Since October 7th and the brutal Hamas attacks on Israelis we have been navigating through a challenging moral landscape that includes Israel’s right to defend its citizens, Hamas’ indifference to Israeli and Palestinian civilian casualties, the question of the proportionality of Israel’s military response and the unwillingness of many supporters of the Palestinian cause here in the Bay Area to grant any legitimacy to Israel and its right to exist. This week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, begins to build on the Ten Commandments shared in last week’s Torah portion. They focus on human interaction and particularly how we must treat the weakest in society: the widow, the orphan, the stranger and the slave. In the midst of all this we come across this verse, “If the thief is seized while tunneling and beaten to death, there is no blood guilt in that case.” (Exodus 22:1) Commenting on this verse, we read in the Mishna (1st C. CE), “A burglar who is found breaking into a house may be killed by the owner of the house with impunity (see Exodus 22:1)… on account of his ultimate end, as it is presumed that if the owner of the house would resist the burglar, the burglar would kill the owner of the house.” How fitting this is since Hamas has built a massive complex of tunnels to attack Israel, to hide from Israeli soldiers while putting civilians at risk, to imprison hostages taken from Israel, and to ambush Israeli soldiers. The time, effort, and funds expended on these tunnels are testimony to Hamas’ murderous intent and the right to self defense is clear. It is important to remember this in these difficult times.
Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1-24:18, Parashat Hashavua for Shabbat February 10, 2024
February 9, 2024 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
Since October 7th and the brutal Hamas attacks on Israelis we have been navigating through a challenging moral landscape that includes Israel’s right to defend its citizens, Hamas’ indifference to Israeli and Palestinian civilian casualties, the question of the proportionality of Israel’s military response and the unwillingness of many supporters of the Palestinian cause here in the Bay Area to grant any legitimacy to Israel and its right to exist. This week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, begins to build on the Ten Commandments shared in last week’s Torah portion. They focus on human interaction and particularly how we must treat the weakest in society: the widow, the orphan, the stranger and the slave. In the midst of all this we come across this verse, “If the thief is seized while tunneling and beaten to death, there is no blood guilt in that case.” (Exodus 22:1) Commenting on this verse, we read in the Mishna (1st C. CE), “A burglar who is found breaking into a house may be killed by the owner of the house with impunity (see Exodus 22:1)… on account of his ultimate end, as it is presumed that if the owner of the house would resist the burglar, the burglar would kill the owner of the house.” How fitting this is since Hamas has built a massive complex of tunnels to attack Israel, to hide from Israeli soldiers while putting civilians at risk, to imprison hostages taken from Israel, and to ambush Israeli soldiers. The time, effort, and funds expended on these tunnels are testimony to Hamas’ murderous intent and the right to self defense is clear. It is important to remember this in these difficult times.