A Halachic Response to the Murder of Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal

On June 12th, three Israeli boys went missing: Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both aged 16, and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach. They were kidnapped while hitchhiking for a ride home - allegedly by Hamas operatives. For three weeks Israel searched in vain for the captives.

Today we received the terrible news that the bodies of the three boys were found in a shallow grave near Hebron. The precise details surrounding their murder are not fully known. The Jewish people are in a state of shock, mourning, and rage. The world waits with bated breath to see what Israel will do to avenge the loss of its sons.

It is especially at times like these that we must look to halacha for guidance. Rambam writes in Hilchos Avel 13:12: 

Any person who does not mourn as the Sages commanded is achzari (lit. "cruel" or "indifferent"). Rather, he should be fearful and worried and should examine his deeds and return in teshuvah (repentance). If a member of one's chavurah (social group) dies, the entire chavurah should worry [in the aforementioned manner]. 

For the first three days, one should see himself as though a sword is resting on his shoulder. From three days until seven days, [he should view it as though the sword is] waiting in the corner. From then and on, [he should view it as though the sword is] passing before him in the marketplace. All of this is so that a person should prepare himself to return [in teshuvah] and awaken from his slumber, for it is written, "You have stricken them, but they have not felt sickened" (Yirmiyahu 5:3). The implication is that one should awaken and tremble.

While we may not have known these boys personally, the overwhelming outcry of the Jewish people around the world during the search is evidence of how many people identified with their plight. To the extent that their death impacts us, this halacha applies. 

A question one might harbor but be hesitant to ask is: "What kind of teshuvah am I supposed to do? I mean, is halacha suggesting that I react to the deaths of our fellow Jews by increasing my vigilance in lighting Shabbos candles? Should I take it upon myself to learn extra mishnayos each day? Should I start keeping cholov Yisrael? Should I stop relying on the local eiruv? Should I stop watching rated-R movies?" 

While it is true that all teshuvah is good at any time, I'm not quite sure that the aforementioned examples of teshuvah are what Hilchos Avel 13:12 is referring to. Rather, the type of teshuvah that the halacha is talking about is clear from the context of the pasuk cited by the Rambam: 

Walk about in the streets of Yerushalayim, see now and know, and search out its plazas; if you will find a [real] man - if there is one who does justice and seeks truth - then I will forgive her (i.e. the city of Yerushalayim). And even if they say, "[I swear,] as Hashem lives!" they will surely be swearing falsely. Hashem, are Your eyes not toward truth? You have stricken them, but they have not felt sickened; You have [nearly] annihilated them, but they have refused to accept discipline. They made their countenances harder than rock; they refused to repent (Yirmiyahu 5:1-3).

Doing justice and seeking truth - these are the personal qualities that the navi urges us to cultivate through our teshuvah in the wake of tragedies like these. When our brethren are slaughtered by evildoers, and halacha urges us to worry about our deeds, to awaken ourselves from egocentric slumber of complacency, and to tremble in self-reflection which leads to teshuvah, it is with the goal of becoming "a [real] man - one who does justice and seeks truth." 

To reiterate: it is certainly appropriate to do teshuvah for all of our actions which can be corrected - from the most major aveiros (transgressions) to the smallest halachic minutiae. However, if the ultimate extent of our teshuvah is merely a renewed commitment to the observance of technical halacha, but our inner orientation towards truth and justice remain unchanged, then we have missed the point. Yeshayahu ha'Navi condemns this surface-level "token teshuvah" again and again:

They pretend to seek Me every day and desire to know My ways, like a nation that acts righteously and has not forsaken the justice of its God; they inquire of Me about the laws of justice as if they desire the nearness of God, [asking,] "Why did we fast and You did not see? Why did we afflict our souls and You did not know?" Behold - on your fast day you seek out personal gain and you extort all your debts. Because you fast for grievance and strife, to strike [each other] with a wicked fist; you do not fast as befits this day, to make your voice heard above. Can such be the fast I choose, a day when man merely afflicts himself? Can it be merely bowing one's head like a bulrush and spreading [a mattress of] sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast and a day of favor to Hashem? Surely, this is the fast I choose: To break open the shackles of wickedness, to undo the bonds of injustice, and to let the oppressed go free, and annul all perversion [of justice]. Surely you should break your bread for the hungry, and bring the moaning poor [to your home]; when you see a naked person, clothe him; and do not hide yourself from your kin. Then your light will burst out like the dawn and your healing will speedily sprout; your righteous deed will precede you and the glory of Hashem will gather you in. Then you will call and Hashem will respond; you will cry out and He will say, "Here I am!" If you remove from your midst perversion [of justice], finger-pointing, and evil speech, and offer your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul; then your light will shine [even] in the darkness, and your deepest gloom will be like the noon.

