Religious-Zionist Rabbis Speak Out on Judaism and Violence
Religious-Zionist Rabbis Speak Out on Judaism and Violence

The statement of principles below was sent to the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Israel, Hon. Matthew Gould, last month, with the following introduction:

Dear Ambassador Gould,

As you know, Talking Peace is an organization that conducts dialogues about peace inside Israel and with which many religious leaders in the national religious / settler community have been involved.

In response to your question about the teachings of the Torah on violence, we approached a number of Rabbis with whom we are in contact.  Their position on the subject appears in the document below and  reflects the Torah teachings that they address to their own communities.

The Rabbis who have put their names to this document  state clearly that they are firmly committed to the religious and historical significance of the return of the Jewish people to the whole of the land of Israel, including the settlement of Judea and Samaria.  They are fully aware of the UK's opposition to this belief. 

They also believe in the moral responsibility of the State of Israel to defend itself - using force when necessary.  Their response to your question addresses their specific understanding of the Torah's teachings about violence and peace.

 Yours sincerely,

 Ms. Sharon Leshem-Zinger, Dr. Alick Isaacs and Dr. Avinoam Rosenak

 Co-Directors, Talking Peace

A Rabbinic Statement in Praise of Peace at the Time of the Jewish People's Return to its Ancestral Land

1) The Holy Torah teaches us that all human beings are created in God’s image. In B’reishit (Genesis 1, 27), the Torah says, “And God created Adam in his image; in the image of God he created him.”

Rabbi Akiva says in Mishna Avot (3,14) “Beloved is man, for he was created in the image God; it is a sign of even greater love that it has been made known to him that he was created in the image of God."

We are obligated to act in ways that honor God’s image.  The interpersonal commandments that deal with our relationship with our fellow human beings, "bein adam lechaveiro," show us how Jews are obliged to be instruments of healing and good. They obligate us to avoid damaging the property of others, harming or neglecting others and warn us against causing damage, engaging in deceit or wreaking  vengeance.

2)  Every person must be respected (as long as he does not hurt you). This includes those whose values are different from your own. The Natziv of Volozhin writes in the preface to his commentary in B’reishit (Genesis), “Our forefathers were considered just and honest because they dealt with the nations of the world with love and concern for their wellbeing because this upholds creation…as we see that Abraham prostrated himself in prayer for the sake of Sodom and was thus truly the father of many nations.” (Genesis 17, 4)

3) The Book of Psalmsteaches us: Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. (34, 14-15). From here we learn the principle of "mipne darchai shalom" (for the sake of peace) which obliges us to actively seek peace and do things for the sake of peace that we would not normally do.

 The Talmud teaches us that "the entire Torah is for the sake of the ways of shalom as it says (Proverbs 3) her ways are the ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace" (Talmud Gittin 59b). The priestly blessing ends with the word ‘peace’ and the silent Amidah prayer in the morning, afternoon and evening services ends with the prayer for peace.

Rabbi Shimon Ben Halafta says; God did not find a vessel that holds blessing for Israel other than peace as it says (Psalms 29)“God will give strength to his people, God will bless his people with peace” (Mishna Uktzin chapter 3 Mishna 12).

4) The Torah teaches the important value of loving all people and not only Jewish people. We must behave morally toward gentiles. We have the obligation to see to it that: "Poor Gentiles should be supported along with poor Jews; the Gentile sick should be visited along with the Jewish sick; and their dead should be buried along with the Jewish dead, in order to further peaceful relations as it says God is good to all and his mercy is upon all of his creations, as it says, it’s ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace (Maimonides, The Laws of Kings, chapter 10, halakha 12). 

This law applies to the minorities living in the Land of Israel today. Peace is not the absence of war but a holistic value which leads to opposition to violence.

5) Despite its long history of suffering, the People of Israel always knew to offer a hand in peace. This was the case when we were in Exile among the nations of the world and it is still true today as we fulfill our obligation to resettle the whole of the Biblical land of Israel. Our holy Torah forbids us from harming one another. We are not only commanded “Thou shalt not kill” but are forbidden from harming one another in any way. For us, life is the most sacred thing of all. This applies not only to our own lives but also to those of all human beings.

