Half or Two-thirds
We were witness this week to much happiness in the Knesset over what has become known as the Deri Law. This is a bill that will enable convicted criminals to be released from prison on parole after serving only half their sentences, instead of two-thirds. We also heard the many objections to the law, and in fact, at present we are not sure if it will pass the many obstacles in its way, such as government counter-decisions, Knesset limitations, and Supreme Court appeals. In light of the ongoing debate, it would be appropriate to look into our weekly Torah portion - Mishpatim [Exodus, chapters 21-24] for insights into the matter.
First the Background, Then the Nitty-Gritty
Following the recounting of the sublime granting of the Torah at Mt. Sinai; of the People of Israel becoming a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation;" after they said "we will do" even before saying "we will hear" - after all this, the Torah begins to elaborate on the practical and technical precepts that obligate and fashion this holy nation. The list begins with the laws of the Jewish slave, and is explained as follows:
The Jewish thief must make amends for what he did. He must make reparations for the crime he committed, and if he cannot - then he is to be sold in place of that which he stole. The Torah did not see jail as a remedy for the problems of criminal behavior. For instance, killers who could not be accused of murder were sent to "cities of refuge" - regular cities in which these convicts lived under constant supervision so that they would not leave nor would anyone be allowed in to harm them. As for thieves, they were sold into slavery - but not of the type with which we are familiar from other historical precedents or literature, but the type that shows concern for and helps educate the slave. "He that acquires a Jewish slave," our Sages taught, "is as one who has acquired a master over himself." The master must concern himself with every need of the slave; if the master has only one pillow or blanket, he must give it to the slave, while he himself must do without. When the Torah-mandated six-year period of servitude ends, the master must grant him a sizeable present that will enable him to begin a new, productive life.
Think Big!
It is no wonder, then, that many slaves did not want to go free. The Torah allows for one who says, "I love my master" to remain a slave, if he wishes - but the Torah did not see this in such a positive light, and commanded an "ear-boring" ceremony for the occasion. This is because, for the Torah, the ideal is for people to see themselves as "large-minded" - they should demand of themselves the maximum and the best, and not act like a "slave," a small-minded person who only takes orders from others, flesh and blood just like themselves. True, there is a positive servitude - that of being a servant of G-d. As the Sages taught, only one who serves G-d is truly free.
The Situation Today
Prison today is a very severe punishment, and in most cases does not serve the purposes it should. What is the purpose of incarceration? Is it simply to punish the criminal for his crime? Is it society's desire to distance him from society and protect it from his behavior? Or, is it designed to place him in a correctional framework in order that he come out of his term a better and more constructive person?
Unfortunately, many prisoners come out of jail worse off than when they went in. In prison, they often meet very negative characters, and often even become subjugated, in one way or another, to hardened criminals - while the prison officials can do nothing to help them. For many convicts, their first experience with drugs occurs in jail, and others learn the ins and outs of the world of crime more than they ever would have anywhere else.
Incarceration gives the society some temporary freedom from those who committed a crime, but nothing more. The punishment generally does not deter, and certainly does not produce a better and more contributing person for the benefit of society. The laws currently stipulate a period of time called Prisoner Rehabilitation, during which the prisoner is given a chance to be integrated into some form of positive framework of work or study. The law's intention was good and positive, but its results were, unfortunately, only limited. For it is not enough to give the criminal technical opportunities; his entire way of thinking and outlook on his place in society and between himself and others must undergo a fundamental change. The criminal must learn the true value of life, the beauty of being a giving person and one who looks out for the general good at all times.
Changing from the Inside
The Torah directed us to create education frameworks for people who have slipped up, who have become takers, men of force, violators of the public welfare. A thief's rehabilitation in a positive home, where he lives with dignity almost as a paid worker, or a killer who is taken to a city of Levites, whose entire occupation is for the welfare of society in general - these frameworks take an errant individual and restores him to society as a new person whose period of "punishment" turned out to be the most educational and constructive time of his life.
Rabbi Yossi Sarid, the first hesder student in the history of the State of Israel, is a founder and teacher in the Meretz Educational Center (not to be confused with the Meretz party and its leader MK Yossi Sarid) and the Chairman of the Mevaseret Zion Religious Council.