Do justice, and seek truth. Nothing can undo the horrific tragedy that has transpired, but if we - as a people - move past this event unchanged, then the deaths of Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal will have been in vain. 

May their souls rest in peace, and may our neshamos have an aliyah.

Baruch Dayan ha'Emes. Hashem yikom damam.

Blessed is the True Judge. May Hashem avenge their blood.

Parashas Chukas: Chukim - Decrees of Whim or Wisdom?

This week's dvar Torah covers a basic but fundamental issue: whether or not chukim have reasons. Enjoy!

Parashas Chukas: Chukim - Decrees of Whim or Wisdom

"This is the chukah (decree) of the Torah, which Hashem has commanded etc." (Bamidbar 19:2)

What are chukim? Rashi's most comprehensive answer can be found in Parashas Beshalach [1]:

[Chukim are] matters that are only the decree of the King, without any reason, and with which the yetzer ha'ra (evil inclination) finds fault, saying, “What [cause for] prohibition is there in these? Why were they prohibited?” Examples include [the prohibitions of] wearing shaatnez [a mixture of wool and linen] and eating pork, and the parah adumah (red heifer) and the like.

On the surface, Rashi would seem to maintain that chukim are mitzvos which have no reasons. He reiterates this definition several times throughout his commentary [2].

The Ramban doesn't accept this reading of Rashi. After quoting Rashi's definition of a chok as "a decree of the King for which there is no reason," Ramban proceeds to clarify what Rashi really meant [3]:

Their intention is not that a decree of the King of kings would have no reason, for “every word of God is refined” (Mishlei 30:5). Rather, chukim are like the decrees of a king which he enacts in his kingdom without revealing their beneficial purpose to the nation. [Consequently,] the masses do not take delight in them, but are critical of them in their hearts, and accept them out of the fear of the kingship. The same is true of the chukim of Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu: they are the esoteric matters which are contained in his Torah, which the masses – in their minds – do not delight in, like they do with the mishpatim. But [in truth] all of them have a good rationale and completely beneficial [reason].

According to the Ramban, Rashi didn't mean that the chukim of the Torah actually have no reason. Rather, Rashi was describing how the masses perceive the chukim. All mitzvos have reasons, but whereas the reasons for mishpatim are revealed, the reasons for the chukim are concealed. 

The Rambam is just as explicit as the Ramban in his rejection of the notion that chukim have no reasons [4]:

Just as theologians are divided on the question of whether the actions of God are the result of His Wisdom, or only of His Will without being intended for any purpose whatsoever, so they are also divided as regards the purpose of the mitzvos which God gave us. Some of them hold that the mitzvos have no purpose at all and are only dictated by the whim of God. Others are of the opinion that all commandments and prohibitions are dictated by His wisdom and serve a certain aim. Consequently there is a reason for each one of the mitzvos: they are commanded because they are beneficial.  

All of us, the masses as well as the elite individuals, maintain that there is a reason for every mitzvah, although there are mitzvos the reason of which is unknown to us, and in which the ways of [Divine] wisdom are not known. This view is distinctly expressed in Scripture, as it is stated, "chukim and mishpatim of justice" (Devarim 4:8), “The mishpatim of Hashem are true and righteous altogether” (Tehilim 19:10).

The Rambam then goes on to explain the difference between chukim and mishpatim:

There are mitzvos which are called chukim – such as the prohibitions of shaatnez and [cooking] meat and milk together, and the sending of the goat [into the wilderness on Yom ha’Kippurim] – about which the Sages said [5], “I, [Hashem,] have ordained these for you; you do not have permission to be suspicious of them, and the satan flings accusations on account of them, and the gentile nations argue against them.” 

The multitude of Sages do not think that such mitzvos have no reason whatsoever and serve no purpose, for this would lead us to assume that God's actions are in vain. On the contrary, they maintain that even these chukim have a reason – that is to say, an absolutely beneficial reason – even if it eludes us, owing either to the weakness of our intellect or the deficiency of our knowledge. 

