We don’t hand out candy when our enemies are killed

I’m curious what the thought process was behind handing out candy upon hearing that a major terrorist was eliminated. Or rather if there was a thought process at all. I was quite surprised to see the local news stories about it.

It seems reasonable to rejoice at such a feat, but the more I thought about it, the more it felt wrong. Jews are supposed to emulate God. Not terrorists. Why would we do something that only terrorists do? One of the modus operandi of terrorists, particularly as seen with Hamas, is to hand out candies when they murder Jews. Do we really want to adopt the MO of the worst people on the planet?

On the surface, Jews handing out candy in celebration of a terrorist being murdered is exactly the same as terrorists handing out candy after a Jew is murdered. Unless you know the nuances, what’s the difference? Each party is handing out candies when their enemy is killed. Most of the world does not understand the nuances, so we should be steering clear of any such potential comparisons. We should not want to have anything in common with the people who want us dead.

I often think about the fact that terrorists probably feel similarly about us as we feel about them. Regardless of why they feel this way, and regardless of how wrong it is, to them we are despicable people who are living in their land and want to kill them. And it’s largely mutual.

I don’t know how many people were actually giving out candy, but the fact that it was happening was publicized. In my personal opinion, it was a major חילול השם, a desecration of the Name of God. As much as it seems like the whole world hates us, I still believe that the silent majority does not actually want terrorists to take over the world. We’re just seeing the loud and proud ignoramuses in the news. There are also definitely people who don’t really know what to think due to so much fake news.

There are a lot of balances that we need to find as Jews, some of which are seemingly contradictory. We are taught to simultaneously feel בשבילי נברא העולם (the world was created for my sake) while also thinking אנוכי עפר ואפר (I am dust and ashes). In a similarly contradictory manner, we are somehow supposed to walk the line of (Proverbs 11:10) באבוד רשעים רינה (when the wicked perish, there is gladness) and (Proverbs 24:17) בנפול אויביך אל תשמח (do not rejoice when your enemy falls). There has been a lot of discussion about this in recent days, as it is now quite relevant with current events. It is not straightforward. But then again nothing is really straightforward these days. Even things that seem like they should be. So how is one supposed to react when an archenemy is no longer a threat? Grateful? Relieved? Excited?

I can understand the desperate desire and need to celebrate the wins, especially since there have been way too many losses. But do it some other way. Handing out candy when people are murdered is something that only terrorists do. Full stop. There is no place in our culture, a culture so focused on doing good and being a light unto the nations, for playing copycat with terrorists. We are better than that.

Jews don’t want to have to kill people. We only kill people who want to kill us, but it’s not something we do for fun. We celebrate life. Not death. This is not a killing quest. It is deeper than that. It is a necessary evil for ensuring our future. This actually epitomizes the phrase “necessary evil.” There are few things more evil than murder, but we have to do what we have to do. Without hesitating for fear of it being evil.

Yes, we are grateful that we are less one person who hates us in the world. Yes, we are relieved that a major threat has been neutralized. And yes, we might want to celebrate this big win. But how about we praise God for allowing this to happen? And give credit to the people who had a hand in it? We are still fighting an uphill battle. Let’s pray for the day when the need to kill people to protect ourselves is a foreign concept. A day when the celebration of death is no more. A day when, as put by a random Chinese person I was speaking with, “Israel will finally win.”