15 Talmudic Lessons for the Israel-Hamas War
Even though the Talmud is ancient Jewish literature, its relevance to the contemporary is remarkable.
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The Talmud is one of the most important texts in Jewish history and culture.
It is packed with teachings, insights, and wisdom, drawing on a wealth of knowledge and scholarship to provide readers with a deeper understanding of legal, ethical, and philosophical teachings.
Even though the Talmud is ancient literature, its relevance to contemporary life is remarkable, with enduring acuity into topics such as ideals, justice, and relationships.
Here are a few passages from the Talmud that can help you better understand and contemplate the Israel-Hamas war, as well as its impacts on the greater Jewish world:
1) Teach your tongue to say, “I don’t know.”
It seems that we live in a world where pretending like you know something is a badge of honor, and admitting “I don’t know” lends itself weakness or vulnerability. Hence why so many people somehow have a (superficial) opinion about the Israel-Hamas war — but cannot actually have an in-depth, nuanced, intellectual conversation about it.
Much of today’s politicians (cough, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, cough) and bureaucrats (cough, António Guterres, cough) are unequivocally horrendous at this.
As the Talmud stresses, it is perfectly okay to say, “I don’t know.” That should be the badge of honor.
2) Learn first and philosophize afterwards.
Some of us grew up in a culture where we were effectively taught to stop learning after we finished our formal education. That is a broken culture.
The best way to theorize about fundamental and serious issues is to learn deeply about them, and keep learning. Old paradigms die hard. New ones are powerful and can even help to update beliefs, which is one of the keys to properly philosophizing in today’s dynamic, fast-paced, globalized world.
3) The liar’s punishment is that even when he speaks the truth, no one believes him.
I have no doubt that there are many honest, well-intentioned, good-hearted Palestinians who want to live in peace with Israel, alongside the Jewish state. The problem is that Palestinian history and the “Palestinian people” have been built on a robust foundation of lies, deceit, half-truths, and manipulations — which started with the help of the Soviet propagandists in the 1960s.
Thus, it is difficult to discern how much of the Palestinian population is honest, well-intentioned, and good-hearted, and how much is not. Ultimately this is why a Palestinian state still does not exist, and it is hard to envision one coming to fruition after October 7th, at least for the foreseeable future.
Take, for instance, a Palestinian representative to the UN from the so-called “moderate” Palestinian Authority, who this week embraced child-murdering and baby-kidnapping Hamas rapists as “brothers.” Admittedly, it is hard to agree to a sincere, lasting peace with these kinds of people.
4) Once a person has sinned and repeated the sin, he treats it as if it has become permitted.
Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups think they can get away with what they perpetrated on October 7th because there is precedent for their barbaric actions not fully being prosecuted.
In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama held the Israelis back from destroying Hamas in Gaza after Hamas-linked Palestinian terrorists kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers.
Then, in 2006, Palestinian terrorists kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border, underground raid. Five years and four months after Shalit was captured, a deal was reached between Israel and Hamas to release Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian and Israeli Arab criminals. Yes, you read that correctly: one soldier for 1,027 convicted felons.
Hence why Hamas thinks they can extract a wealth of Palestinian prisoners from Israel, with the 136 abductees they still have in their possession from the October 7th atrocities. And why there is still no comprehensive hostage deal in place despite months of negotiations.
5) No two minds are alike, just as no two faces are alike.
Even though our numbers are few, Israelis are as diverse a political bunch as you will find on this planet. Therefore, it is disingenuous to label all of them as “colonizers” or “occupiers” or any other derogatory, misguided, intellectually dishonest term.
From the vantage point of “progressives” and other extreme Leftists, it seems that there can be no compromise or coexistence with Israelis. There is no such thing as a good Israeli, “and since the highly specious claims that Zionism is colonialism and the Gaza war is genocide are now axioms whose truth is assumed, reasonable people cannot disagree, because disagreeing means defending the indefensible,” wrote one of our guest essayists.
In what world are these Leftists living in, exactly? Are all of us who have a different (perhaps more extensive or expansive) perspective on the multi-century Jewish-Muslim conflict vengeful liars who easily rationalize pure, unadulterated evil? And is there any alternative to coexistence?
6) Be wary of authorities who befriend a person for their own purposes. They appear loving when it is beneficial to them, but do not stand by the other person in his time of distress.
While the U.S. has been a great friend to Israel many a times, it has also been driven by self-interest, just as it has with other countries. I suppose this is what every country’s foreign policy boils down to, which is fine, but let’s at least acknowledge that.
The U.S. does not have Israel’s best interests in mind. It has America’s best interests in mind. Sometimes these two disparate groups of interests overlap, but regardless, Jewish Americans who genuinely care about the Jewish state ought to come to terms with this reality.
What rubs me the wrong way is when the U.S. clearly acts in its own self-interests — yet brands itself as behaving in accordance with the purest forms of justice, altruism, morals, and ethics. Everything is political and cynical. Let’s not bluff otherwise.
7) No one is truly poor, save for someone who is ill.
Since October 7th, when I was awoken just before 7 a.m. in my Tel Aviv apartment to rocket sirens blaring throughout central and southern Israel, I have experienced the full roller coaster ride of emotions, both related and unrelated to the Israel-Hamas war.
Recently, I have started applying a different lens to pondering my real and perceived problems: gratitude. More specifically, reminding myself that, even though my problems matter to me, I am extremely lucky that I am where I am — and not sitting in a Hamas underground gang rape dungeon right now, no less dead.
After all, the abductees were kidnapped just 70 or so kilometers (45 miles) from where I live. That could have been me.
8) Silence is beautiful for wise people; it is all the more beautiful for fools.
