Release of Gilad Shalit

As many of you are, I've been quite emotional about the release of Gilad Shalit from captivity this week.  Rabbi Howard Ruben, the Head of School of the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, recently sent a message regarding Gilad's release that explains my thoughts / feelings to a T... so I share it with you here:

Gilad: The Mystery of Relief and Fear

Rabbi Howard Ruben

Last night as we sat in our Sukkah to welcome the sixth day of the festival, we followed the mystical tradition of welcoming 'virtual guests' from Jewish history into the Sukkah. Last night, the biblical Joseph led the guest list. Joseph is known not only for his coat of many colors, but also for being held captive and, ultimately, released and reunited with his family.

And last night in the Sukkah we used our smart-phones to stay virtually connected to events in Israel around the pending release of Gilad Shalit from five years of isolated captivity at the hands of Hamas. We prayed that Gilad, like the biblical Joseph, be safely released and, in time, reunited with his family.

And now that Gilad is free, I celebrate in my heart with his family.

The deal for Gilad's release has stirred up many emotions for Israelis and those who care for Israel around the world. JCHS students discussed the terms of the exchange for Gilad's release at Hakhel on Monday and a number continued the conversation through lunch afterwards. Several classes have also discussed it from a variety of perspectives - political, societal, and religious.

I admit to being conflicted - agreeing in my heart with those who support this deal that released Gilad from captivity and agreeing in my heart with those who opposed this deal. (My colleague Avi Weiss writes today about celebrating with a heavy heart - with a heart that celebrates with Gilad and a head that recognizes the deal is bad for Israel. Link to Weiss)

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The timing of Gilad's release also coincides with the reading of parashat Bereisheet that includes the conflict between Cain and Abel. The first life and death struggle in the Torah occurs when Cain kills his brother Abel.

God accuses Cain of murder by declaring that "the voice of your brother's blood is screaming to Me from the ground." Bereisheet 4:10. The Sages puzzle over the term for blood being in the plural. Rashi, for example, interprets the plural to mean, in effect, that in addition to Abel crying out from the ground, God also hears the voices of all the children he would have had and all of their descendants but for the murder at Cain's hand.

These cries are the foundation for how deeply Judaism values life.

So it is with Gilad: many voices have been crying out in pain over Gilad's silent captivity. Many now are crying out in pain over the prisoners with blood on their hands who have been released by Israel in exchange for Gilad. And many from both of those camps are weeping together now in fear over those who may be killed in the future by some of the prisoners released in exchange for Gilad. The weeping is for each of them and for their descendants.

While it is true that Judaism values life, it is not clear how to enact that value when there are competing claims on it. What is clear is that Judaism encourages humility toward valuing one life over another life. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 74b) teaches that a person is not permitted to say one person's blood is redder than another's. Yet that was precisely the dilemma that Israel faced with Gilad.  

My colleague Jan Uhrbach, when writing about this admonition toward humility, quotes Reb Nachman of Bratslav who taught about the inevitable mysteries we confront through life. In Reb Nachman's words, "Just as there are unanswerable questions directed to (or against) God, so, too, it is inevitable that there will be questions even the wisest of us cannot answer." The power of that mystery reveals both how precious life is and how confounding.

That mystery is embedded in each of us. Each of us is filled with contradictions and paradoxes. We are careful in some settings and careless in others. We are generous and stingy on the same day. We are often wise and foolish in the same week - or in the same moment. If that is true for each of us, how much more so it must be true about a community or a country.

This is one of those mystery moments.

There was no "good" deal that could have brought about Gilad's release. There was only the opportunity to choose from a number of "bad" deals. A contradiction wrapped inside a paradox.  

We sigh with relief and joy over the deal that brought Gilad's release even as we sigh with fear that his release may/will lead to more deaths.

Even as we celebrate with Gilad's family, we pray for all those whose hearts have been shattered by loss - for whom there is no release from the captivity of grief. We pray for the safety and security of all those whose lives remain (and may be even more) vulnerable now because of the deal for Gilad's release.

Most of all, we pray for both the wisdom and strength to endure a world filled with mystery.

Rabbi Howard Ruben