(The following essay was published on August 3, 2023 as an Op-Ed in the Denver Post. Here is a direct link to the article: https://www.denverpost.com/2023/08/03/tree-of-life-synagogue-death-penalty-opinion/)
On the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, I was in synagogue when my Apple watch started incessantly vibrating with multiple text messages. Normally, during services, I turn off all my electronics, but for some reason, my watch was still connected to the internet.
Given the volume of messages that kept repeating, I had a
feeling that something important was happening. I glanced down at my watch and
saw the first reports of a mass shooting taking place. I remember slipping out
of the chapel, turning on my phone and discovering, to my horror, that a man
had broken into the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh with an automatic
weapon, opened fire and killed 11 innocent congregants.
I returned to the service and, with tears in my eyes, shared
the awful news with my stunned congregation. Wednesday we learned that a jury
had decided that the guilty party would receive the death penalty for his
horrific crime.
When the perpetrator of this act of racist and antisemitic
violence (whose name I will not mention) was found guilty on all counts this
past June, I felt a palpable sense of relief. Justice had been done and this
evil human would be punished for his horrific crime. Upon hearing the news that
he would be given the death penalty, however, I felt a sense of unease and
trauma – similar to what I felt when I learned about his murderous act in the
first place.
The Torah teaches that there are multiple crimes for which
the death penalty can be imposed – from violating the Sabbath, to disobeying
one’s parents, to idolatry, murder, and bestiality. And yet, while the texts
instructing us on how to impose capital punishment are abundant, Jewish
tradition does not condone the death penalty. As Judaism has evolved over the
centuries, the ancient Rabbis made its application practically impossible. In
the 75-year history of the State of Israel only one person has ever been
executed by a court of law: Adolph Eichman – the architect of Hitler’s Final
Solution — and even that sentence was hotly debated within the courts and
around the kitchen tables of every citizen in the Jewish State.For me, the
central issue is truly none of the above. The issue of capital punishment
revolves not around how we see the most evil elements of society — but how we
perceive ourselves. Are we going to allow our fear of crime, our desire for
vengeance, our BOTTOM-LINE mentality govern how we conduct ourselves? Capital
punishment is a quick fix. It may be popular with the voters. It may make some
of us feel good or politicians look good as they get tough on crime. But I
believe that ultimately it lessens our own humanity when we take the life of
another person – no matter how depraved their action may have been.
Those who have committed atrocities need to be punished.
They cannot be a part of a civilized society. But I firmly believe that one of
the prices of being “civilized” is taking on the responsibility to act in a way
that is consistent with our own internal holiness.
All religious traditions teach that one day humanity will be
judged. I believe that our judgment will not merely revolve around how we
treated the best in our society but how we treated the worst as well. There is
evil in the world. There are predators and murderers among us who deserve to be
separated and cut off from civilization. For some there can be no
rehabilitation.
The price we pay for living in a civilized, moral world is
living with the fact that we cannot totally eliminate this evil. But we can assert that we – as a sacred
community – will not allow ourselves to stoop to their level. We should not become murderers as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment