Ben Gvir and the Biryonim
I have watched with increasing alarm as Itamar Ben Gvir has become normalized in growing parts of the Jewish world. To my chagrin, this includes acceptance among a segment of those who identify with Torah principles. While I believe Ben Gvir appeals to only a very small minority, I find it appalling that anyone who identifies with Torah values could normalize him.
We have witnessed a steady stream of immoral, shameful, provocative, counterproductive, foolish, dangerous, and frankly bizarre and unbalanced behavior by Ben Gvir. Israeli leaders from the Prime Minister to the President to the US Ambassador were all right in denouncing his provocations, and I wish they had gone much further in their condemnations, and never made the moral compromise to elevate him to a position of political power in the first place. And I sincerely hope that they never do it again. Important rabbis have spoken out against him, and I hope more will do the same. Both Ben Gvir’s conduct and rhetoric violate basic human decency and normalcy, and are in utter opposition to what the Torah expects of us. Ben Gvir’s words and deeds are not rooted in Jewish values, and indicate that he lacks character traits which Jewish tradition considers definitional to the Jewish people.
The Talmud (Yevamos 79a) teaches us that there are three defining character traits for the Jewish people. We are merciful, exhibit shame, and demonstrate kindness. King David actually rejected a group of converts because of the vindictiveness they displayed in holding a grudge and insisting on taking revenge. The way Ben Gvir treated the flotilla detainees, despicable as the actions of the activists were, was unnecessarily cruel and vindictive, besides being stupid. The same could be said of how he treated terrorist leader Marwan Barghouti, as well as other terrorists. The undeniable evil of our enemies does not make cruelty and vindictiveness appropriate or wise. Ben Gvir definitely failed the King David test.
The Talmud (Sanhedrin 63a) also teaches us that if a Jewish court sentenced a convict to death, they would refrain from eating for the rest of the day. Even though they judged the case correctly and the punishment was appropriate, the court needed to express that taking a life was something that weighed heavily upon them. The seriousness of their responsibility demanded that they take a step back from worldly pleasures. What would the rabbis of the Talmud have said upon witnessing someone taking out a bottle of champagne and decorating a cake with a noose to celebrate legislation which was intended to lead to many executions? Or wearing a noose lapel pin? Legitimate criticism of the law is welcome and is almost beside the point. One thing is clear. Seeking vengeance instead of responsibly pursuing justice and deterrence, and cheapening human life simply for attention on social media, are foreign to Judaism. A normal, healthy person, and certainly someone animated by Jewish values, would never put a noose on a cake.
I think a third and final Talmudic precedent is relevant to Itamar Ben Gvir. The Talmud (Gittin 56a) tells us that there were a group of zealots who were partly responsible for the destruction of the Second Temple called the “Biryonim.” Rashi describes the Biryonim as people who were devoid of substance and wanted to blindly rush into war. Jewish tradition does not look favorably upon the hot-headed provocateurs of the Second Temple era who helped inflame tensions in a way that led to the destruction of the Temple, and will not look favorably upon the hot-headed provocateurs of our own era. Ben Gvir and his ilk of Jewish “leaders” substitute responsible decision making for appeals to fear and hate – which is antithetical to authentic Jewish leadership. To the extent Ben Gvir and the Otza Yehudit party he leads are responsible for enabling extremist violence, which is a terrible stain on the Jewish people and threat to the state of Israel, he is truly one of the Biryonim of the 21st century.
Nothing I have written here justifies hyperbolic condemnations of Ben Gvir, or of those who attempt to besmirch Israel as a whole because of the actions of Ben Gvir. On the contrary, I condemn Israel haters who use Ben Gvir as an excuse to justify their hatred. But our reaction to those who go too far in their vilification of Ben Gvir should not be knee-jerk defense and support. We must take a clear moral stand against what Itamar Ben Gvir is doing – both for the strategic damage and for the moral harm he is causing. Even if we prefer to ignore Ben Gvir, some of those who oppose us are taking careful notes.
