Our Hands Did Not Shed This Blood
We live in perilous times. There is often no assurance of safety or security in the public square.
It appears that in some urban locales, acts of violence and even homicides are committed with relative impunity. Moreover, it seems when an intended victim acts in self-defense or some good samaritan comes to their aid, in a insidious moral inversion, it is sometimes they who are at risk of being arrested, while the actual criminal goes free.
This was the case when a clerk in a bodega was attacked by a much younger and larger man in what should have been the safe space behind his counter in the store. He managed to save himself by grabbing a knife and fatally stabbing the assailant. However, it was the clerk who was arrested. Fortunately, after a public outcry and a video establishing his innocence, the District Attorney (DA) moved to dismiss the charge of second-degree murder, which the Judge granted. Nevertheless, the clerk had to suffer the indignity of being arrested.
Another example of what appears to be a similar miscarriage of justice is presently being played out. A raging pro-Hamas protestor ran across the street and tackled and choked an Iraq war veteran carrying both an American and Israeli flag. The vet was a Christian marching with a group of Jews and posed no risk to the assailant, who was shouting from the across the street. During the attack and while the vet was defending himself, the assailant was shot in the stomach. Amazingly, although the vet was injured in the attack, he managed to administer first aid to the assailant and told the people around him to call for help. Shockingly, the police arrested the vet and not the real assailant. The vet was then charged criminally by the local DA, while the actual assailant has not been charged at all. This is despite the fact that a video recorded at the time shows what actually occurred and corroborates the vet’s innocence. It is also reported that the assailant posted anti-US and anti-police posts on X and that that Zionists should feel unsafe everywhere.
Violence and murders seem to have become a regular feature of life in many cities. The question is why more is not being done in order properly to enforce the law and to prevent crime. There was a time not so long ago, when crime was rampant in New York City and then a new Mayor was elected, who did something about it. He somehow managed to restore law and order by scrupulously enforcing the law. He established a proactive policing program, with undercover cops living in the community and dedicated to preventing crime.
I remember well the success of the program. I was able confidently to walk from the Washington Bridge to my office in Midtown Manhattan, along Broadway and felt safe. Before that it was dangerous even to drive the route, because it was not unusual to hear or see shootouts along the side streets. In today’s climate, I would not venture the walk, especially because of reports that people my age are being targeted by lawless gangs and individuals.
Most Americans are law-abiding people, who just want to live and let live. Crime has become a truly serious problem. Yet, instead of more and better policing to deal with the problem, it appears law enforcement officers have been told to stand down, by higher governmental authorities. How else to explain the failure of the police in LA proactively to prevent pro-Hamas demonstrators from blocking the entrance to a Synagogue in LA? Standing idly by, as crimes are committed by wrongdoers, is not a solution; it only exacerbates the problem.
Jews have been particularly targeted in recent times and this is reflected in the dramatic increase in hate crimes committed against Jews, many of which go unpunished. I fervently pray every day that G-d protect us all from harm, because it seems like it is open season on Jews, on college campuses and in so many other locales. It’s long past time that government address the problem and solve it.
It was only a short time ago that we read the Biblical portion of Judges[i] in Deuteronomy on Shabbat. It contains a description of a solemn ritual performed by the leaders of a community that particularly resonated, in light of our current circumstances. In involved what needed to be done if the body of a murdered individual was found near the community, when the murderer could not be identified and brought to justice. The leaders were required to declare: ‘Our hands did not shed this blood nor did our eyes see it done’[ii].
An underlying theme of the ritual was not to allow the homicide of a person to go unnoticed. It was critical to recognize that a mortal wrong had been committed and to publicize it. Life may not be considered cheap and murder just another tawdry occurrence in a mundane life, without higher purpose and meaning.
The otherwise mysterious ritual is the focus of much discussion among the Biblical commentators, as well as in the Talmud. The Talmudic presentation is most poignant.
The Babylonian Talmud[iii] views the untoward circumstances from the perspective only of the victim. Thus, the inquiry is about what more could have been done by the community to help the person who was ultimately murdered and thereby have served to help avert the crime. It posits that a guest must be well provisioned with food when leaving the houses. This is so that the person doesn’t have to ask for sustenance along the way back home and necessarily encounter and treat with nefarious people, who might abuse and murder him. It is also required to accompany the guest a part of the way. This is designed to establish a climate of deterrence, because it publicly demonstrates the fact that no one is just forlorn and left wholly unprotected. The declaration is symbolic of a caring community, where murder is not casually overlooked; but taken extremely seriously.
Interestingly, the Malbim[iv], in his commentary on the Torah[v], provides a unique perspective. He views the Biblical declaration as referring to the fact that the leadership of the community did not cause the murder by failing to provide food for the murderer. This is so the murderer would not feel compelled to murder someone to eat and survive.
