Rabbi Heller's Blog

As I write, I am still digesting the intensity of the my week in Israel. I would have imagined using every opportunity this weekend to share my experiences. Indeed, this Shabbat morning, I will be reflecting on my journey. Then, on Sunday February 18^th at 3:30PM at Or Hadash, I will be part of a forum where rabbis who participated in the trip will engage in dialogue with members of the entire community.  We are also working to finalize plans to travel to Israel with B’nai Torah to show your solidarity. To hold your spot, commitment-free, to travel with Rabbi Breit the first week in April, click on https://www.bnaitorah.org/form/RB-israel-2024

However, the demands of daily life have returned. There are classes to teach, lifecycle and communal events and administrative responsibilities.  Friday night, we have committed to hosting “Scout Shabbat,” and this is the weekend when, long before October 7, congregations across the country committed to address issues of reproductive rights.  

In some ways, the ancient Israelites had that same experience, of trying to move from the intensive to the everyday. In this week’s portion, after the incredible intensity of receiving the Torah, they are presented with the “Mishpatim”- the rules of day-to-day life. Still, one experience cannot help but bleed over into the other. And so, in this article I want to share an unexpected, even distressing link between the news from Israel, our portion, and issues that continue unabated in our peripheral vision. Warning- this article includes distressing themes. 

The issue of the captives is the most divisive and traumatic in Israel today. There is a reason that 18 weeks ago, Hamas offered a $10,000 bounty for any Israeli kidnapped into Gaza, and thousands of Gazan civilians, including UN employees, have aided in perpetuating their captivity. The captives serve as a second layer of human shields for Hamas top leaders and weapons underground, with Gazan civilians as the first layer. Also, because Israeli society has a dearly held ethic of “no-one left behind,” Hamas is able to use the hostages as a psychological wedge. In their desire to be rid of Hamas, Israelis are as united as they have ever been, but there is dissent as to how best to get the hostages back. If there were not hostages, it is entirely possible that there would either already be a ceasefire or at the very least a much more lively debate about whether the war should continue. It is perhaps not a shock that our Torah portion, Mishpatim, declares (Exodus 21:16) that one who steals another person is considered to be no different from a murderer, and liable for the same death penalty.

If one follows reports in the mainstream media, one does not have a real sense of what has been done to the hostages. Out of sensitivity to families, Israel media is holding back what it reports, but Israel is a small country, and what has been shared by those who were released several months ago continues to trickle out. In particular, in the previous round of negotiations, Hamas chose to release all but 14 of the female captives. Reports from freed captives was that those who were not released were ones who had been the most horrifically abused, and even then, some were showing signs of pregnancy.  

While Israel has created detailed plans for all of the many needs of the remaining captives who are freed, some of the most agonizing are for to deal with the needs of female captives who may have been impregnated by their captors. As soon as those captives are psychologically capable of doing so, they will be given the option to choose whether to terminate the pregnancy. While here in the United States, the ability of a woman to make choices about her well-being is a topic of debate, it is different in Israel, not just in this extreme horrific situation, but even in more common ones.

Part of the reason for the difference is found in our  portion this week, Mishpatim, Exodus 21:22 reports that in a case where, a pregnant woman loses her pregnancy as a result of an assault, the penalty is that for assault, but not for murder. The fetus has value, but its value is not the same as that of an adult life. Therefore, in any situation where the well-being, even the very life, of a fetus must be weighed against the well-being of the mother, the well-being of the mother takes priority. While that is most clearly true in the case of physical danger, our sages expanded it to situations where the mother was at risk of psychological damage if the pregnancy were to be carried to term. As such, our tradition does not state a clear blanket permission or ban of termination of pregnancy. Rather, in practice it is an ethical decision that must take as its primary ingredient the physical and emotional needs of the mother, in the most common and the most extreme circumstances. The CJLS of the Conservative movement recently released an analysis of the issues, which I was proud to sign onto. You can see it at https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/2023-12/jewish-view-of-abortion.pdf

None of us can imagine the experiences that the captives have been undergoing for the past four months, and what it has meant to survive under those conditions. We can only pray for their safe and healthy return. We understand that even when we have stepped away from an intense situation, its impact and implications continue to echo and reverberate, and we can hope that our tradition offers wisdom.