Ding Dong, The Witch is Dead….

“Ding Dong, The Witch is Dead….”, cheered the munchkins in the famed Wizard of Oz movie when Dorothy’s House accidentally landed on the Wicked Witch of the East in a tornado and killed her.

Since last Thursday morning when Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, the Butcher of Khan Younis, and the architect of the unspeakable massacre on October 7, was declared dead, that phrase has been ringing through my head.

Worse than the Wicked Witch of the East and her intimidation of the munchkins, Sinwar brought great pain and suffering to Jews AND Palestinians. He spent over 20 years in an Israeli prison not for crimes against Israelis, but for murdering Palestinians he thought were collaborating with them. Similar to the witch, he was killed by a regular (in training) Israeli soldier in a gunfight, not some great Mossad undercover Fauda type operation. I’ve heard that some Gazans and Palestinians are ashamed and embarrassed that he didn’t go down in a blaze of glory. Are they privately rejoicing with this same refrain in their head?

It’s fitting that Sinwar was killed during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and yet once again, observant Jews were late to learn the news as they don’t use phones or electronics on Shabbat or holidays. When they heard from a secular neighbor or a friend, did they cheer and celebrate?

As Jews are we supposed to cheer and celebrate when someone is killed? Even when they are the most horrible person we can imagine?

This is a question a friend asked me after we attended an event together right after Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, another butcher, was killed by the Israelis. At the event, the crowd cheered, clapped, and sang in celebration of his death and the success of the Israeli army. After a year full of grief, with friends and relatives dying at the hands of Hamas and Hezbollah, don’t we have the “right” to be happy and celebrate?

According to various sources, the answer is no and yes….

In Proverbs 24:17 it says, “do not gloat at the fall of your enemy”. This phrase comes right after my favorite proverb that says, “Seven times the righteous man falls and gets up”. A righteous person gets up (and becomes more righteous) because of his falls not despite them. A wicked person falls only one time and doesn’t get up. This whole section of the Torah contains lessons on wisdom, success and how to treat others. If we celebrate a murderer who is killed, are we as horrible as they are? It’s important to seek justice in a way that upholds our values rather than descending into the same negativity we oppose. So, Proverbs says we shouldn’t celebrate?

In the Passover story, when the Red Sea closed and drowned the Egyptian soldiers after the Jewish slaves passed safely through, the Angels began to sing. They were so happy that the Jews were secure and grateful for all that God had done. God sees them rejoicing and says, “My creatures are drowning in the sea, and you are singing”?

Angels are held to a higher standard and should know that all humans are created in God’s image, holding a spark of God inside of them. (That’s a tough one for me to understand when our enemies are so hell-bent on killing us.)

Interestingly, God was ok with the Israelites singing in celebration, as we were the ones who came through the danger and as humans, we need to express our joy. Indirectly, Jews celebrate the demise of the Egyptians every single Shabbat. Part of the Shabbat liturgy includes the singing of “Mi Chamocha”. A pivotal component of the song translates to:

“Who is like You, O God, among the gods who are worshipped?

Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, working wonders?

With new song, inspired at the shore of the Sea, the redeemed sang Your praise.”

 So how can we not rejoice when our enemies are killed in the process of Israel protecting herself and our future? How can we not celebrate when we know the world will be a better place without them?

These savage butchers of God’s children will have their own reckoning with their creator, and I’m sure there won’t be 72 virgins waiting for them. But maybe they’ll see the Wicked Witch of the East when they get there….