By Rabbi Yair Hoffman
Klal Yisroel has been through a lot since October 7th. When the horrible murderers are caught, however, should we be celebrating?
Should we be celebrating the eventual death of Sinwar by, say, handing out cookies on the street? Are we not disgusted when Palestinians celebrate the deaths of Jews by handing out food?
There is no question that the sentiment is understandable. And there is a substantive difference. The man in the video is celebrating the death of a murderer. Palestinians celebrate the death of innocent Jewish victims. The two cases are worlds apart and should not be compared at all. This author has met victims – children in a hospital with severe brain injuries.
THE TWO PSUKIM IN MISHLEI
There is a verse in the 24th chapter of Mishlei written by Shlomo HaMelech. It is pasuk 18 and it states: In the falling (death) of your enemy – do not rejoice.
We must also keep in mind another seemingly contradictory earlier verse. It was also written by Shlomo HaMelech – “In the death of evil-doers – exhuberance! (Mishlei 11:10). How are these two verses to be understood together?
THE RALBAG’S UNDERSTANDING – TOO MUCH IS NO GOOD
The Ralbag in interpreting the pasuk just before pasuk 18 in chapter 24, writes that inappropriate rejoicing over the matter will lead to Hashem removing His Divine Anger against that enemy and placing it upon you. It is clear from this Ralbag that too much rejoicing is wrong and dangerous. But what is too much?
It is interesting to note that the Alshich in Esther (5:3) writes that this is exactly why Esther wished to make Haman rejoice at the party. She did so in order that the Divine Will be turned against the evil Haman on account of his rejoicing at the fall of Israel.
APPROPRIATE REJOICING IS OKAY
We can infer from the Ralbag that although inappropriate rejoicing is wrong – appropriate rejoicing, where one is on the correct spiritual level, is fine. This is the type of rejoicing that is indicated in Chapter eleven.
THE MAHARSHA’S AND RABBEINU YONAH’S VIEWS
But what exactly is the correct spiritual level?
The Maharsha in Megillah 28a understands the verse in Chapter 24 as referring to someone who is rejoicing because of his feeling of hate toward his enemy. Rabbeinu Yonah on Pirkei Avos 4:19 writes that that the high level in which rejoicing is permitted is if one does so in celebration of the Kavod Shamayaim – of the honor due to G-d at the fall of this evil-doer. This may be very much in line with our Ralbag.
The fact that the person handing out the cookies was asking people to make a bracha to Hashem fits with the Rabbeinu Yonah. According to the Maharsha and Rabbeinu Yonah, the YouTube Video is kosher.
THE ALSHICH’S VIEW
The Alshich (Tehillim 5:11) qualifies the verse in Mishlei to refer only to a personal enemy, but one whose evil is so much against G-d – the opposite feeling is in order – one should, in fact, rejoice. Thus the Chapter eleven verse refers to one who is so evil in the eyes of G-d. The Alshich does not distinguish between our own levels, but rather the type of enemy that the pasuk refers to.
THE OTHER VIEW – THE MESHECH CHOCHMA AND GERRER REBBE
The Meshech Chochma (Shmos 12:16) writes that upright individuals do not rejoice at the death of others as do, say, some of the other nations. This seems to be across the board. Thus, on Passover, we celebrate the freedom of the Jewish people and not the fact that G-d punished the Egyptians. Similarly, on Chanukah, we celebrate the miracle of the oil lasting and not the fall of the Syrian Greeks. It would seem that the Meshech Chochma is not in agreement with the aforementioned Alshich in Tehillim.
The Gerrer Rebbe on Sukkos 5658 also expressed this thought. He explained that even though Yom Tov’s must all have Simcha, the word is used only regarding Sukkos and not Pesach. Why? The death of the Egyptians that occurred on Pesach caused the use of the word “Simcha” in regard to Pesach as not appropriate.
The Yalkut Shimoni (Mishlei 960) also points out that we do not recite a full Hallel on Pesach except for the first day because of the notion of not overly rejoicing over the deaths of enemies. Also, the Midrash points out, that Noah refrained from marital intimacy during the time that the evildoers in the world were being destroyed on account of the notion of the verse in chapter 24. Seemingly, this Midrash is not in accordance with the distinctions made by the Alshich and the Ralbag.
PERHAPS NOT ALL AGREED TO
It may also be suggested that the notion was perhaps not necessarily universally adhered to by all of Israel. How so? In Pirkei Avos (4:19) Shmuel HaKatan says almost the exact same thing as King Solomon did in Mishlei. The Rambam and the Bartenura point this out but remark that Shmuel actually utilized and taught this approach. The fact that the Mishna singles Shmuel HaKatan out for this indicates that it may not necessarily have been kept so universally. In fact, it could be that King David himself, the father of King Shlomo may have erred in his reciting of joyful song at the fall of Kush Ben Yemini, as pointed out in Midrash Tehillim (7).
The conclusion? It seems that the words of Rebbeinu Yonah on Pirkei Avos that if one rejoices at the Kavod Shamayim – the honor that finally justice has been accomplished with the knowledge that the honor of Heaven has been further enhanced and uplifted with this man’s death – then one may rejoice, but nonetheless, it should still be tempered.
