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| Chris Kyle - Hero |
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| Abu Bakr al Baghdadi - Murderer |
This week’s Torah portion contains the first iteration of Aseret
Hadib’rot, the Ten Commandments or ‘Top Ten Commandments’ as I like
to call them. Even though there are another
603 besides these Ten, there’s no arguing that Hashem wanted to particularly
emphasise these. After all, these are
the Ten that were inscribed in the two stone tablets given to Moses on Mt.
Sinai. So they were obviously special,
bearing a significance that made them stand out from the rest.
Given that, it is
interesting that they are not read more often in the synagogue. They are read three times in the course of a
year: when the weekly portions Yitro and
Ve’etchanan are read, and on the festival of Shavu’ot. In antiquity, there was a practice of
reading them in every morning and evening service, just before the Shema. The Rabbis abolished this practice by the
time of the Mishnah. This, because of
the fear that we would come to believe that the Ten are the totality of what
G-d expects of us. In a traditional
synagogue, the Song of the Sea is read every morning. But the Ten Commandments only thrice a year.
In the introduction to the Zohar,
Rabbi Shim’on Bar Yohai states that the key Mitzvah is Yir’at Hashem –
the ‘Fear of G-d.’ Fear in this case,
meaning reverence or awe. As Rabbi
Shim’on states, this leads to the observance of all the Commandments. And that truth is acknowledged in the Ten
Commandments. After all, Commandment Number One reads: Ani Adoshem Elokeichem – I am the Lord
your God. This establishes G-d’s
sovereignty and implies need for reverence.
I saw American
Sniper the other day. You may be
aware that the film is generating controversy in America. This, despite its record-breaking box office
gross for its introductory weekend, not to mention being on the way to being
the largest-grossing film in history, period.
Or perhaps the controversy is because the film is such a success.
You may have heard
that a number of Hollywood ‘luminaries’ have criticised the film and its
subject, SEAL Chris Kyle – the most successful sniper in US military history
with 160 kills credited. Kyle was killed
by a veteran suffering from PTSD whom Kyle had been trying to help.
The criticism of the film and of
Chris Kyle is led by none other than the ‘luminary’ Michael Moore who brought
us such memorable films as Sicko, Fahrenheit 9-11, Bowling for Columbine, and
Capitalism-a Love Story. Mr Moore
believes that Chris Kyle was not a hero but a coward. And a racist too, for good measure. Others who have joined the chorus, have said
that he was a murderer.
This is a good time to reflect on
what constitutes a ‘murderer.’ After all, this week we read the Ten
Commandments and Number Six tells us: Lo
Tirtzach – Thou Shalt Not Murder. I’m
guessing that you are already aware that ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ is not a good
translation. ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ – as
in, take a life under any circumstances – in Hebrew is Al Ta’arog. So what’s the difference between killing and
murdering? Killing can be Manslaughter –
that is, the taking of a life unintentionally, through negligence or
recklessness. It can be allowable, as in
self-defence or as in the duties of a soldier or other public guardian. Murder is a special case: the willful, unlawful taking of a life, often
under aggravated circumstances. Murder
is always killing; killing is not always murder.
Killing is always regrettable. It is always the spilling of blood, the
life-force which G-d planted within us.
Even when one has to kill in circumstances that constitute self-defence,
one should regret having needed to do so.
I can tell you that many, perhaps
most, American soldiers who had to kill in the recent wars regretted it. For the last four years of my career as an
Air Force chaplain, I was stationed in Germany, close to the Landstuhl Army
Hospital. This is the first stop for
most of the wounded being evacuated from the war zones. Including the Walking Wounded, those with
PTSD.
Because the hospital did not have a
Jewish chaplain, I was frequently summoned to the hospital’s mental health
units to talk to Jewish soldiers who were traumatised after killing in the
course of their duties. These were not
the ones who were being prosecuted for illegally killing. They were evacuated because their PTSD had
caused them to have a breakdown.
We saw this traumatisation in American
Sniper, in Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper’s honest depiction of Christ
Kyle. The cumulative effects of
his PTSD from four tours in Iraq as a sniper, weighed heavily upon him. It could have made him completely
dysfunctional had his therapist not encouraged him to seek out ways to help
with the healing of those with severe physical injuries. Kyle’s work with them, helped him to cope
with his PTSD.
But the end of the matter is that
Kyle was not a murderer. His unique
skills saved lives on the ground. They
rid Iraq of such evil men as The Butcher, an Al Qaida enforcer who punished
those who talked to or aided the Americans by using an electric drill to
amputate the limbs of their children whilst they watched. Kyle was neither a coward nor a
murderer. Nor a racist. Perhaps attestation of these negatives is
that Iraqi cinema-goers in Baghdad last weekend, after seeing American
Sniper had no such criticism. Even among
those who believe that the war to oust Saddam Hussein was ill-conceived. The most prevalent criticism is American
Sniper by Iraqis, was that the film was too graphic, too realistic.
Chris Kyle and American Sniper serve
as an illustration of killing that is not murder. Another killing to which we were witnesses
this week, illustrates exactly what is the essence of murder. Of course, I’m referring to the execution of
Lieutenant Muath al-Kaseasbeh, the Jordanian F-16 pilot who was shot down by
the Islamic State. His gruesome murder,
which probably happened weeks ago long before the IS cynically allowed Jordan
to negotiate frantically to save the man’s life, was chronicled in a propaganda
film. If ever a killing qualified as
murder, this is it. If ever a murderer
deserved our deepest contempt and loathing, it is Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the
self-proclaimed ‘caliph’ of the so-called Islamic State.
So all killing is regrettable – even
that of Bin Laden and, please G-d, al Baghdadi.
But not all killing is unwarranted.
Or in violation of the law.
Either G-d’s law, or man’s law.
And it is perfectly permissible to celebrate the achievements and successes
of the guardians who accept the duty of killing the certifiably evil ones for our
benefit. And it is meritorious to
concern ourselves with the well-being of these guardians when they come back,
acquitted but wounded after they have so ably carried out their duties. Shabbat shalom.
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