Devar/5769/Mishpatim
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< Devar | 5769
עברית
בַּעַל הַבּוֹר יְשַׁלֵּם, כֶּסֶף יָשִׁיב לִבְעָלָיו; וְהַמֵּת, יִהְיֶה-לּוֹ. (שמות כא:לג-לד)
English
And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein,
the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money unto the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his (Ex 21:33-34)
The Torah cautions us not to be negligent. That we should not leave something dangerous exposed for all -- lest a person encounter it and be caused damage because of us. Our freedom to act is limited when it comes to damaging others.
The "pit" is just an example -- anything which causes damage is forbidden to be left without some manner of protection from the public. Even a dog which bites or a dangerous machine -- anything which may cause damage, must be distanced from the easy access of others.
So too in the political arena -- it is forbidden to leave a dangerous enemy without some form of guard against him. In this matter, our politicians have failed terribly. Not only did they leave a "remnant" of our Gazan enemies, but they also did not leave an effective guard at all, since almost every day they fire upon our brothers in the south.
When it comes to a rabid dog, there is no alternative but to kill it immediately lest it kill someone. The Gazans are similar to a rabid dog, as they are neither merciful nor dissuaded by their own deaths. The only thing left for us to do is to destroy them immediately, in order to remove a danger to the Jewish people.
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