Bring Them Home—The Law of Pikuach Nefesh Demands It

One of the great values in Judaism—the most significant value, I think—is the principle of Pikuach Nefesh, which is based in part on Leviticus 19:16, which says: “You shall not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is shed.” Pikuach Nefesh is translated: “Preserve or save (Pikuach) life (Nefesh). According to Halakha, preserving life is such a profound moral obligation that it must be prioritized above the other moral demands of Judaism.

Thus, we must do everything possible to preserve the life of one in danger. As a people, Pikuach Nefesh, I think, is the thing that sets us apart and is at the core of Jewish exceptionalism. Before the Torah, man’s inhumanity to man resulted in seven days of forced labor throughout the nations of the earth. But the Torah shines a light on this barbarism with these beautiful words of rescue: “Six days you shall labor, but the seventh day you shall rest.” This is only one of thousands of examples of how G-d’s moral law, promulgated by Jews, has rescued humanity from its darkness.

I first encountered the light of Pikuach Nefesh in a post-op recovery room in a hospital in Jerusalem during the second intifada when a Jewish surgeon opened her hand to reveal to me shrapnel made of bolts and nails she had just removed from a young Israeli girl’s body after a Palestinian suicide bomb attack. Laying on a bed in the same ward, under guard, was the suicide bomber who had somehow survived the blast and was receiving the same life-preserving care as his victim. I asked the surgeon how it was emotionally possible for her to give medical attention to one who was filled with such murderous hate. She was puzzled by my shallow cluelessness and replied, “It is my duty as a Jew to preserve life, so I don’t get involved in mental gymnastics concerning this question.”

Because of the profound moral obligation of Pikuach Nefesh, prioritizing the return of the hostages should not be on a list of objectives in the war with Hamas. It must be—it has to be—the first and primary purpose because human life is in jeopardy. Many have thought that the fulfillment of Israel’s military priorities will pave the way for the return of the hostages. But maybe we have it wrong. Maybe prioritizing the return of the sons and daughters of Israel and preserving their lives first will bring about the successful eradication of Hamas. The great rescues in Israel’s history support this idea.

At the end of Exodus chapter 2, we read the words:

“…the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help., Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to G-d. And G-d heard their groaning, and G-d remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, G-d saw the people of Israel—and G-d knew.”

Those last three words: “And G-d knew,” describe the empathy of the G-d of Israel that causes Him to be mindful of the suffering of His people. He knows the pain of every hostage held in Hamas dungeons. He knows, and He hears their cries for rescue. He knew the suffering of His people held hostage in Egypt, and He sent Moses on a rescue mission to bring them home to a promised land. The route of freedom ran right through the Red Sea, and it was in that very sea of rescue that the military threat of the Egyptians was destroyed when all the horsemen and chariots and horses of Egypt drowned. Preserve hostages’ lives first (Pikuach Nefesh), and military success will follow.

There is an ominous account in the life of David found in I Samual chapter 30 that has similarities to October 7th:

“David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now, the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it and had taken captive the women and everyone else in it, both young and old. They killed none of them but carried them off as they went on their way. When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his G-d. Then David said to Abiathar, the priest, the son of Ahimelek, ‘Bring me the ephod.’ Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?’ ‘Pursue them,’ He answered. ‘You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.’”

Notice the priority of G-d in verse 8: ”You will….succeed in the rescue.” Again, the first objective was bringing the hostages home (Pikuach Nefesh). In the end, David and his men rescued all the hostages and also achieved a great military victory.

Many have argued—logically, I think—that cutting a deal with Hamas and releasing several thousand Palestinian terrorists for a few hundred Israeli hostages will result in future terror attacks against Israel by these same terrorists. Yes, that is a future possibility, but the present reality is the lives of the hostages are in jeopardy, which overrides future potentialities.

Preserving the lives of the hostages as a priority might just bring about a total military victory over Hamas. There is certainly a pattern in Israel’s history that would lead one to this conclusion, however illogical it may seem.

A line in the Talmud says, “He who saves one life saves the world entire.” Making Pikuach Nefesh—the saving and preserving of the lives of the hostages— the foremost objective in the war with Hamas is our moral obligation, the light of Judaism, and the essence of being Jewish. Ask the Jewish surgeon who preserved the lives of both the victim and the victimizer without question because it was her moral duty. There need not be any mental gymnastics over saving the lives of the hostages at all costs. It is time to bring them home and leave future potentialities to G-d.