ACUTE ANGLES Should we rejoice when Hamas and Hezbollah leaders fall?

Hello Rabbi. There was much rejoicing in the Jewish world when Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was assassinated recently.  But was it appropriate? Aren’t we told not to rejoice at the downfall of our enemy?  Your thoughts, please.  Miri.

Greetings, Miri!

Thank G-D, Haniyeh has gone.  And Barukh haShem, Mohammad Al-Deif, head of Hamas’ military wing has accompanied him to the nether-world as well as Rafa’a Salameh and Hezbollah high-ups, Fuad Shkr, Mohammed Nasser and Taleb Sami Abdullah. Giving thanks to G-D for the strategic nous of Israeli intelligence in eliminating these evil men is certainly something we should all be doing!

However, as you say,  King Solomon in Sefer Mishlei, the Book of Proverbs exhorts us (24:17-18) “do not rejoice when your enemy falls (v.17) ….lest G-D focus [on you] …and lest He turn His anger from him [to you] (v.18)  ” On the basis of the warning implied in verse 18, Rabbenu Yona (1200-1263) declares that no-one but a tsadik gamur, a completely righteous person should rejoice at the downfall of his or her enemy. Such a person, he declares, will only reflect altruistically upon the honour accruing to G-D at the wicked person’s demise. Of this, G-D will assuredly approve.

The Midrashic anthology Yalkut Shim’oni famously depicts G-D as saying: You are not better than Me. I will not allow you to recite Hallel on the seventh day of Pesach, the anniversary of the Splitting of the Sea because the Egyptians were drowned on that day and “when your foe falls, be not glad!” Similarly, says the Yalkut,  Noah and his children were prohibited from cohabitation in the Ark as a sign of grieving over the destruction of wicked humanity.

Yet there is another, seemingly contradictory, sentiment in Mishlei: uva’avod reshaim rina, “when the wicked perish there is glad song!” (Proverbs 11:10).

Sefer haToda’a declares that there is actually no contradiction, as this latter verse refers to our incorrigible nemesis Amalek who loathes our very existence and seeks to end it. Indeed, the sefer explains the famous edict of drinking on Purim until one does not know the difference between cursed-Haman and blessed-Mordechai by asserting that the joy we feel when Amalek, embodiment of evil, is crushed should be equal to that which we experience when goodness triumphs. Hence the gematriot (numerical values) of arur Haman “cursed-be-Haman” and barukh Mordechai, “blessed-be-Mordechai” are identical. They are two sides of the same coin!

 While in a genetic sense we don’t know who the descendants of Amalek are today, any person or nation who exhibits the same traits of sheer visceral, unconditional hatred against Am Yisrael can be termed Amalek in an ideational sense. Clearly Hitler was the embodiment of Amalek in his genocidal aims. And the pure evil that marked Hamas’s unspeakable crimes of 22/7 were just as patently Amalek-like in nature. (See my essay To What Can We Compare Hamas on my website https://rabbi-ingram.com/  in which I label Hamas and its cohorts as “the most absolute and comprehensive enemy the people of Israel have ever faced in her 3,300-year history”.) The Hamas terrorists’ menacing chant of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” lays bare its genocidal ambitions.

Hence, to rejoice when human monsters such as Haniyeh and Al-Dief are eliminated can reasonably be deemed highly appropriate. Not in the coarse, unrestrained, vengeful way our enemies would, by dancing in the streets and letting off fireworks. But with heartfelt song and praise to the One Above.

Nevertheless, one could legitimately ask the question: what is there really to rejoice about at the present time? No sooner are Hamas leaders eliminated than others replace them. They are like the ubiquitous crocodiles in TimeZone – no sooner you knock one on  the head than another emerges!

We still find ourselves in an existential war on at least two fronts.  While we give thanks for every successful coup and rescued hostage, the time to really rejoice will be when all the hostages are home and Hamas and Hesbolla are eliminated totally!