I know so many people who think that the Israel-Hamas war is far too complicated to understand, and therefore they do not want to say anything one way or another — yet they somehow found a way to understand the Black Lives Matter movement, the people of Ukraine and Ukrainian-Russian history, the women of Iran…
Israel and the Jews, however, are not worth enough of their time and attention to understand, and take a stand.
You know the world is going to an interesting place when former U.S. President George W. Bush, who was not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed as commander-in-chief, is giving sound advice. He recently said in an interview:
“They say, ‘This has already gone on too long. Surely there is a way to settle this through negotiations. Both sides are guilty.’ My view is, one side is guilty. And it’s not Israel.”
9) He who has been bitten by a snake is scared of a rope.
In other words: The traumatic experiences of our past can be reimagined by even the simplest triggers. October 7th was a massive reminder to Israelis that the Palestinians (or at least the majority of them) do not want to live in genuine, lasting peace with us, two states for two people.
Those who presume that Israelis’ trauma has subsided some six months later have no idea about the depths of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and that oppressive, murderous, barbaric, antisemitic, colonialist, ethnic-cleansing Palestinians have been the chief barrier to peace. Still to this day.
10) From the fat of the unlucky person, the weasel and the cat make a wedding.
The weasel and the cat are natural rivals. Yet, when there is fat from which they can both benefit, they set aside their animus to enjoy the bounty. Similarly, a common foe often leads human enemies to set aside their differences and work together peacefully.
Hence why the Israelis and Saudis wanted to normalize relations leading up to October 7th. Their common foes are Iran and Qatar, both of which sponsor Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
That is a long way of saying: This is all a game of geopolitics. Those who only or largely focus on the Israeli-Palestinian subcategory of the greater game have ignorant tunnel vision.
11) One whose family member has been hanged will not say, “Hang a fish for me.”
In layman’s terms: Words have power. The same words that can be completely neutral to one person can be biting and painful for another.
Hitler started with a book and ended with the Holocaust. Jews know better than to misconstrue free speech with hate, potentially genocidal speech. We know that “free free Palestine,” “from the river to the sea,” “no peace on stolen land,” and “by any means necessary” are inherently genocidal chants that should not be “protected” by free speech (which is ultimately a privilege, not a right).
It is about time the rest of the world wakes up to this and deals with it accordingly, unless you are cool with people encouraging another genocide of the Jews. I guess that is also an option.
12) When a camel tries to get horns, his ears are cut off.
In other words: It is important to know our limits. When we pursue that which is not due us, we lose that which is rightfully ours.
This is why I am against illegal outposts in the Jewish West Bank, many of which the Israeli government (including its current coalition) has confiscated and destroyed. However, I have no problem with settlements on unclaimed land in the West Bank, especially settlements that effectively serve as security barriers between mainland Israel and Palestinian terrorists (who are incentivized by the Palestinian Authority) in the Palestinian West Bank.
If you do not know what I am talking about, start here. Again: “Learn first and philosophize afterwards.”
13) Don’t do favors for evildoers, and no evil will befall you.
On Monday, at a vote by the United Nations Security Council regarding the Israel-Hamas war, a resolution was passed that made no mention of October 7th, no condemnation of Hamas for its brutal initiation of this Israel-Hamas war, and no conditioning a ceasefire on the release of the hostages. Just an oversimplified demand for Israel to hand Hamas the victory “during the month of Ramadan.”
Naturally, Hamas celebrated the passed resolution, which is all you need to know.
The U.S. abstained from voting on the Security Council’s resolution, despite using its veto power against several similar resolutions prior, and its ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, responded by saying:
“This resolution rightly acknowledges that, during the month of Ramadan, we must recommit to peace.”
Mind you, one percent — one percent — of Americans are Muslim, but Ramadan has suddenly become oh so cherished by the Biden administration. Why? Because, during this November’s presidential election, he does not want to lose the Muslim vote in the state of Michigan, where there are a disproportionate amount of Muslim voters.
We might look back at this episode as the first of many steps that led to an unjustly empowered Muslim American community — despite much of this community being anti-democratic and anti-American. Just look at what has been happening in France, the U.K., other European states, and even Canada.
To think that the U.S. will not share their same fate if it continues to enable anti-democratic and anti-American folks like many Muslim Americans, is wishful thinking at best.
14) We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.
One trend that has been troubling me ad nauseam is the propensity and intoxication of identity politics: the tendency for people to form exclusive political alliances based on who they perceive themselves to be, a move away from traditional broad-based party politics.
There is nothing wrong with being unapologetically passionate about certain political parties or movements, wherever they are on the spectrum. Instead, the problem with identity politics is when people agree with a particular political alliance on certain issues, and therefore adopt all of the political alliance’s positions across the board.
When we behave in this way, we dangerously subscribe to groupthink and dogmas (like cults). Sure, it is likely impossible to reach a point of absolute objectivity, but we can at least try to do better to see things as they are, not just as we are. Again: “Learn first and philosophize afterwards.”
15) For we are like olives: Only when we are crushed do we yield what is best in us.
Israel was crushed on October 7th. But it was not defeated. Since then, it has regrouped to demonstrate impeccable strength, resilience, and grit.
Hen Mazzig, an Israeli and Zionist activist, had something to say about this:
“The world is terrified of Jewish strength. The irony is that the world has played a large part in creating what they are so afraid of.”
“Tenacity and resilience are second nature to the Jewish People. But much of that tenacity and resilience was forged through thousands of years of persecution, massacres, pogroms, expulsions, forced conversions, and genocide.”
“Each and every time, the Jewish People had to pick themselves up, piece together what was left, and start anew. It is because of the world’s fear and hatred that we are so strong. This time is no different. We will survive, we will rebuild, and we will thrive once again.”1
Hen Mazzig on X
So much inspiration, here Josh. Really stimulates the "gray matter".
Another great one , Josh!