1.
Merciful Jews, merciful sons One should always take stock and ask themselves: Does the action I want to do now stem from a desire to be better, or vice versa - from a pure desire for revenge?
Should I now dance on blood and rejoice in the downfall of the other, or is my role to compromise, be considerate, restrain myself and give in?
Should I be merciful, or will if I show mercy now, will I end up being cruel to the one who needs my mercy?
The line between lynching a person and leaving them alive is a thin line. Very thin.
But this thin line is what distinguishes between blood and blood and between a wound and a wound.
2.
The stabbing incident What happened at the central bus station in Beersheba, which led to the abuse of an innocent man, led us to examine our actions and discuss lynching a man whose hands are tied and can no longer do harm. Of course, in this case, they mixed up two different issues.
One: An innocent person dies the death of a murderer, and this is something that should not be done, but the second issue, and the central one, leads us to the question: If this person were a bloodthirsty Arab, a terrorist with blood in his eyes, would we still be forbidden to stone him?
The answer to this is understandable to anyone with Jewish blood flowing in their veins. Jews must keep their hands clean, unless their lives are in danger, in which case 'rise up to kill your enemy, and rise up to kill him.'.
Could the person lying on the floor, rendered immobile, have done anything else to someone with the rest of his strength?
If there is no doubt that he cannot - the answer is clear and known (it is even possible that investigating the perpetrator could save us from further attacks, which we would not have been aware of if we had not investigated him).
Still, I would judge the people who spontaneously decided to eliminate the terrorist in favor, since each of us, who has not experienced the experience of watching a horror movie, will not be able to put ourselves in the shoes of someone who has.
The pressure, fear, confusion, and conflict – all of these are so great that it is no wonder that in such situations people do what they can do at that moment, what instinct tells them to do, and without exercising proper judgment.
Why, in fact, do people decide in a split second to stone a person and kill him completely?
It is a stronger instinct for revenge or survival than they are. An instinct that only a person who finds themselves in such a puddle of witnessing murder can experience.
And if we can't put ourselves in his shoes, how can we be blamed?
3.
Should we destroy the terrorists' houses? Should their family members be deported? – This is an issue that appears on the news every morning on the analysis panel.
True, a boy who sets out on a mission of destruction doesn't always leave with the blessing of his family (although they almost always dance on the roof of their house with joy when he succeeds in his plot).
Family members do not always agree with the son (although they almost always utter defiant words against the Jews in their home, words that, no wonder, led to his behavior).
The punishment sounds collective and cruel to people who (according to them) did not sin, and sounds too light and pathetic in relation to what the son did.
These people are not wealthy, as we all know.
Their homes are their exclusive property. Regardless of whether the construction is legal or not, their home is important to them and their hold on that place is just as important to them.
When we destroy their homes - we deter their friends. They see and hear and know exactly what will be done to a man who... and fear for their own flesh.
When we destroy their homes, they begin to understand that there is seriousness in our words. Yes, it would be better if we had a stronger, clearer, and more unequivocal answer, but as long as that doesn't happen, at least they know that we are not turning a blind eye to things.
When these people know that everything they have in place is hanging in the balance, they will make sure that their child doesn't dare to go out and murder.
The way we express ourselves is also important.
We are not destroying your home to get revenge, nor to prove our strength. We are destroying your home and removing you from the place because you or your family members are a danger to us. Sorry, we cannot afford the luxury of being good at the expense of our lives.
4.
Many stories of great people, Known and powerful, they suddenly reveal themselves naked, rising in all generations.
Quite a few respected people, sitting in the ivory tower or in a royal palace, make mistakes and sin. This outrages us all, we feel as if a great deal of money has been stolen from our pockets, and who else has done this? Gatekeepers that we have appointed.
We read the news and expect to see what punishment they will receive, captivated to hear how many years they will be imprisoned, and thirstily drink in what is written about them and their affair.
It seems that the more words, sentences, and entire pages are written about them, the happier we will be.
The more they lick the people of power, suck their blood, stone them, and crush their skulls – the more the crowd will wave an evil finger at them and shout: You deserve it!
And in the midst of these accusations, we fail to notice that these people received their punishment already on the way to their trial or imprisonment, and in a double, multiple, triple and much more. They were completely humiliated and brought to the height of their humiliation, and a significant number of them became sick, miserable, shattered to pieces and reached the gates of death.
I know it's hard to pity people like this, but maybe we're still dancing too much on the blood of the accused? (And often before their guilt has been proven).
None of us wish for someone who is not decent to sit on the throne and rule the kingdom with a high hand, but let's not be those who hit a person after his downfall and expect only for his soul to come out.
It is possible that that person is suspected of cheating, stealing, giving or taking bribes, perhaps he has sinned and erred and become defiled, but he is also afflicted with torment and evil illnesses.
His life is not life anyway. He is trapped in the four walls of a hospital, connected and imprisoned with needles and ropes. (You can examine in depth how sick the person really is).
Why don't we rise up and say to the honorable judges: Have mercy on a crushed bird, with a broken wing. It has already received its punishment. True, it does not yet deserve a reward, but it was treated with kindness.
I don't think this act will make others, those in power, not fear punishment.
Everyone is witnessing their meteoric fall. Maybe this will teach other people a little compassion.
The heavy benches, the sharp sticks, and the stones - were left to be handled by hardened terrorists, who have not yet been neutralized.
People whose lives are already bitter, and no matter what sector they come from, were treated with a little mercy.
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