mall” terrorists in order to free our brothers and sisters kidnapped by Hamas. This is surely a topic which demands humility, for only a select few top army officers and politicians know all of the information necessary to express a serious opinion
I’ll just suffice to say that as a rav, I was against freeing 1,027 terrorists including Yichye Sinuar ym”sh and much of the present Gazan Hamas leadership (and many convicted murderers) in order to free Gilad Shalit, a young soldier who was kidnapped because he defied the army’s orders, and surrendered rather than fight. The pragmatic halacha explains that if we pay more than the usual or accepted “price” (generally one of their’s for one of our’s), the enemy will simply kidnap over and over (Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 252). On the other hand, the brutal kidnapping of so many civilians from their homes, many of them children, women and elderly, must be seen differently.
The story is told of R. Velvel Soleveitchik, an extreme anti-Zionist Yerushalmi, who when asked why he castigates all religious-Zionists aside from R. Meir Bar-Ilan, explained: what can I do, he’s “mishpacha” (they were cousins)! Upon hearing this, exclaimed HaRav Kook: all of Am Yisrael are my “mishpacha”! Every parent of every child kidnapped by Hamas is not to blame for wanting to free their child at any price, and we should also identify with these children mamash as our “mishpacha”! True, Gilad Shalit and every soldier is also our child, but during his years in Tzahal, it’s his national turn to fight to defend Am Yisrael (and himself), which Shalit didn’t do. This is totally different than the kidnapping of helpless babies where, together with our resolve to continue beating Hamas to a pulp (in order to deter our other surrounding enemies), we are obligated, out of love as well as for national morale, to bring them home, and then get back to work fighting evil!
I’ll just mention again in this context, the gemara we’ve cited in the past (Sanhedrin 106a)”‘He [Bil’am] took up his parable [=prophesizing about our generations, the period of ge’ula] and said: Alas! Who can survive when He does this?'(Bamidbar 24, 23). Woe to the nation who will be found hindering the Jewish people at the time when [our Father] the Holy One, Blessed be He, redeems His children. Who dares place his garment to separate between a male lion and a female lioness when they wish to mate? [Woe to him, for who does so will certainly not “survive”].” We must emulate our G-dly Father (remember: Imitateo Dei= צלם אלוקים…) and do anything to free, and to fight, in order to save and love His, and our (!) beloved children. Shabbat Shalom (!!) Rav Ari