Relief but no Joy

Judaism does not celebrate killing. When we speak of our enemies, we hope for repentance, a change of heart, not destruction of the soul.

That is the story of Yom Kippur, when we read about Jonah and the people of Nineveh. That is the story of the Exodus that we recount at the seder, when we diminish our wine, and thus our joy, as we speak of the plagues that afflicted and killed the Egyptians.

In interpreting the Bible, the rabbis severely restrained the application of capital punishment. To this very day, there is no capital punishment in Israel.

And yet, on rare occasions, there are exceptions. Eichmann was executed for his role in the Holocaust. Pharaoh and his men were hurled into the sea.

And today, there is Osama bin Laden.

How do we know how we should respond? Where do we draw the line between those destined for execution and those who should be spared? Our tradition offers a way for us to determine whether a crime, and an individual, rise to the level of deserving to die.

Psalm 104:35 offers an ambiguous reading. Classically, it is translated as:

"May sinners disappear from the earth, and the wicked be no more."

This is most often taken to be asking for sinners to be punished, killed off, by God; that justice be meted out to those who pursue injustice.

However, the Talmud presents an alternative reading, in the voice of Bruria, the wife of the renowned sage, Rabbi Meir. Upon being mugged, Rabbi Meir came home and ranted to his wife about the ruffians who ruffed him up. He called for their death. Bruria responded: "But is that what you should ask for? After all (offering a softer reading of Ps 104:35), perhaps we should not read: 'Let sinners be removed from this world.' Rather, we should read: 'Let sin be removed from this world.'"

Bruria was arguing that Rabbi Meir should pray for the bandits to repent and change their ways, not be zapped by God for their misdeeds.

That is a noble and gentle sentiment. Yet, at times it may be overly sentimental, and thus dangerous. We know that not all miscreants will be penitent. Some will never change and will always be a threat no matter where they are. So how shall we handle them?

Shall we read the verse as asking for the destruction of sinners or asking for the destruction of sin? Death or compassion?

Or perhaps there is a third way. Reconciling these two positions, allowing for compassion where appropriate but harsh punishment where necessary, tradition offers yet a third interpretation.

"Sinners" here is said to refer to a special class of sinners, those who sin unrepentantly, incessantly, tenaciously, aggressively; those who have become as dark as their actions, those who cannot and will not change.

In this light, bin Laden was a sinner, and in this light, tradition supports the actions of the United States.

Most of the world is breathing a sigh of relief today. Over time, perhaps, more information will come to light about the heinous, destructive nature of this man's philosophy and deeds and the justice in his execution.

Today, we might feel relief, even pride, in the masterful, careful, limited and dignified way this maneuver was carried out and concluded. But we cannot be joyful that we were forced to do it.