Kahane on the Parsha
Rabbi Binyamin Kahane- Parshat Mishpatim
NORMAL PEOPLE THINK AHEAD
On the verse, "If a thief is found breaking in and is
struck so that he dies, there shall be no blood guilt on his account"
(Exodus 22:1), Rashi cites a passage in the Talmud that is certain to shock
liberal Jews:
"If one comes to slay you, rise and slay him first. And
this thief indeed came to kill you since he knows that a person will not stand
by quietly and watch his possessions being stolen. hence, he is prepared to
kill you if you confront him."
Absolutely amazing! In other words, the Rabbis are telling us
that the rule of "If one comes to slay you, rise and slay him first"
does not exclusively address someone with a knife being held to his throat. The
rule is much more expansive. The Rabbis teach us that a person is obligated to
think a few steps ahead and anticipate. If he thinks there is a real threat
that someone may kill him, he is required to "rise and slay him
first."
In this Talmudic passage, the Rabbis enter the psyche of the
thief. They reason that the thief, knowing the likelihood of resistance, has
prepared himself to kill the owner if necessary. Therefore, the owner may kill
him immediately upon confronting him without waiting to see how the thief will
reac to being caught.
How we have distorted the concept of "If one comes to slay
you, rise and slay him first"! The average Moderdox Jew thinks that one
can only rise and slay the Arab who is throwing a Molotov cocktail or yelling
"Allahu akhbar" as he chases his victim with a hatchet. He believes
that if the danger is not "this very instant"- but rather will reveal
itself in one hour or one week- the law does not apply. What was obvious to the
Rabbis- that one MUST think a few steps ahead and that a person does not
"not stand by quietly and watch his possessions being stolen"- is not
obvious in today's society where "humanism" and distorted concepts of
morality run rampant.
In Israel, Jews continue to passively accept being beaten and
humiliated by our enemy, lacking the healthy and normal survival instinct to
"rise and slay him first." This self-restraint is justified with the
argument that the situation is not life-threatening. And so, soldiers and
settlers shoot warning shots in the air after being attacked since the danger,
as they see it, is not imminent. According to IDF guidelines, soldiers, upon
seeing a terrorist, must shout a warning, shoot in the air, and, if the
situation gets really hot, shoot at the terrorist's legs. Only a Jew who is
already dead can shoot to kill since anyone who does so before that point will
find himself facing murder charges.
In short, we have learned two important lessons. First, the rule
"If one comes to slay you, rise and slay him first" is not limited to
a situation where someone is pointing a gun to your head; one is permitted to
anticipate potential danger to life. Second, only a nation devoid of any
self-respect doesn't rise up and fight back. After all, the Talmudic passage we
quoted at the beginning of this article concerns fighting for one's property.
Shouldn't its logic apply all the more so concerning fighting for one's life?
We must cease to interpret and define halacha in accordance with
our Western mentality and mindset. We must rise up, just like one rises early
for vatikin (shacharit/morning services), and think a few steps ahead so that
we can kill the murderous trespassers before it is too late.
Darka Shel Torah, 1992
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Please
continue your prayers for Rivka bat Talya, daughter of Binyamin and Talya
Kahane, may G-d avenge their blood.
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