Redeeming Captives: How Far Should We Go?

Parshat Lech Lecha
Genesis 12:1 -17:26

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Abram is a man of both faith and action. Faced with challenges and trials while living in the land of Canaan, he is not afraid to take matters into his own hands. Though tribal differences cause Lot and Abram to part ways, our forefather gathers a militia and conducts a military campaign to save his nephew after he is taken captive. Having saved his nephew and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abram refuses to accept booty in payment for his courageous acts. Abram set an example for future generations by performing the first recorded act of Pidyon Shevuyim, redeeming hostages. Later in Jewish history when Jews were subject to capricious acts of kidnapping, Jewish scholars debated the proper way of dealing with such hostage taking. We even have documents written by Moses Maimonides to raise funds to redeem captives. But how far should one go in redeeming captives? Should the payment exceed a certain amount? Should force be used in redeeming hostages if it will be a danger to others? In the summer of 2006, when three Israeli soldiers were taken captive by Hamas and Hezbollah militants, Israel chose to go to war in defense of its soldiers.

Mishnah Gittin 4:6
One does not ransom captives for more than their value because of Tikkun Olam, for the good order of the world; (as a precaution against encouraging kidnapping) and one does not help captives escape because of Tikkun Olam (to prevent ill treatment and fettering of those remaining or of new captives)…

Moses Maimonides, Mishneh Torah Matanot La’evyonim 8:10-11
The ransoming of captives takes precedence over the feeding and clothing of the poor. Indeed there is no mitzvah more meritorious than the ransoming of captives for not only is the captive included in the generality of the hungry, the thirsty, and the naked but his very life is in jeopardy. He who turns his eyes away from ransoming him transgresses the commandments, “You shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand,” (Deut 15:7) “Neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your neighbor,” (Lev 19:16) and “He shall not rule over him ruthlessly in your sight.” (Lev 25:53) Moreover, he nullifies the commandments, “You shall surely open your hand to him,” (Deut 15:8) “That your brother shall live with you (Lev 25:36), “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” (Lev 19:18) and “Deliver them that are drawn unto death,” (Proverbs 24:11) and many other admonitions like these.

If all the people in the city having collected money for the building of a synagogue find themselves confronted with a matter of a religious duty, they must divert the money to the latter. If they already bought the stones and beams they may not sell them in order to fulfill the religious duty unless it is for ransoming captives. Even if they already brought in the stones and set them up and the beams and planed them, and thus made everything ready for construction, they must nevertheless sell everything but only if for the ransoming of captives.

Tosafot in Baba Batra 8b
The redemption of the captives is a religious duty of great importance: and yet we read (a similar text in) tractate Megillah 27a where it says that one may not sell a Torah scroll except for the purpose of enabling people to study Torah or helping a woman to get married. And nowhere does it mention that one may also sell a Torah scroll in order to finance the redemption of captives! Why? Because this is so obvious that the rabbis did not even have to state it.

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Literacy Pages 519-520
In the Middle Ages, many non-Jewish criminals knew how seriously Jews took this law and often kidnapped Jews and held them for high ransoms. The most famous such captive, Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg (1215 – 1293), refused to permit the Jewish community to pay the ransom demanded; he feared that this would set a dangerous precedent and lead to other Jews being kidnapped. At one point the Jewish community offered to pay 23,000 pounds of silver to redeem him but the offer was rejected. After years of being kept prisoner, Rabbi Meir died in captivity whereupon his captors held his corpse for ransom.

Rabbi David Golinkin, How Far Should Israel Go in Order to Redeem Captives from Terrorist Organizations?
We have seen that pidyon shvuyim is major values in our tradition and that Jews have exerted great efforts to redeem captives. The Mishnah in Gittin ruled that one does not redeem captives for more than their value….However, the Talmud itself and later authorities found ways to circumvent this Mishnah, and captives were frequently redeemed at excessive prices. Rabbi Goren and many rabbis compare our dilemma to the Mishnah and say that hundreds or thousands of terrorists is an excessive price to pay for a few Israeli soldiers. This type of exchange will endanger the public by increasing kidnapping and setting loose thousands of terrorists. Rabbi Hayyim David Halevi says that the Mishnah in Gittin is not really relevant to our dilemma because at that time robbers kidnapped for money, while Palestinian terrorists kidnap for nationalistic reasons and the price we pay will not alter their attempts to kidnap… In other words, the public takes precedence over the individual, even if this endangers the individual. Exchanging hundreds or thousands of terrorists for one Israeli encourages kidnapping of Israelis, and frees hundreds or thousands of terrorists who will pick up their weapons and attack Israel. In other words, it endangers the public and should not be done. 4.

“All it takes to study Torah is an open heart, a curious mind and a desire to grow a Jewish soul.”
Copyright 2006 Rabbi Mark B Greenspan