In Israel, violence surrounds us. Unending fronts of war in which our soldiers fight. A civilian homefront embattled by rockets. Rising murders in the Arab sector. A rise in domestic violence. Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank. Jewish terrorism in the West Bank. Around the world, attacks on synagogues and on Jews.
And it’s not just us – Random gun violence plagues the US, as well as government violence towards suspected illegal immigrants and their protectors. The Iranian regime kills protesters by the tens of thousands. The war between Russia and Ukraine. Just to name a few in the headlines.
Our tradition seems to believe that violence is an innate human trait. When Cain’s offering to God is rejected while his brother Abel’s offering was accepted, he reacts by killing him. Soon after, God perceives the violence in all of humanity, and He Himself reacts violently by destroying humanity. After He did this, having rescued Noah and his family, He declared, “the devisings of the human heart are evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21) and seemingly resigns Himself to a world of violence.
The Torah, however, does not glorify violence, but rather struggles to deal with it. God calls Abraham to try to convince Him not to destroy Sodom and Gemorah. Jacob runs away from the violent anger of his brother Esau. Joseph is the victim of his brothers’ violence whom he eventually forgives. God saves the Israelites from backbreaking slave labor and the cruel whip of the taskmaster. God Himself struggles with His own violence – sending plagues when people displease Him – and Moses, as His parter, reminds Him to restrain Himself, sometimes succeeding and sometimes not.
The existence of violence in humanity is something that deeply concerns our Torah. We see this thread concern evident in this week’s Torah portion Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, the very physical center of the Torah, whose central aim is to prescribe rules and regulations to curb violence.
It presents four methods for assuaging the violent impulse in men:
1. Detailed instructions for carrying out sacrifices in strictly proscribed ceremonies for animal sacrifices – one for the sin-offering goat and one for the goat sent to Azazel as well as the instruction that any sacrifice made outside the camp must be brought to the Tent of Meeting. (Levitcus 16 and 17). Sages have taught that this regulation of meat is a way of directing the human appetite for violence, controlling it and thus keeping it in check, as Rabbi Yosef Albo taught, “…even the animals that were permitted were merely a concession to human lust and desire.” (Sefer Ha’ikarim)
2. Forbidden sexual relationships which incur severe punishments such as “the land will spew out its inhabitants and the perpetrator will be cut off from their people” (Leviticus 18:29). These punishments were to act as a deterrent to keep people from acting on their deviant impulses.
3. Thirdly, the Torah portion states, “The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the ETERNAL am your God.” (Leviticus 19:34) The Torah consistently reminds us of the time that we were victims of violence. We are supposed to empathize and identify with the feeling of victimhood, especially when we have power. We must overcome our feelings of revenge or fear of the other, and treat the non-Jews among us with dignity, even in times of conflict and even when we feel threatened.
4. Finally, the Torah calls us to holiness, as it is written, “Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the ETERNAL your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2), meaning we are the people who constantly strive to operate at a higher spiritual level. This command is followed by a list of moral standards known as the Holiness Code – including fair trials, paying workers on time, taking care of the poor, removing hate from our hearts, loving our fellows as ourselves, loving the stranger as ourselves, making one law for Jew and non-Jew in the land.
We ask ourselves, as has done every generation, how can we live what the Torah commands us? How can we harnass our evolving understanding of the world to complement the Torah teachings?
In ancient times, people sublimated their violent impulses through sacrifices. Today, we encourage sports or other enriching activities. The social sciences have given us proven methods for improving communication skills and conflict management. War continues to plague us - while war can advance certain objectives, the final resolution to any conflict occurs through negotiations and treaties. In Israel, a blatant example is the manipulation of leaders in the settler movement of the emotional distress of teenagers by sending them to illegal outposts and encouraging them to wreak violence on neighboring Palestinian villages and Bedouin camps. We need responsible professionals to intervene with these youth to constructively address their true psycho-social needs.
We have a rule of law in our country. We must hold our elected leaders accountable to abide by the laws which they were elected. If they want to change, they must work through democratic processes. In every democracy, the improvement of the government is a process of civil debate, not declaring war on the other branches of the government and questioning their legitimacy. If you delegitimize the system, the system won’t work. Furthermore, when ministers in the Israeli government speak publicly about how they abet the circumvention of the law to enable establishing illegal outposts, then the rule of law is meaningless.
When people violently attack citizens because of their politic views and there is not one conviction, the overall sense of personal security decreases.
While the Torah advocated for capital punishment, the Sages throughout the generations were hesitant about its implementation, calling a court that issued a death penalty more than once in every seven years a “bloody” court (Mishnah Makot 1:10). Contemporary research around the globe shows that capital punishment, including the death penalty, does not reduce violent crime. Societies resolve violence when they invest in addressing the social stresses of the populations in which the violence is prevalent.
