Rabbi Joshua Maroof
Dear Mesora,
In this week's "King of Rational Thought" segment, the King
comments on the source of the animosity we feel toward traitors. He concludes
that it essentially relates to the violation of trust that treason entails. I
believe that there is an additional dimension to the phenomenon that he has
overlooked. Take, for example, the case of a foreign spy who has infiltrated
our government. For some reason, even he is not despised to the same extent as
a "traitor" who betrays his own government, religious group or
family. Yet, both the foreign spy and the traitor undermine our trust and
security. According to the King, they should be viewed the same way. For this
reason, I would suggest that there is another element to "treason"
that makes it particularly despicable: the fact that one hurts "his
own" people. In other words, it is not just a violation of trust per se,
but a violation of the trust of those to whom you would be presumed to owe a
real sense of allegiance - the country that protects you, the family that
raised you, etc. We expect those to whom we have shown kindness and offered
support - our citizens, children, etc. - to deal considerately and honestly
with us. Violating the trust of those to whom one owes a "debt" of
gratitude is more reprehensible than simple dishonesty or unfaithfulness. A
foreign spy owes us nothing, so we cannot characterize his abuse of our trust
as ungrateful or selfish, while this is the signature feature of treason. A traitor
repays the goodness we bestowed upon him by flagrantly hijacking our sense of
trust and security.