We do recite Hallel on Pesach, but not a full one. One should make sure that the feeling not come from an improper emotion. One may also take pride in the fact that one was the tool for which the honor of Heaven was uplifted.
It is this author’s view that the request to recite a bracha and not fully mentioning the death of the Rasha is not excessive per se and indicate that the person’s kavanos were on a high level. Also, it seems that the motivation is one that states, “Finally, our citizens are being protected.” This is a proper sentiment.
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7 Responses
Dear rabbi Hoffman
What about the view of the midrash in Esther, that Haman questioned Mordechai, who “exerted extra force” on Haman while using him as a stool to mount his horse, asking this very Pasuk of B’nefoil oiyevecha al tismach?!
To whom Mordechai answers, “hahu B’yisroel ksivi”, but about you, it says “ba’avod reshaim rinah”.
And while its true that there is a madreiga of “ma’asei yodai tov’im, v’at omrim shirah”?
That may only be applicable to actual singing of Shira and not rejoicing.
You may then need to consider, perhaps the opinions of those who put mitigating conditions on the rejoicing, are talking about only oyvecha from yisroel.
That would seem to be supported by the tefillah we say every (almost) shabbos where we ask “v’yinkom L’EINEINU nikmas dam avadecha hashafuch”.
Curious to hear your response.
Thank You!
Sorry, all of these opinions you quote contradict an explicit gemara, so they are all wrong. The gemara says that this very question is a machlokes between Mordechai and Haman, and you are taking Haman’s side, so you should reconsider your views.
Haman is the one who holds that “Binfol Oyivcha” (NOT “oyvecha”! So many people get this wrong, I can’t imagine how) applies to all enemies, whether Jewish or not. Mordechai rejects this opinion, and holds that that pasuk applies ONLY to Jewish enemies. We are required to love all Jews, even those who are genuinely our enemies and seek to harm us, like Dovid Hamelech’s enemies; therefore when they fall we must not rejoice. Hashem cares about them, and if we rejoice He will disapprove and may stop punishing them. But if the enemy is not a Jew then the posuk does not apply and we are commanded to rejoice.
The gemara also explicitly rejects and condemns the idea that we should be sad for the Mitzrim. On the contrary, we were commanded to sing shira when they drowned, and NOT to be sad. Only the angels were told not to sing. That’s why those who claim the reason we spill 16 drops of wine when reading the makos is out of sorrow for the dead Mitzrim are WRONG.
The idea that we don’t say hallel on Pesach (after the first day) out of sadness for the Mitzrim is against an explicit Talmud Bavli, which says the reason is because of the korbonos. (Half-hallel is not a real thing; it’s just a minhag, when we feel like saying hallel but it’s a day when it’s not said, so we skip some pieces so it’s as if we’re not saying it.)
It’s an obscure Medrash that no longer exists, called “Harninu”; the Chavos Yo’ir says that since we always pasken like the Bavli against Medroshim, we reject this medrash. But since it is a Medrash, so it would be preferable if we could reconcile it with the gemara, the Chavos Yo’ir explains that Hallel is different, because it puts us in the place of the angels at that moment, and therefore we don’t say hallel on those days. But, he says, that applies only to hallel and not to anything else.
Rashi says that at the time of Kriyas Yam Suf, when Hashem turned the waters back on the Mitzrim, the Melachim wanted to sing shira but Hashem would not allow it because Hashem’s creations were being destroyed. When it comes to the death of Rishaim today, we should be happy that the evil they perform and represent are gone or reduced but not that the person has died.
I hear a rav speak about this. He said, we should not rejoice that OUR enemy is killed, but we can rejoice in that HaShem’s enemy is killed, because we are rejoicing with and for HaShem.
5TResident, you too are contradicting an explicit gemara. The gemara says that Hashem, and therefore His angels, do not rejoice at the death of resha’im, but HE WANTS US TO REJOICE. הוא אינו שש, אבל אחרים משיש. That is what the gemara says, so you are not free to reject it.
You are overthinking this.
1. If you lived in Israel and truly and deeply recognized that this isn’t a theoretical events in newspapers or in the past, but Jewish lives are CURRENTLY in danger from these enemies, you wouldn’t pose such a question. Who wouldn’t rejoice if someone chasing them with a gun is taken out? You are a bit too removed to fully appreciate this.
2. If this was your child, rachmana litzlan, you wouldn’t pose such a question, even if it wasn’t still an imminent danger, which it is, as per above
You are overthinking this.
1. If you lived in Israel and truly and deeply recognized that this isn’t a theoretical events in newspapers or in the past, but Jewish lives are CURRENTLY in danger from these enemies, you wouldn’t pose such a question. Who wouldn’t rejoice if someone chasing them with a gun is taken out? You are a bit too removed to fully appreciate this.
2. If this was your child, rachmana litzlan, you wouldn’t pose such a question, even if it wasn’t still an imminent danger, which it is, as per above
With this perspective, you wouldn’t approach this with a halachic shailah. It would be a fact of life and human nature.