Consequently, the Sages are of the opinion that there are reasons for every mitzvah: every positive or negative precept serves a beneficial purpose. In some cases the usefulness is evident, for example, the prohibition of murder and theft; in others the usefulness is not so evident, for example, the prohibition of orlah (deriving benefit from the fruit of a tree in the first three years) or kilai ha’kerem (deriving benefit from the produce of a mixed-species vineyard). Those mitzvos whose purpose is generally evident are called mishpatim, and those whose purpose is not generally clear are called chukim. 

The Sages [6] continually say: “'ki lo davar reik hu mi’kem – for it is not an empty thing for you’ (Devarim 32:47) – and if you find it to be a davar reik (empty thing), it is mi’kem (lit. from you).” In other words, this commandment is not an empty thing without any beneficial purpose, and if it appears to you that any one of the mitzvos is like this, it is due to a deficiency in your understanding. 

Elsewhere the Rambam articulates the underlying premise of those who believe that mitzvos have no reasons [7]: 

There are people who find it difficult to give a reason for any of the mitzvos, and who prefer not to analyze the commandments and prohibitions at all. They are led to adopt this approach by a certain disease in their soul, the existence of which they perceive, but which they are unable to describe or explain, namely, they imagine that if these mitzvos were beneficial in this [worldly] existence in any way whatsoever, and if they were commanded because of this benefit, then it would be as though they originated in the thought and reason of some intelligent being; but [if] these matters are not subject to rationality and do not bring about a benefit, they would undoubtedly be attributed to God, because no thought of man could have produced them.  

According to the theory of those weak-minded people, man is more perfect than his Creator, for what man says or does has a certain purpose, whereas the actions of God are different, for He commands us to do what is of no use to us, and forbids us to do what is harmless. May He be exalted and elevated above [this erroneous notion]!  

The exact opposite is true: the entire purpose [of the Torah] is to benefit us, as we have explained in that which is stated: “[Hashem commanded us to perform all these decrees, to fear Hashem, our God,] for our good, all the days, to give us life, as this very day” (Devarim 6:24). And it is stated: “[You shall safeguard them and perform them, for it is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations,] who shall hear all these decrees and who shall say, ‘Surely a wise and discerning people is this great nation!’” (ibid. 4:6). Thus, He clearly stated that even the individual chukim point to wisdom and understanding in the eyes of all the nations. But if no reason could be found for these chukim and if they did not yield benefit or remove harm, then why should he who believes in them and does them be [considered] wise, understanding, and excellent, and why should such an individual be a wonderment to all of the nations?  

The Rambam concludes with a rule of thumb for uncovering the reasons for chukim:

Rather, the matter is undoubtedly as we have said, namely, that every one of the 613 mitzvos serves to inculcate a true view or remove a false view, or to establish righteous conduct [in society] or remove an injustice, or to train us in a good character trait or to caution us against an evil character trait. Everything is dependent on these three things: hashkafos (our view of reality), middos (character traits), and actions which shape society … Thus, these three principles suffice for assigning a reason for each and every mitzvah.

It is possible that Rashi meant exactly what he wrote, and that the believes that chukim have no reasons. Nevertheless, the Ramban and the Rambam build a strong case for the argument that all mitzvos have reasons, and that Rashi would agree. 

[1] Rabbeinu Shlomo ben Yitzchak, Commentary on Sefer Shemos 15:26

[2] ibid. Commentary on Sefer Bereishis 26:5 and Sefer Vayikra 19:19

[3] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban / Nachmanides), Commentary on Sefer Vayikra 19:19

[4] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Moreh ha'Nevuchim 3:26

[5] Talmud Bavli, Yoma 67b

[6] Talmud Yerushalmi, Peah 1:4

[7] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Moreh ha'Nevuchim 3:31

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Welcome to Kol ha'Seridim! We are the Voice of the Remnant - "the remnant who call out to Hashem" (Yoel 3:5). We have established this blog as a friendly, open-minded venue for sharing and discussing the ideas we have learned and are currently exploring.

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Our mask, which conceals our identity, represents the maxim of "shema ha'emes mi'mi she'amrah" - "Accept the truth from whoever said it." Man was created b'tzelem Elokim - with the ability to know, to understand, and to apprehend truth with his own mind.

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We welcome any and all truth-seekers to join us in our quest for knowledge and understanding. May the One Who grants knowledge bless this project with success, and may He bring us all to love Him and to fear Him.