By Rabbi Aaron I. Reichel, Esq.

In the wake of the deadly Simchat Torah massacre of October 7, 2023, we just experienced a Rosh Hashanah filled with miracles and wonders that unfolded almost daily: the deadly pager explosions, the targeted assassinations, and the missile-defense successes that restored some much-needed optimism to our people.

The Tashlich ceremony we perform on Rosh Hashanah adds some additional insight. The Matteh Moshe, as cited by Rabbi Daniel Sherman of the West Side Institutional Synagogue, notes that the fish in the waters of Tashlich live a contradictory experience. On one hand, fish that swim in the deep waters, far away from humanity, live in utter freedom. But fish along the shore live in constant fear of being caught in nets. After what happened on October 7, people who are far removed from music festivals are now concerned about the possibility of not only being attacked by terrorists, but being captured by them as well, much like the fish who swim near the shore live in constant fear of being captured by nets and lures.

As we face the Yom HaDin, we recall the words of King Solomon in Kohelet: “And a man cannot even know his time. As fish are enmeshed in a fatal net (9:12).”

Similarly, the terrorists of Hezbollah were entirely clueless during the unanticipated and unprecedented pager attacks. Soon after the detonations, people began to worry about the Arabs retaliating in a similar fashion via their cellphones. Now that the terrorists know about the capabilities of such technology, is it possible they could use similar tactics against the Israelis?

This calls to mind the Daf Yomi page (Bava Batra 89b) we read at the beginning of the week during which the pagers and walkie-talkies exploded. After discussing what should and shouldn’t be done while manufacturing receptacles for measuring food because such actions could render the measurements inaccurate, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai says, “Woe to me if I point this out in my teachings, and woe to me if I do not point this out…” He meant that by pointing out these methods for inaccurately measuring food, unscrupulous people will learn how to cheat better. But if he didn’t point out these methods, unscrupulous people would say that Torah scholars are not well versed in their handiwork.

Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak said that Rav Yochanan ben Zakkai ultimately decided to give the full shiur (to share the information), based on the classic pasuk, “Yesharim darchei Hashem v’tzaddikim yailchu bam uposhim yikashlu bam”— “For the ways of Hashem are right, and the just walk in them; but transgressors stumble over them” (Hosea 14:10) (Bava Batra 89b).

The rabbis conclude that even if disclosing certain information and technology could result in harm to innocent people, we should not refrain from inventing and creating such technology, because the benefits to humanity can greatly outweigh the negative effects.

How many more American soldiers and Japanese civilians would have died during WWII had not the Americans invented the atom bomb?

On a practical level, given that such technology has now been unleashed, there are actions we should take to reduce the chances of negative repercussions. The unprecedented cyberattack revived fears that a regional war between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and Israel could erupt. To reduce the chances of further incursions into Israel’s borders, we must be all the more vigilant in guarding our borders, whether in Israel or the United States, to prevent uninvited “guests” from entering and causing more harm to innocent people.

May the Shomer Yisrael watch over us and may Moshiach come soon, so we won’t have to worry about life-threatening devices and injudicious information getting into the wrong hands, only to be unleashed against innocent people. n

 

Rabbi Aaron I. Reichel, Esq., is a rabbi, attorney, author, and editor of many books, most notably, “Step Up to the Plate: Baseball and Judaism: How to Win the Game of Life” (Kodesh Press, 2017) and “The Maverick Rabbi.” He primarily writes biographies of men of action.

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