Health & Fitness
To Celebrate or Not Celebrate the Defeat of Evil
To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate the Defeat of Evil? Discussing the two sides of the issue and giving clarity as to the writer's view of the way things ought to be.
My message of last week regarding has generated much discussion. I have gotten numerous responses from people on both sides of the issue.
The main objection was – why stoop down to the level of the bad guys. We celebrate life, not death, even death of the bad guy. Good point.
A few thoughts to clarify my message:
1. I believe in celebrating the victory of good over evil, not in salivating over the death of a particular human being. We don't take pleasure from the death or suffering of anyone. However, we do, and must in my view, celebrate each time good is victorious.
2. Why is that important? As in any battle, to win the war on terror we must be absolutely clear in the correctness of our cause. We also need the momentum that comes from the small victories that come along the way. Squashing any expression of celebration robs us of much needed momentum. It can also be interpreted as lack of clarity in our righteousness and the evil of our collective enemy as a humane society. When we equivocate for evil and give it "space" and merit in our minds, it is dangerous, as it weakens the resolve of those charged with uprooting the evil. If it's true that "all it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing," our lack of enthusiasm in the courageous work of our "good men" can't be helping our cause. That's not good.
3. Some people asked about the Biblical verse "when your enemy falls do not rejoice," look again at the words: Solomon tells you not to rejoice over the fall of your enemy. When you have a personal enemy, in politics, in a business dispute, in a big argument, and he falls, don't rejoice. But when the enemy wants to destroy life of innocents and he falls, it is not the fall of your enemy you are celebrating; it is the lives that have been saved as a result of his demise which you are celebrating.
4. Some pointed to the Torah's teaching (in the Midrash) that when the heavenly angels wanted to sing at the miracle of the Splitting of the Sea, G-d frowned upon them for celebrating the death of human beings, the Egyptians. Notice however that Moses, Miriam and the Jewish people did break out in song. In fact, their song is included in our daily morning prayers. Here's how Jewish mysticism (kabbalah) explains the difference between angels and humans in the appropriate response to the downfall of evildoers:
Ultimately, everything in G-d's world is good as it comes from G-d, the Source of Goodness. Even an evil, hateful person contains goodness deep down in their soul's essence. (As such, the compassion that good people tend to feel towards bad people is not totally misplaced; it comes from our deep-seated belief that everyone is really good. Which is true in the end). This inherent goodness will be revealed for all to see at the "end of days" in the time of Moshiach (may it be speedily) when the world is completely healed and "evil will be transformed to goodness" as promised in the Biblical prophecies. So from the vantage point of heavenly angels, all are good. Rather than celebrating the downfall of evildoers, the angels are expected to see their hidden goodness. However, here on earth we don't have such a luxury, as we were tasked with the mission of bringing about that glorious time of goodness by insuring the victory of goodness over evil each time it rears its ugly head. Until that great day when all "bad guys" turn good, we need to be totally clear on where we stand and do everything in our power to win the battle. Including appropriate celebration. Our role models here are not the heavenly angels, but Moses and Miriam.
To illustrate: Is fire good or bad? Well, like most things it can go both ways. Fire can provide much needed warmth and light. It can also wreak havoc and destruction. Our approach to fire should be a balanced one, looking to make use of its gifts while being mindful of its dangers. How about a firefighter? When he goes out to battle a blaze he can't be balanced about the dangerous flames. He can't stand there gazing romantically at its gorgeous colors. If he is to win, his task must be very clear: to fight the fire and squash it out of existence. (They're not called firefighters for nothing...)
G-d's world is a good place. Deep down all are good. The day will come when we'll be able to see the goodness, the time of Moshiach when "all mankind will live in perfect peace... serving G-d with one heart". Until that day, our job is to battle evil with everything we've got. Our focused efforts as a society to make sure goodness wins every time will bring about that glorious day when all will be good.
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
Chabad of Port Washington
