TO SAVE A LIFE IS TO SAVE AN ENTIRE WORLD.

SERMON      PARASHAT SHEMOT    

Rabbi David Edleson     Temple Sinai   South Burlington Vermont

TO SAVE A LIFE IS TO SAVE AN ENTIRE WORLD.  

“To save a life is to save an entire world. “

I remember a poster with this hung in one of the Hebrew schools I attended, and it was up in the graduate school I attended in Jerusalem. This famous quote from the Talmud reminds us that every person is a world unto themselves, and every family is a world. After all, according to our sacred texts - and for that matter, science - all human beings descended from a single couple so to destroy them would have been to destroy all of us.  

But while the Talmud is stressing the value of each life, it is also saying something very different. It literally says: “to save one Jewish life is to save an entire world.”  This seems very parochial, even bigoted, but they were living in a time of great antisemitism and a very very small Jewish population, so in some ways, like an endangered species, Jewish lives held a special value, in the same way that members of our family hold a special value for us.

With the taking of hundreds of hostages on October 7, the meaning of this saying to us, as Jews, has taken on new relevance and meaning. As we know, Israel signed a cease-fire agreement with Hamas today, an agreement that will result in the return of around 30 hostages, and the release of close to 2000 terrorists in Israeli prisons, some of them who have blood on their hands.  I think many of us a grateful for a cease-fire, however long it lasts, but also troubled by what the release of so many terrorists will mean for the future safety of our people and the world. After all, Yahyah Sinwar who masterminded the October 7 attacks was a prisoner, that was cured of a life-threatening brain disease by Israeli hospitals and then was released in a previous deal to get Israeli hostages released.

G*** it’s your b. mitzvah, and I usually try to talk about happier topics, but I think it is fitting to consider the way Jewish ethics approach something like this.  

In Judaism, freeing the captive, redeeming hostages is a profoundly important value. The great rabbi, Maimonides, who was central in negotiating the release of Jews who had been kidnapped for ransom in the Middle Ages, wrote that the redemption of captives held for ransom takes precedence over sustaining and clothing the poor. You do not find a mitzvah greater than the redemption of captives. Maimonides sees it as part of the Jewish community’s responsibility to each other.  

In the famous Jewish law code, The Shulchan Aruch, the great Kabbalist and Safed leader, Rabbi Joseph Karo goes even farther.  “Every moment that one unnecessarily delays the ransoming of a captive, it is as if they were to shed blood.” (Yoreh Deah, 252:2)

In other words, as a small people, and one often under threat as we’ve been talking about in our Hebrew school class, we have a powerful duty to protect and defend our people when they are attacked or taken hostage.  Today, in Israel the Orthodox rabbis that voted to approve the cease-fire deal left handwritten notes explaining that they did so because of the importance of this commandment.  

Yet, it is not so simple, because those that are released are likely to take other lives or hostages in the future. Indeed, the rabbis argue about whether we can ransom a captive for more than they are worth because it is likely to encourage people to kidnap more people and hold them hostage.   In other words, we mustbalance the obligation to save people from being hostages, but we have to also think about the consequences in the future, and whether it will mean more loss of life and freedom.   These are not easy things to decide, and Israel has been trying to balance these two competing options in the negotiations.  

G***, in Judaism we have to balance competing goods.   We want peace and we crave peace, but we also have a duty to defend ourselves and go to war when we are attacked.  We want to free all the hostages but we also have a duty to consider if it means more people will be taken hostage in the future. These are not simple matters, but they are real, adult ethical questions, and as you become b. mitzvah, you now will have to find your own balance in these matters.  

The Talmud has a short hand expression for this that I think is an important one for your bar mitzvah:   Kol Yisrael Aravim zeh bazeh.  All Israel is responsible for one another.   In other words, we need to have each other’s back in times of danger, even if we aren’t getting along, or don’t agree with their kind of Judaism, and we also have a duty to try and make Jews safer in the future.  We do this by fighting antisemitism, having strong Jewish organizations and a strong army in Israel.  We also do this by being proud Jews who stand up and represent our people.

Kol Yisrael Aravim zeh bazeh.   George, every generation has its own unique challenges.  You and the other people in your class have come of age at a time that is very different than a bar mitzvah here even five years ago. There is rising antisemitismaround the world, and right here in Vermont, we have a disproportionate number of antisemitic incidents in our schools. I wish this weren’t true, but I believe that these times will have a profound impact on who you become, and you already have shown that you are willing to stand up, be counted. That is particularly tough in middle school, but I have been so impressed by our young people and how they have stood up and pushed back against antisemitic attacks on Jews and Israel. Indeed, there is a great rising of young Jews finding their voice and their strength to be proud of who we are and to not be intimidated by people chanting slogans and making false accusations.    It turns out our people have been dealing with this for thousands of years and we have survived because of this sense of community and our obligation to defend and rescue one another.  

We are a small but mighty people and we have survived despite all the odds.  This is because young people like you accept the responsibility of being part of this people, and of standing up for one another even if it is uncomfortable.

As you celebrate this joyous event, let us celebrate the release of hostages, but let us also renew our sense of commitment to our people so that this tradition can continue l’dor vador,  fromgeneration to generation.

Ken y’hi ratson