Rav Baruch Frydman-Kohl
Kehillat Beth Israel, Ottawa
21 October 2023 ~Torah Portion Noah ~ Heshvan 6
I returned this week from a country at war, profoundly traumatized by the barbaric attacks of Hamas terrorists two weeks ago. Our home, our bayit was facing brutal, savage assault.
Israelis understand arial bombardments. We know what to do: prepare some supplies in case of attack, listen for sirens, seek a protective shelter, listen for booms, wait 10 minutes after the sirens finish. Repeat in 30 minutes. Repeat 2 hours later. If need, spend the night in a shelter. Go back to life.
Israelis understand combat. Many have been in army fatigues and know how to protect themselves and, when necessary, to shoot.
But the invasion of small communities, the torture of individuals and families, the gouging out of eyes — before shooting or burning them — there are no words for those cruel and bloodthirsty acts. We can’t comprehend human beings acting as Hamas terrorists did. Even during war, there is a hierarchy, a ranking of what is painful and what is an atrocity.
The nightmare of two weeks has numbed people. We have attended funerals, worried about those wounded, prayed for those taken as hostages, and are anxious for family members and friends called into military service. I attended two funerals and 3 shivas in one week. The son of a friend has been at 8 funerals for members of his combat unit.
Many of you know Shira and Rabbi Barry Schlesinger. I sat with Shira’s mother who mourned the killing of her grandson’s future wife. She said, “The people who would have been at her wedding were at her funeral.” Later the same week, she grieved for the murder of another grandson’s wife and worried about the surviving two children. There are no words.
There also have been stories of incredible resourcefulness, great bravery, remarkable heroism, and painful sacrifices by civilians and soldiers. One family I visited lost a son who was shot in the back while lying on top of a woman to save her. My cousin, Eden Alon Levy was killed with other officers, as they fought to save the lives of 90 trainees under their supervision.
Let me tell you what concerns me now: There have been fatalities of Israeli soldiers and there will be more. To locate and extract hostages will be very dangerous— to soldiers and to captives.
There already have been manifold deaths of civilian Gazans and there will be more. It is important to realize that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. It is a religious extremist group that uses terror to disrupt and derail any possible Israeli-Arab reconciliation.
Hamas places weapons and personnel among civilians knowing that any Israeli attack will cause casualties. Instead of attending to the needs of civilians, Hamas built hundreds of miles of attack tunnels (termed by Israel “the metro”). Now, to identify and eradicate Hamas terrorists, the IDF will have to peel off the upper layer of Gaza to expose the underground city. This will be very ugly.
Let us sit for a moment in silence, to acknowledge our many different feelings:
Even here, even in Canada, we are stunned and feel wounded.
Each year, we read the same words from the Torah, but because we are different, the meaning and impact of those words changes from year to year. The text endures, we change. Judah Golden once wrote: “Text and experience are reciprocally enlightening.”
I was struck by two verses in today’s Torah portion:
מִיַּד֙ אִ֣ישׁ אָחִ֔יו אֶדְרֹ֖שׁ אֶת־נֶ֥פֶשׁ הָֽאָדָֽם׃ I will require a reckoning for human life, of everyone for each other! שֹׁפֵךְ֙ דַּ֣ם הָֽאָדָ֔ם בָּֽאָדָ֖ם דָּמ֣וֹ יִשָּׁפֵ֑ךְ כִּ֚י בְּצֶ֣לֶם אֱלֹהִ֔ים עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הָאָדָֽם׃ Whoever sheds human blood, by human [hands] shall that one’s blood be shed; for in the image of God was humankind made. (Genesis 9: 5-6)
Because human beings are created in the image of God, there must be a reckoning for such barbaric cruelty. There must be a reckoning. And even in that reckoning, we must remember that human beings were created in the image of God.
The actions of Hamas and the response of Israel are different, morally distinct.
