There is another rule which is called Lex Talionis and is the law of retaliation, but it should not be taken as an eye for an eye, but to limit the revenge people do to each other. Exodus 21:23-25 states ‘The punishment shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise’. If someone cuts off your hand then you should only cut off theirs nothing more and the debt will be repaid, Jews do not believe in war for revenge because they believe that killing someone is a sin and is a selfish act. Jews can fight for peace though because it is the one thing they believe in more than no war.
Thousands of years ago, Jews believed that there was such a thing as a ‘Holy war’ and many of the Biblical tales of war are bloodthirsty and aggressive. Nowadays, the term is not used because in Judaism the concept does not exist and they have no way of knowing truthfully if God approves it. They used to have a Sanhedrin, which is a court of people who decided what was acceptable and what wasn’t.
Although a large part of Israel’s population is Jewish, Israel is not a ‘Jewish’ state; it is a secular state run by elected politicians, not by Rabbis. Most of the leaders are Jews and the citizens of Israel pressure their government to always take Jewish teachings into consideration over major and minor decisions. In Israel, military service is mandatory and every citizen, who is mentally and physically capable of an army job, must join. The only exception is a group of Ultra-Orthodox Jews who can refuse to serve because the majority do not recognize the ‘secular authority of the Israeli government’. They believe that Jews ruling a ‘Jewish’ state is not acceptable or legitimate until the arrival of the Messiah. It is 3 years service for men and 2 years for women. Israel does not have an actual army, but holds everyone in reserve duty for the next 30 years, for 30 days a year, men and women are called back for refreshers training and in times of war or desperation they are called in to defend Israel. In the state of Israel, the selling of weapons and heavy artillery is also governed by Jewish law because the trading presents Israel with many ethical issues like who to sell it to?, what are they going to use it for?, how will it affect our allies?. Jews believe that nuclear weapons help to stop wars because everyone has them and everyone is afraid to use them. Even though Jews fight in wars, Judaism teaches them to do it with mercy and to treat people like humans, this is shown in Proverbs 25:21 ‘If your foe is hungry, feed him bread; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.’ The Holocaust is an example of a ‘war’ that Jews believe shouldn’t be fought because it was unfair and the treatment of humans was disgusting and the reasoning behind it all was irrational.
The definition of pacifism is the belief that disputes between nations should and can be settled peacefully or someone who is opposed to war and violence as a means for resolving disputes. The basis for belief in peace comes from the Ethics of the Fathers 1:18 ‘The world endures on three things – justice, truth and peace.’ Jews aren’t total pacifists because they still fight, but only because it’s necessary and in a perfect world they would believe that all problems can be resolved without violence. The Ultra-Orthodox Jews who don’t do military service are pacifists because they see no logical reason for war. A few other Jewish people are pacifists, but the majority isn’t, and they try to get their points across when it comes to political issues that could result in war. They think that the quote from Psalm 29:11 ‘Hashem will bless His Nation with peace’ means God wants them to let Him give them peace and that there is no need for conflict. Judaism is not a pacifist religion, but the people always believe that trying to bring peace is the first choice and if that ultimately doesn’t work then controlled violence becomes the next option. War is always regrettable but not always wrong.
By Shoni Vaknin
