By Moshe Feiglin, head of the Jewish Leadership faction

In the post-modernist era where the values of good and evil have been tossed out in the mad surge to reverse our value system, it is important to define clear lines of sanity.

“I would like to convey to you my condolences on the death of Arafat…” (Arieh Golan in an interview with MK Ahmed Tibi, on the reshet bet channel of Kol Yisrael).

One day, at dawn, a small Israeli police coastguard patrol boat set out to sea and came to stop after it crossed the country’s territorial waterline. There in the middle of the sea, a small box containing ashes was opened and its contents scattered across the waters. Its mission completed, the boat returned to the Israeli coast.

The year was 1961 and the ashes were those of Adolf Eichmann, the murderer of Jews.

The era then was that of Mapai (the dominant Labor Zionist party); this was before Oslo and its accompanying reversal of values.

If Eichmann had been captured today, it’s a sure bet that a group of enthusiastic Israeli fans would have accompanied his coffin on its way to the airport and Arieh Golan would have called Eichmann’s supporters to convey his condolences on live radio. For what difference is there between Eichmann and Arafat except in the superior efficiency of the former. Over the 60 years that have passed since the end of WWII, Arafat was responsible for the murder of more Jewish citizens than any other man on earth. A few minutes before he was flown by helicopter to Paris, he still had the strength to authorize the transfer of monies to various murderous organizations. There is hardly an Israeli who does not have a family member or friend who was killed under the auspices of this murderer, but the way Arafat is portrayed by the media, he resembles more one of our Zionist fathers.

What is the source of this illness which began with that famous handshake on the White House lawn? Most Israelis, even if they are not fully observant, identify with traditional Jewish values. They did not and still do not fall for the madness that has taken hold of Israeli leaders and a small segment of Israeli society which seeks to relinquish its Jewish identity. And while there are always some rabbis who are willing to support the official line and purge the beast, they represent an insignificant minority. From the crossing of the Red Sea to the hanging of Haman, to the elimination of the German foe, sane Jews rejoiced at the elimination of evil men.

In the post-modernist world where the values of good and evil have been tossed out (leaving evil alone on the historical stage) in the mad surge to reverse our value system, and when an entire nation seems to have lost faith in the justice of its existence, it is important to define clear lines of sanity. There is good and evil in the world. We align ourselves with what is good, fight against what is evil, and rejoice in the latter’s elimination. It is sad that so many Jews were murdered because we did not eliminate this evil long ago. We thank the Creator of this world for eliminating this murderer from this world. And we raise our glasses to all Jews who will continue to live as a result. As it is said: “when the wicked perish there is rejoicing” (Proverbs 11, 10).

By Rabbi Menahem Froman, Rabbi of Tekoa

Left-wing people who are shocked when religious Jews rejoice in the death of the wicked display a higher spiritual level than their religious counterparts for these secular people represent the approach of ha kadosh barukh hu who did not rejoice in the fall of the wicked.

The question as to whether one should rejoice at the downfall of one’s enemy is commented on in depth in the Talmud and in the works of our Sages. I believe that the study of the Torah will not give us answers or lead us to the truth unless we ask questions and unless we sharpen our awareness of the complexity of human existence.

As a contribution to this awareness, I want to examine a subject which is discussed in the Talmud and which derives from this verse in Deuteronomy “And it shall come to pass that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good [when you behave correctly]….so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you [when you do not behave correctly]” (Deuteronomy 28, 63). The reference is to the Jewish people, when we are sinful. The verse gives us the clear impression that ha kadosh barukh hu rejoiced in punishing the wicked, as it is written: “when the wicked perish there is rejoicing.”

In contrast to this approach, the Gemara also puts forward the opposite approach. It raises the rhetorical question as to whether ha kadosh barukh hu truly rejoices at the downfall of the wicked. Could this be possible? And it quotes two sources that point to the opposite theory. The most famous source is the tradition which tells us that when the Egyptians were drowning in the Red Sea, the very Egyptians who tortured and enslaved the children of Israel, and threw their children into the river, ha kadosh barukh hu did not rejoice. And when the ministering angels asked if they could sing before Him, He reproved them, saying: “my creatures are drowning in the sea and you wish to sing?”

Thus, the Talmud puts forward two opposing opinions to the question as to whether one should rejoice at the fall of the wicked. Can these two opinions be reconciled? The Talmud answers: “He [ha kadosh barukh hu] does not rejoice, but others [man] he rejoices [allows them to rejoice].” This means that the rejoicing of men at the downfall of the wicked is a natural human response, which should not be condemned. And as the midrash recounts, when the children of Israel looked back and saw the Egyptians drowning, they were happy to see the downfall of their enemies. Thus one can find in the Talmud justification for those Jews who rejoiced when they heard of the death of their enemy (Arafat) and even raised their glasses. This is a natural and healthy reaction, because this enemy was responsible for the death of more than a thousand of our people.

But there is a higher level of response. This is the level attributed by the Talmud to ha kadosh barukh hu. Every man is a human being and every death is a death, and the death of any man should not elicit rejoicing.

The sayings of the Talmud echo Rabbi Kook’s view on the relationship between the secular and the religious public. Rabbi Kook held the view that, on certain central issues, the secular public has a more spiritual approach than the religious public. The religious public is, in general, stronger in the realm of tikkun (reparation, self-work). Religious people live according to the norms of health and nature, and their lives are governed by defined values and rules that bring them blessings. But left-wingers, who are shocked to see religious people rejoice and even raise their glasses at the death of their enemy, display a higher spiritual level for these very secular people represent the approach of ha kadosh barukh hu who did not rejoice in the downfall of the wicked.

This brings us to the expression “yafe nefesh” (sweet soul = a refined man). It is great praise to say of a person that he has a “sweet soul,” that he is sensitive and aware of the tragedies and insolvable problems that face human existence. But such an approach – because of its extreme spirituality – can destroy natural, healthy existence. A person who does not recognize the enemy for what he is pays a heavy price. ha kadosh barukh hu will guide us regarding the right balance between a natural response and heavenly spirituality: to what extent it is right to rejoice in the downfall of our enemy and to what extent it is right to listen to the advice of the wisest of all men: “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth. Lest the Lord see it and it displease him” (Proverbs 24, 17-18).