- Thou shall not stand idly by
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- Rabbi Reuven Mann-Dean, Masoret Institute
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- Question:
Is Clinton right? Do we face a moral imperative
to stop Serbia's ethnic cleansing policies?
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- Response by Rabbi Reuven Mann:
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- "Thou shall not stand idly by the blood of your
brother."In the purely halachic sense "brother" refers
to any fellow Jew whom we are enjoined to assist, with all means at
our disposal, whenever he/she is in danger. (Note: This is a sobering
thought.At a time of great animosity among our people it is important
to remember that we must treat every Jew not according to how we feel,
but according to the Torah's definition i.e.,. brother and sister.)
However in the philosophical sense the Torah demands that we regard
all humans as brothers for all have been created in the image of G-d
and all share a divine soul.The affliction and oppression of man is
thus an act of hostility against the divine image and more
significantly against the Creator. Thus Moses not only struck down the
Egyptian who was beating a Jew ("from his brethren") but
drove away the shepherds who were mistreating the daughters of Yitro
(Exodus 2:17) who were total strangers. Abraham's compassion extended
to Sodom and Gemorrah on whose behalf he daringly interceded with G-d
to cancel His decree of destruction.The true servant of G-d cannot be
indifferent to the degradation and destruction of the being He created
in His image.The Rabbi's teach: The ministering angels wanted to sing
praises after the splitting of the Red Sea. G-d rebuked them:"The
works of my Hand (the Egyptians) are drowned in the sea, and you sing
praises?" Thus, there is an element of tragedy even in the
destruction of the wicked.
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- Jews rightfully condemn the indifference of the world and it's
failure to offer assistance to the victims of the holocaust.We have a
moral obligation to oppose the sinful destruction of all innocent
victims.We are commanded to refrain from celebration "when it is
a time of suffering for mankind." We learn this from the Rabbinic
tradition that Noah refrained from sexual intercourse during his stay
on the Ark out of identification with the suffering of mankind.We
therefore have a serious moral obligation to oppose and be troubled by
the ethnic cleansing of Kossova. This is not to say that the U.S. has
an obligation to go to war against the Serbs.We are not obligated to
sacrifice the lives of our own soldiers in every situation of evil.How
far we must go is a most difficult question. But for starters we must
recognize our obligation to oppose and be troubled by the destruction
of human life and do all in our power (aside from actual warfare) to
stop it.
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