I think its important to make this point.

Israel is fighting a war right now in response to its citizens being attacked. The Government is doing what they are obligated to do. Protect its citizenry.

Say there was an intruder that broke into your home with malicious intent and you called the police to save you and your family. As you are huddled in a room, you find yourself praying that they arrive before your hiding place is discovered by the intruder. Are you praying for his safety? Nope. Does this make you a bad person? Nope. Say this person is actually someone who is angry with you about a disagreement you had. Are you no longer praying for the police to get there in time? Does this make you a bad person? The answer is still No. THIS doesn’t make you a bad person. You might BE a person who has done wrong or bad things. But THIS isn’t one of them. Lets say that the person who is coming to kill you is on the other side of an utterly unresolvable dispute. One whose resolution you had and continue to pursue sincerely and judiciously. Have you stopped praying for yourself yet? Nope. And you’re still not a bad person. Do you WANT the intruder to be killed? I certainly hope not. But is that something that is even taking up any headspace as you attempt to survive? I think not. Does THAT make you a bad person? Not in my book. So lets try and keep it real. No one wants to see anyone die. Certainly not their family members, but not innocent civilians from a different family either. I dont think anyone I know has a particular desire to see dead terrorists. But its a totally moot point when your life is on the line. I for one am not prepared to suspend or replace the basic template of my moral reasoning for a muddled and incoherent pseudo morality. That’s not to say I don’t wish this could have been settled peacefully. That’s most certainly not the case. I wish that with all my heart and soul. I dream of a world where Arabs and Jews coexist side by side in peace and harmony. Just not tonite. Tonite I Pray that they get there in time to save my family. Tonite I choose my side, without any hesitation. With Pride. Does this make me a bad person? I dont think so.

Lets end off on a positive note and a prayer.

Dear G-d, please instill in us the wisdom to discover undiscovered alternatives to further bloodshed. Till then, please watch over our brave Chayalay Tzahal, the brave and gallant young men and women of the IDF who risk their own lives in defense of the land of Israel and all its inhabitants; including but not limited to its diverse and inclusive Jewish, Christian, Muslim, secular, religious, atheist, socialist, feminist, liberal, conservative and LGBT communities. All who live side by side and coexist, freely, DESPITE ongoing tensions that are to be expected when a society chooses the complex and hard path it has indeed chosen; namely to be an (the ONLY) oasis of democracy and pluralism amid a sea of mostly brutal dictatorship driven regimes. Please let us be mindful of our obligation to protect, fully appreciate, and wholeheartedly support the wells we all drink from.

Much Love,

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Yossi