[By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times]

Disturbing images with warning signs. Of late, we have been seeing much of them. Evil and vile terrorists and murderers bring carnage to the world. The media rushes to show everyone the disturbing images. Sometimes the family wants them released. Sometimes they don’t.

When they do it, the mandatory warning signs appear – which just serve to pique the reader’s interest even more.

This past summer, the family of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius’s murder victim, Reeva Steenkamp, had recently begged that the images of her murder be released to the public. Perhaps there was good reason for their position, as the popular Paralympic and Olympic athlete had received a slap on the wrist in two trials.

The media, however, is aware that for some reason people are attracted to gory images. It is a form of visual candy – or clickbait. The problem is that there are some serious halachic issues involved in printing disturbing issues.

This is particularly germane to Jewish people because of the proliferation of gory images that are displayed whenever there is a terrorist incident in Eretz Yisroel. The temptation on the part of the media to display images of the carnage is too much for them to overcome.

EMOTIONAL PAIN

Firstly, as a general rule it inflicts severe emotional pain on the families of the deceased, and can inflict that damage for decades to come. A grandchild whose grandmother was depicted in a photograph can be deeply embarrassed – even if the granddaughter was not even born yet. The pain to parents, to spouses, and to children who remember their father or mother in quite a different manner can often be very significant.

TZELEM ELOKIM

Man was created in the image of Hashem. On account of this, we must realize that when a body is shown in desecration, it reflects chalilah on the Creator. The Rambam in his Moreh Nevuchim (chapter One) explains this concept as reflecting the high level of spirituality that lies within man. These pictures undermine that message.

NIVUL HAMAIS

The Gemorah in Bava Basra (154a) discusses the prohibition of Nivul Hamais – desecrating a body. True, this Gemorah only refers to physical desecration. However, if we examine the Gemorah in Moed Kotton (27b) about the changes in burial customs regarding the dead who were poor and the dead who were rich we see that the issue of desecration, nivul hamais, also refers to saving them embarrassment. In other words, we see that kavod hamais refers to non-physical issues as well – which would include the showing of disturbing pictures.

IN ONE’S OWN EYES

Another reason brought down by the commentaries regarding the prohibition of looking at the face of the deceased (Maaver Yaavok Sifsei Ronenus chapter 9 cited in response of the Rishon l’Tzion YD Siman 18 – third explanation) is that it causes the deceased to be thought less of by the living.

FORGETTING TORAH KNOWLEDGE

There is another issue that is discussed in the Gemorah in Horios (13b) looking into the face of the deceased is listed as one of the ten things that causes a person to forget ones learning. While this does not compare to the previous issues, it nonetheless is not something that is innocuous.

NOT EVERYONE REACTS THE SAME

Often we have a tendency to extrapolate our own feelings to how others feel or should be feeling. It could be that we are so inured to such images that we do not realize the effect it has upon others.
The media should be sensitive to these images because of these halachic issues and because of the basic Bain Odom l’chaveiro issues. May Hashem bring the yeshua quickly and remove from us all such pain.

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