Should you kill a wounded terrorist?
Since the great flood of Noah in the Torah portion this week, mankind has been commanded "not to spill human blood", but does this apply to a blood-thirsty terrorist who was wounded whilst chasing after women and children on a Jerusalem street with a butcher knife?
Rabbis in Israel are fiercely debating this point. Rabbi David Stav ruled that “In these days in which the blood is boiling… it is important to preserve our moral superiority" and that therefore we must take the high ground and not kill the wounded terrorist. Rabbi Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Safed, criticized him sharply: “We can’t think all day about what others are thinking about us. Do not listen to Stav, for the one who is merciful to the cruel will end up being cruel to the merciful."
Can you imagine how police and US army would react if arabs started a street war in Miami, Chicago and NYC stabbing random pedestrians in deliberate acts of terror? Undoubtedly, the IDF is the most humane and ethical army in the world, a fact that doesn’t always work in our favor.
We at Chabad of PBG are proud to hold our most high-profile event of the year in support of exceptional IDF soldiers. On Monday, December 7, we will hold our fourth annual Trump International Chabad Golf Classic, raising college scholarships for IDF Soldiers, thus motivating them to excel and showing them that their American brethren appreciate their courage and sacrifice.
This will be our second year raising funds for this cause. Indeed, the soldier who will soon be chosen to receive our four year college scholarship award will be our guest of honor at Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens for Shabbat on February 19, 2016.
Our honorary charity is the Friends of the IDF (FIDF) under the local leadership of Sherri Siskin, who says that "Their job is to look after Israel; our job is to look after them." And boy do they know how to show their appreciation:
This past summer, as we held our exhilarating second Mission to Israel, we were treated to a VIP IDF tour to an army base where we were allowed to mix and mingle with the valiant young warriors of the Nachson Brigade. Named for the biblical Nachson who was the first to have the guts to dive into the Red Sea upon Moses’ command, this brigade is the very first to enter the battlefield to prepare the logistics for the other army units to enter safely.
As the soldiers thanked us for sponsoring them with four year college scholarships we were whisked away to a pristine mountain peak for a VIP army luncheon with IDF commanders and officers. Our bus nearly overturned due to the difficult terrain - we actually walked part of the way - but it was well worth it. Beneath us, as far as the eye could see, lay the gorgeous land of Israel and her peace-loving, hard-working citizens. The commander became teary-eyed as he told us of how each soldier is motivated by the thought that his actions are what stands between our enemies and our families, in the most literal sense!
"Hein am levadad yiskon uvagoyim lo yischashav - Behold a Nation set apart and not recognized amongst the nations." At first glance, this seems to be an insult to Israel in the Torah, but in his touching words, the Consul General of Israel, Chaim Shacham, this past Shabbos told our capacity crowd that the Rebbeexplained this to be a beautiful blessing to Israel: We are a nation set apart, and an essential part of our separateness is that, even in the face of enemies bent on our destruction, our standards of morality and ethics are far superior to any other nation.
We are proud to be able to support the brave IDF soldiers through our Trump Golf Charity Event. Help us to help them by logging onto www.JewishGardens.com/Golf