Like many of us, I’m sure, I’ve been thinking about the ritual of removing drops of wine from our glasses at the Passover seder. To me, it’s one of the most important, powerful, and poignant moments of the night. When we recall the plagues which God brought on Egypt, we dip our fingers in our glasses for each plague, removing a drop, and placing it on our plates. Why? Because wine is a symbol of joy, and our joy must be lessened when we think about these plagues.
The plagues were the vehicle by which we were set free, for sure. But, they were also a source of suffering for the Egyptians. Many of those Egyptians were innocent (obviously, the death of the first-born must have killed countless innocents), but even the guilty were human beings, created betzelem elohim, in the image of God. Each death was, therefore, a tragedy. Maybe necessary, but not good, by any means.
It’s echoed in a famous Midrash (a Rabbinic story) about the Song at the Sea. After our people crossed the Red Sea to freedom, the sea slams shut, drowning Pharaoh and his army. Our people sing a song of victory–all of this is in the Torah. But, in the Midrash, the angels then take up the song and God chastises them. “My children are drowning, and you’re singing songs of joy?!?” The Egyptians–our enslavers and murderers–are God’s children, too, and God takes no joy in their death, even if God caused them.
The parallels are obvious. I 100% support Israel’s right to try to destroy Hamas. Hamas is evil, and they need to be wiped out. But, along with Hamas, thousands and thousands of innocents are going to die. And, that’s a brutal, awful, heartbreaking tragedy.
I’m seeing so many statements of support for Israel (mostly from Jews, but that’s a different topic). Many of them, however, are crossing over into demonization of the Palestinian people, and celebrations of their deaths. The same at rallies — it’s not uncommon, from what I see, for these rallies, ostensibly about supporting Israel, to also turn into chances to dance a bit on the graves of our enemies.
I’ve always liked that the Midrash has God chastising the angels, but not the people, for celebrating the deaths of our enemies. It might be understandable for people to fail at this moral test–we’re just people, after all. But, the angels represent the moral ideal, and that’s pretty clear. Death is never joyous. Anyone’s.
Another rabbi I know online said that he’s trying to balance being a Zionist and a mensch. I feel the same way. I dearly love Israel, and I want Israel to survive, and I know that eliminating Hamas is part of how that can happen. But, I also want to remember that every death of a human being is a death of a person created in God’s image. That’s true even of the terrorists, although I’ll admit that I’m not at the level of honestly feeling bad when they die. But, the innocent civilians? Absolutely.
The moment I feel any glee about one of their deaths, I’ll know I’ve lost my way. I’ll be taking many drops from my cup of joy for a while now.
Tehom El Tehom 