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Jewish World Review April 25, 2008 / 20 Nissan 5768 Schadenfreude isn't kosher for Passover — or at any other time By Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg
How Judaism is different
Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, a great Biblical commentator, writes in his
book, "Meshech Chochmah," that because of the concept of "binfol oyevecha al tismach — that you should not rejoice when your enemy falls" — no Jewish holiday celebrates the defeat of others. And he goes on to point out that this is why, right at the time of the Exodus, we were told that the festival of Passover was to be a seven day holiday.
Why seven days when the Exodus took only one? Explains the Meshech Chochmah, because it was destined that on the seventh day the Jews would cross the Reed Sea and the Egyptians be destroyed. But if it was only then when we are told that the seventh day was to be a holiday, we would think it was because of the destruction of our enemies. So the seventh day was declared a holiday, even before this took place!
Similarly says the Meshech Chochmah, on Chanukah we commemorate not the defeat of the Greeks, but the miracle of the oil. And on Purim … the celebration of Purim takes place not on the day Haman and our enemies were destroyed, but on the following day when all was quiet.
This concept of "Thou shall not schadenfreude," — thou shall not rejoice in the falling of your enemy — is codified as part of Jewish law during this holiday of Passover.
Whereas we recite the full Hallel, the Psalms of praise and thanksgiving to the Almighty on the first days of Passover, we recite the abbreviated Hallel on the last days, because those were the days on which they Egyptians were killed and our joy must be limited. But do you know what this means? Do you know how far this is taken?
Because we don't say the full Hallel on the last days of Passover it was considered inappropriate to recite them during the intermediate days of Passover. After all, how does it look on the day of the full holiday we don't say the full Hallel … how can we say the full Hallel on those days that are not a full holiday? And so it ends up that on six of the eight days of Passover we don't sing a full praise to G-d, because "binfol oyevcha al tishmach — when your enemy falls, do not celebrate."
These words in the book of Proverbs are underscored in importance by the words in the
verse that follows: "Pen yireh Hashem v'ra b'einav — lest the Lord see it and it displeases Him."
THEM AND US
Sure, war is hell. But even in war, there are certain rules of conduct … you just don't
go killing innocent civilians and most certainly not women and children. And to add
inhumanity to inhumanity, to rejoice over this? As one op-ed writer put it, "The attack at
the Yeshiva was a barbaric murder of eight children who were engaged in religious study.
This odious and inhuman terror attack exemplifies the extremist and inhuman path of the
terror organizations Hamas and Hezbollah. The terror must prompt the free world to
comprehend the magnitude of terrorism and its threats and to realize that a clear and
unequivocal stance must be assumed against it. There can be no negotiations with terrorism
that indiscriminately aims itself at students, women and babies, without any consideration
for the means and the targets."
You know where that op-ed appeared? In a Kuwaiti newspaper! These are the murderers that Jimmy Carter can't wait to meet! It should be obvious to any civilized human being what an act of barbarity it was. But that didn't stop many Arab newspapers as referring to it as a "heroic operation," and the Palestinians celebrating in the streets because their enemies had fallen.
DREAMERS FORCED TO FACE REALITY
Now we know! Now we know the truth for sure! A poll taken by the respected Palestinian
pollster, Kahlil Shikaki, right after the incident revealed that 85% of the Palestinians
applauded the slaughter. 85%! Mr. Shikaki said he was shocked by the results! I don't
know why! Let me just remind you: this isn't the first time we've seen such barbarism by a
collective people. You remember a few years ago when two Israeli soldiers mistakenly drove
in to the Palestinian city of Ramallah? They were lynched … dragged through the streets …
torn to pieces … with their murderers marching through the streets showing their blood
covered hands to the cheers of the masses.
And you know what? To some degree, this explains the fence that Israel is erecting,
separating itself from the Arabs on the West Bank. On one level — the physical level — that fence is meant to keep out suicide bombers and those who would randomly kill Israelis.
And it's been pretty successful at that! But I think that fence has a psychological purpose as
well. After Oslo, many in Israel thought there was going to be a "new" Middle East; the
walls separating Israel from its Arab neighbors — physically and psychologically — would come tumbling down; no different than the wall that divided Berlin and that divided East and West. But now we know that was all a dream. We talked of peace -but they planned for war. We spoke of friendship - but they taught hatred in their schools. We talked of our right to exist — but they insisted on their right to return. We talked of life — they talked of death.
Just this week the PLO announced that it was giving its highest medal to two
terrorists who were involved in the Sbarro pizza store massacre. This at the discretion of
Palestinian President Abbas, while negotiating peace with Israel! A few years ago, in viewing
a video shown on television in which a Palestinian mob was seen mutilating the body parts
of the six Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, Israel's Major General Dan Harel, head of the
Southern Command, said, "It made me sick to my stomach. It is unbelievable that human
beings could reach such lows. The video I saw emphasizes the difference between us and
them."
Similarly, Colonel Eyal Eisenberg, Commander of the Givati Brigade that saw eleven
of its soldiers blown to bits was quoted in Israel's Maariv newspaper: "I haven't told this to
anyone but in the midst of this operation, we assisted a baby being born and evacuated an
elderly Palestinian woman who was injured and summoned a local ambulance for her.
Terrorists ran and fired from behind the ambulance. Therefore, I do not want to make any
comparison between our scale of values and theirs. If my soldiers can assist a Palestinian
woman giving birth when six of their comrades have been blown to bits in the street but, at
the same time, they fire at us from behind an ambulance, you must understand that we are at
opposite ends of the scales of values. They are at the very bottom." Yes, they have left us
no choice but to build a wall to make sure that we never become like them. That their way will not become our way. We are building a fence not just to keep their murderers out, but to keep the mores of their society out as well.
WHEN WE RAISE OUR GLASSES
We don't rejoice when an enemy falls. We get no satisfaction from the suffering of
others. "Schadenfreude" is a German word. "Rachmanus", mercy, is a Jewish word. The whole purpose of Passover — the whole purpose of the Egyptian experience according to Rabbi Dr. J. B. Soleveitchik — was to teach us an ethical sensitivity to the suffering of others.
Our people do not perform acts of vengeance like others do. We've had every reason in the world to strike back and hurt others; instead, as reflected in the words we said at the Seder of Shefoch Chamascha; we left vengeance to G-d … not for us!
Arab children, whose parents became refugees, are taught to become suicide bombers … Jewish children whose parents became refugees were taught to write best selling books about the experience! We are different! While Islam and Christianity preach only their followers can be "saved," Judaism sees salvation being open to all good people. We pray for the salvation of others, not for their downfall.
At the Passover Seder we will do what every other people do — most every people at moments of joy, at moments of victory, lift their cup in celebration. We will do that as well. But we don't do it the way other cultures do it. Our cup are not be full … we
will take off drops of the wine. For us as Jews, our cup cannot be full when others have suffered.
We are different! Vive la difference! Let us raise our children to be knowledgeable of it and proud of it, as the Hagaddah puts it: "V'haya ki yishalacha bincha machar — when your child asks you on the morrow, 'What's this Judaism all about?'. . . let us be able to respond as Jewish parents have responded through the ages . . . with pride in our past and great hope for our future, with the hopes for nachas (pride) . . . genuine Yiddisha nachas, as we proclaim: "Ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu u'ma yafa yerushaseinu . . . happy are we, how goodly is our portion, how pleasant our lot, how beautiful our Jewish heritage."
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Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg is Senior Rabbi of Baltimore's Beth Tfiloh Congregation.
© 2008, Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg | ||||||||||