Ibn Ezra[vi] and the Chizkuni[vii], on the other hand, provide yet another perspective[viii]. They view the ceremony as the leadership assuming responsibility and seeking atonement for the error of not guarding the dangerous roads. As the Chizkuni notes, because of the lack of adequate security on the roads this kind of murder can occur and the perpetrator can escape with impunity.
Maimonides offers[ix] that this very public and elaborate ceremony, including the investigation, measuring, procession of the leadership and mysterious ritual, is designed to generate notoriety, so that people take an interest and talk it up, in the hope that the murderer may yet be found. He also views the declaration as an assurance given by the leadership that they have not failed to keep the roads protected and in good condition and to guide everyone asking for directions so that people are not victimized because the leadership was negligent in making these provisions.
However, the Biblical statement[x] of the leadership of the community seemingly proclaiming their innocence appears somewhat contrived. After all, the murderer was not found and no one suggested that they had committed the murder. Why, therefore, would they be required affirmatively to deny that they committed the murder? Furthermore, why would they formulaically also have to recite that they had not witnessed the murder? The very bases of the ritual is that no one saw the murder or could identify the murderer and, hence, the need for the ceremony.
The Jerusalem Talmud[xi] provides a most interesting perspective on the solemn Biblical declaration and a novel interpretation of its meaning. Viewed through this lens, the solemn declaration takes on an entirely different focus and provides a most cogent lesson for our times[xii].
The Netziv[xiii] notes that law enforcement (through the agency of the capital crimes division of the judicial system, known as the Beit Din panel of 23 Judges that handles capital cases) plays a critical role in the ceremony. In essence, the declaration is an admission of abject failure, by the judicial authorities as an integral part of the leadership, in their sacred duty to maintain law and order. They take responsibility for allowing the murderer to go free. Whether, it was because the murderer was not prosecuted or the prosecution was botched, the result is the same, a homicidal predator was allowed to continue to prey on innocent victims and, hence, commit murder.
The object of the declaration is thus the murderer and it makes eminent sense in this context. It was he who was not executed before the eyes of the court. Consider the Biblical formulation in this light: ‘Our hands did not shed this blood nor did our eyes see it done’. In essence, the Court should have properly tried, appropriately convicted and then seen to the execution of the convicted murderer in accordance with law.
In this regard, it is important to note the interpretation of this Jerusalem Talmud text by the Korban HaEdah[xiv]. He posits that the perpetrator had murdered someone else and not been brought to justice and properly executed for the prior offense. The murderer was thus free and able to commit this other new murder, which is the subject of this Biblical ritual.
The messages of these Talmudic discussions, dating back almost 2,000 years ago and those since, resonate. The lawlessness prevailing in our times begs for a solution by restoring our system of law and order. Respect for law is a foundational element in modern society and the failure to reinforce it by fairly and impartially enforcing the law serves only to undermine it.
We cannot condone lawbreaking; the inevitable outcome is more lawbreaking that quickly devolves into catastrophic consequences like violence and even murder. The situation today is nearly intolerable.
Imagine a society where murder is not callously ignored, victims are not egregiously blamed and the leadership is required publicly to recognize their failure and enact safeguards to prevent a reoccurrence of wrongdoing. Perhaps, a re-enactment of the Biblical ritual in an appropriate format might help wake everyone up and re-engage in the pursuit of true justice.
The time is now to act to restore our system of law and order and respect for the rule of law. May G-d protect and bless us with a happy, healthy, sweet and safe New Year.
[i] Deuteronomy 21:1-9.
[ii] Deuteronomy 21:7.
[iii] BT Sota 38b.
[iv] Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel, a renown 19th century Torah scholar.
[v] Malbinm on Deuteronomy 21:7.
[vi] Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra, a distinguished 12th century Biblical commentator from Spain.
[vii] Rabbi Chizkiah ben Manoach, a 13th century Biblical commentator from France.
[viii] In their commenatries on Deuteronomy 21:8.
[ix] Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed, Part III-40:6
[x] Deuteronomy 21:7.
[xi] JT Sota 9:6.
[xii] Rabbi Elliot Shrier spoke about this concept and the Netziv’s commentary cited below in an inspirational and erudite Shabbat Drasha on Parshat Shoftim attended by the author.
[xiii] Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, the illustrious 19th century head of the renown Volozhin Yeshiva in Lithuania and author of the commentary on the Torah known as the Emek Davar, cited below.
[xiv] Rabbi David ben Naftali Frenkel, the 18th century Rabbi of Berlin, in his commentary on this passage in JT Sota 9:6.