The prohibition against damaging the property of others is one that the Jewish tradition has taught to the whole world. When the greatest prophet Moses saw a man who raised his hand against another he called out “Evil man, why do you beat your neighbor?” According to the ethics of our Torah, the act of raising one's hand against someone is considered evil behavior.

There are nations that want to stamp out the State of Israel and deny its right to exist. There are serious attacks against men, women and children and therefore, we have a right and moral obligation to fight against our enemies. Thank God, we have a government and the rule of law in our country, and we are not subject to pogroms and looting as we were in exile.

Our goal is to create a social fabric and a society that does not involve violence, but an individual who is being threatened has the right to self-defense under the principle “when one’s life is threatened one is permitted to kill the pursuer.” But it is clear that the individual does not have the right to take the law into his own hands and pursue a [personal] policy of war between nations. This is the role of the IDF, for whose existence we are grateful and for whose success we pray. This is how it is for us and how it should be everywhere in the world.

7) As leaders, we have the responsibility to teach virtuous conduct to our communities in the spirit of the teachings of Avtalyon,“Scholars, be careful with your words. For you may be exiled to a place of evil waters where your disciples who come after you will drink of these evil waters and be destroyed, and the Name of Heaven will be desecrated”(Avot 1, 11).

8) We must not consent to the libelous campaign that is often waged unjustly against an entire community. It is also clear that the scope of our holy Torah’s vision of peace is neither narrow nor limited but extends to include the whole of creation. This includes the prohibition against cutting down a fruit tree without an exceptional reason. Whoever damages or uproots a tree desecrates God’s world as it says "when you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down" (Deuteronomy  20:19). 

9) Israel and Peace: The nation of Israel returns to the land of Israel after 2,000 years of exile, after longing, praying and weeping. We acknowledge the contribution of the nations of the world to our rightful return to our land. This right gives us the ability to talk about peace, justice and security, and bring the world to a better place than it is today.

10) Our Message to the World

The strength of Israel is in its morality, its faith and its spirit. This is our message to the world. This is the destiny of the people of Israel. Even if the State of Israel is obliged to establish the IDF to defend us from those who rise up against us, we pray and yearn for the days foretold by the prophet Isaiah, “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 4, 2)

We aspire to the days in which it will be possible for “world politics” to be run without the use of force and violence. A new form of discourse, the talk of peace and humility, must replace it. At its core, the People of Israel is a peace-seeking people. Peace is its purpose, its prayer and its belief. We ask the collective and individuals to think about the paths of peace and to refrain from the use of force and from actions that encourage violence. We must be guided by the verses of the Bible that we believe in with all our hearts;

"Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples (Isaiah 56, 7). And the wolf will dwell with the lamb and the leopard will lie down with the kid." (Isaiah 11, 6)

We remember that our very existence as a people is based upon God’s covenant with Abraham “And all the nations of the world shall be blessed through you”. (Genesis 12,3)

11) The Temple and Peace:

The Temple will only be built when all of the world agrees and wants the Temple to be rebuilt in order to fulfill the words of the prophet, “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples (Isaiah 56, 7).” Even while the Temple is not built, our yearnings for its rebuilding are for peace in the whole world.

"And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

"And many peoples shall go and say: 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

"And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2, 2-4)

Signed:

Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, (Rosh Yeshiva [Yeshiva Dean] Kiryat Arba)        

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel (Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan)

Rabbi Yerachmiel Weiss (Rosh Yeshiva, Merkaz Harav Letzeirim)          

Rabbi Re’em Hakohen (Rosh Yeshiva and Rabbi, Otniel)  

Rabbi Hananel Etrog (Rosh Yeshiva Shavei Hebron, Hebron)        

Rabbi Dudi Dukevitz (Rabbi of Yitzhar)

Rabbi Yaakov Idels (Rosh Yeshiva Chitzim, Itamar)          

Yehuda Glick (Director HaLiba)

I join and agree to the principles of this document: Rabbi Eliezer Melamed (Rosh Yeshiva and Rabbi, Har Bracha)