: The result was exactly the opposite of what they thought!

Contrast this with the ruling of the venerable Rabbi Dov Lior about a month ago: When religious soldiers received an order to join the IDF forces preventing citizens from marching on foot to the destroyed settlement of Homesh, they asked his counsel whether to obey the instructions. He answered them that the role of the IDF is to protect us from our foreign enemies, and that it is not its role to prevent Jews from settling their land, and that using the soldiers for this purpose is a political and invalid use of the IDF by the authorities.

How fortunate we are that it is in our power to correct the past through repentance.