At the beginning of our Torah portion, we read
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱ-לֹהִ֜ים לְנֹ֗חַ קֵ֤ץ כׇּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֣א לְפָנַ֔י כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָ֛רֶץ חָמָ֖ס מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וְהִנְנִ֥י מַשְׁחִיתָ֖ם אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with hamas; because of them, I shall destroy them with the earth. (Genesis 6:13).
In Hebrew, Hamas. חמס means violence, lawlessness.
In Arabic, Hamas. חמא״ס is an Arabic acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama l’Islamiya, the Islamic Resistance Movement. Hamas is a terrorist group that claims to kill in the name of God.
Although the two words sound the same, they are different in meaning. But they may still have something that connects them. In Arabic, hamas can also mean zeal or desire. In Hebrew, a cognate word is hamush. The Aramaic translation of וַחֲמֻשִׁ֛ים עָל֥וּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם – the people of Israel left Egypt hamushim (Exodus 13:18) – is מְזָרְזִין. They left with desire, committed to their future.
Hamas terrorists entered and killed with zealous desire, with enthusiasm.
Israeli soldiers will also be determined and committed, but in a different way. They will not seek to torture. They will not seek to inflict indiscriminate pain. They are bound by the principles of Israeli ethics of war and by international law. They know that the enemy is also created in the image of God.
Next week we’ll begin narrative about Avraham and his family. A midrash notes that Avraham, who is the father of the Jewish people, and Bilaam, who wanted to damage the people of Israel, both arose early in the morning, enthusiastic for their appointed task. They are both filled with a desire to do something. But their purpose was completely different.
So too, with what will be the reckoning in response to the violence of Hamas. As President Biden stated, there must be a price for terrorism. I hope that Prime Minister Trudeau will come to a comparable decision.
Yossi Klein Halevi has written,
Fighting evil does not mean a suspension of moral ground rules; the opposite is true. One must be careful not to become tainted by the evil you are fighting, for both practical and spiritual reasons…. We don’t target innocents; we don’t dehumanize an entire people; we do what we can, given the constraints of the situation and the goals of the war, to minimize civilian deaths.
… In an existential war against a genocidal enemy hiding behind civilians, the boundaries of proportionality change. But red lines remain and our political and military leaders need to grapple with the moral imperative of destroying Hamas and the moral imperative of preserving life. …A war against evil is fought with fierce determination, but without blind hatred for an entire people, let alone an entire religion.
A difference of ends, of goals is important. Hamas wants to destroy Israel and al-Yahud, Jews. This attack has turned the clock back to 1948 and the desire to deny Jews the right to have a בית, a home, to live in peace.
For Israel, the painful reality of war in Gaza is conditioned by a vision of ultimate security, safety, peace, a desire to live with its neighbours. Even in war, our hope must be for the vision of Isaiah (60.18):
לֹא־יִשָּׁמַ֨ע ע֤וֹד חָמָס֙ בְּאַרְצֵ֔ךְ שֹׁ֥ד וָשֶׁ֖בֶר בִּגְבוּלָ֑יִךְ וְקָרָ֤את יְשׁוּעָה֙ חוֹמֹתַ֔יִךְ וּשְׁעָרַ֖יִךְ תְּהִלָּֽה׃ The cry “hamas, violence!” Shall no more be heard in your land, nor “Wrack and ruin!” within your borders.
This can only come with strength, as indicated in Psalm 29:
ה’ עז לעמו יתן ה’ יברך את־עמו בשלום׃
The Eternal will give strength to [the people of Israel]; then God will bless them with peace.
So may it be.. כן יהי רצון.
~~~~~
https://www.balashon.com/2023/10/hamas.html
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/balak-balaam-and-abraham/
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-this-war-is-about/
https://www.thefp.com/p/matti-friedman-my-phone-says-2023
https://forward.com/forward-newsletters/looking-forward/566103/etgar-keret-israel-gaza-war/