We were witness this week to much happiness in the Knesset over what has become known as the Deri Law. This is a bill that will enable convicted criminals to be released from prison on parole after serving only half their sentences, instead of two-thirds. We also heard the many objections to the law, and in fact, at present we are not sure if it will pass the many obstacles in its way, such as government counter-decisions, Knesset limitations, and Supreme Court appeals. In light of the ongoing debate, it would be appropriate to look into our weekly Torah portion - Mishpatim [Exodus, chapters 21-24] for insights into the matter.
First the Background, Then the Nitty-Gritty
Following the recounting of the sublime granting of the Torah at Mt. Sinai; of the People of Israel becoming a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation;" after they said "we will do" even before saying "we will hear" - after all this, the Torah begins to elaborate on the practical and technical precepts that obligate and fashion this holy nation. The list begins with the laws of the Jewish slave, and is explained as follows:
The Jewish thief must make amends for what he did. He must make reparations for the crime he committed, and if he cannot - then he is to be sold in place of that which he stole. The Torah did not see jail as a remedy for the problems of criminal behavior. For instance, killers who could not be accused of murder were sent to "cities of refuge" - regular cities in which these convicts lived under constant supervision so that they would not leave nor would anyone be allowed in to harm them. As for thieves, they were sold into slavery - but not of the type with which we are familiar from other historical precedents or literature, but the type that shows concern for and helps educate the slave. "He that acquires a Jewish slave," our Sages taught, "is as one who has acquired a master over himself." The master must concern himself with every need of the slave; if the master has only one pillow or blanket, he must give it to the slave, while he himself must do without. When the Torah-mandated six-year period of servitude ends, the master must grant him a sizeable present that will enable him to begin a new, productive life.
Think Big!
It is no wonder, then, that many slaves did not want to go free. The Torah allows for one who says, "I love my master" to remain a slave, if he wishes - but the Torah did not see this in such a positive light, and commanded an "ear-boring" ceremony for the occasion. This is because, for the Torah, the ideal is for people to see themselves as "large-minded" - they should demand of themselves the maximum and the best, and not act like a "slave," a small-minded person who only takes orders from others, flesh and blood just like themselves. True, there is a positive servitude - that of being a servant of G-d. As the Sages taught, only one who serves G-d is truly free.
The Situation Today
Prison today is a very severe punishment, and in most cases does not serve the purposes it should. What is the purpose of incarceration? Is it simply to punish the criminal for his crime? Is it society's desire to distance him from society and protect it from his behavior? Or, is it designed to place him in a correctional framework in order that he come out of his term a better and more constructive person?
Unfortunately, many prisoners come out of jail worse off than when they went in. In prison, they often meet very negative characters, and often even become subjugated, in one way or another, to hardened criminals - while the prison officials can do nothing to help them. For many convicts, their first experience with drugs occurs in jail, and others learn the ins and outs of the world of crime more than they ever would have anywhere else.
Incarceration gives the society some temporary freedom from those who committed a crime, but nothing more. The punishment generally does not deter, and certainly does not produce a better and more contributing person for the benefit of society. The laws currently stipulate a period of time called Prisoner Rehabilitation, during which the prisoner is given a chance to be integrated into some form of positive framework of work or study. The law's intention was good and positive, but its results were, unfortunately, only limited. For it is not enough to give the criminal technical opportunities; his entire way of thinking and outlook on his place in society and between himself and others must undergo a fundamental change. The criminal must learn the true value of life, the beauty of being a giving person and one who looks out for the general good at all times.
Changing from the Inside
The Torah directed us to create education frameworks for people who have slipped up, who have become takers, men of force, violators of the public welfare. A thief's rehabilitation in a positive home, where he lives with dignity almost as a paid worker, or a killer who is taken to a city of Levites, whose entire occupation is for the welfare of society in general - these frameworks take an errant individual and restores him to society as a new person whose period of "punishment" turned out to be the most educational and constructive time of his life.
Rabbi Yossi Sarid, the first hesder student in the history of the State of Israel, is a founder and teacher in the Meretz Educational Center (not to be confused with the Meretz party and its leader MK Yossi Sarid) and the Chairman of the Mevaseret Zion Religious Council.