Religious leaders must equate morality with faith. This must be our banner. I do not understand why Israeli society continues to give such honor and financial support to Orthodox and Ultra- Orthodox rabbis who place the moral commandments of Judaism beneath the ritual observances. When the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel defames the country’s Supreme Court by calling them “wicked” and wishing “that the Holy One Blessed Be He will destroy them”, he is inciting violence.
Defamation and demonization of leaders with whom you share an ideological disagreement is not the way of Torah, and it is certainly the opposite of the Torah teaching “You shall love your fellow as yourself” about which Rabbi Akiva said, “This is a great principle in the Torah” (Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 9:4)
The Torah teaches us, “And you shall choose life, so that you may live, you and your descendents” (Deuteronomy, 12:19). Our Torah calls us to recognize, resist and overcome the impulse to violence in ourselves and in our societies. It calls for the creation of moral and just laws that are applied equally to all the inhabitants of the land, empathy for the weak or marginalized members of our society. This is the Jewish path to holiness and to getting closer to God.
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Rabbi Stacey Blank is the Director of the Center for Education and Leadership Development of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Her first book of poetry was published in Hebrew in 2025 and her poems and short stories have been published in journals in Israel and the US. Jerusalem is her home.
And it’s not just us – Random gun violence plagues the US, as well as government violence towards suspected illegal immigrants and their protectors. The Iranian regime kills protesters by the tens of thousands. The war between Russia and Ukraine. Just to name a few in the headlines.
Our tradition seems to believe that violence is an innate human trait. When Cain’s offering to God is rejected while his brother Abel’s offering was accepted, he reacts by killing him. Soon after, God perceives the violence in all of humanity, and He Himself reacts violently by destroying humanity. After He did this, having rescued Noah and his family, He declared, “the devisings of the human heart are evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21) and seemingly resigns Himself to a world of violence.
The Torah, however, does not glorify violence, but rather struggles to deal with it. God calls Abraham to try to convince Him not to destroy Sodom and Gemorah. Jacob runs away from the violent anger of his brother Esau. Joseph is the victim of his brothers’ violence whom he eventually forgives. God saves the Israelites from backbreaking slave labor and the cruel whip of the taskmaster. God Himself struggles with His own violence – sending plagues when people displease Him – and Moses, as His parter, reminds Him to restrain Himself, sometimes succeeding and sometimes not.
The existence of violence in humanity is something that deeply concerns our Torah. We see this thread concern evident in this week’s Torah portion Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, the very physical center of the Torah, whose central aim is to prescribe rules and regulations to curb violence.
It presents four methods for assuaging the violent impulse in men:
1. Detailed instructions for carrying out sacrifices in strictly proscribed ceremonies for animal sacrifices – one for the sin-offering goat and one for the goat sent to Azazel as well as the instruction that any sacrifice made outside the camp must be brought to the Tent of Meeting. (Levitcus 16 and 17). Sages have taught that this regulation of meat is a way of directing the human appetite for violence, controlling it and thus keeping it in check, as Rabbi Yosef Albo taught, “…even the animals that were permitted were merely a concession to human lust and desire.” (Sefer Ha’ikarim)
2. Forbidden sexual relationships which incur severe punishments such as “the land will spew out its inhabitants and the perpetrator will be cut off from their people” (Leviticus 18:29). These punishments were to act as a deterrent to keep people from acting on their deviant impulses.
3. Thirdly, the Torah portion states, “The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the ETERNAL am your God.” (Leviticus 19:34) The Torah consistently reminds us of the time that we were victims of violence. We are supposed to empathize and identify with the feeling of victimhood, especially when we have power. We must overcome our feelings of revenge or fear of the other, and treat the non-Jews among us with dignity, even in times of conflict and even when we feel threatened.
4. Finally, the Torah calls us to holiness, as it is written, “Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the ETERNAL your God, am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2), meaning we are the people who constantly strive to operate at a higher spiritual level. This command is followed by a list of moral standards known as the Holiness Code – including fair trials, paying workers on time, taking care of the poor, removing hate from our hearts, loving our fellows as ourselves, loving the stranger as ourselves, making one law for Jew and non-Jew in the land.
We ask ourselves, as has done every generation, how can we live what the Torah commands us? How can we harnass our evolving understanding of the world to complement the Torah teachings?
In ancient times, people sublimated their violent impulses through sacrifices. Today, we encourage sports or other enriching activities. The social sciences have given us proven methods for improving communication skills and conflict management. War continues to plague us - while war can advance certain objectives, the final resolution to any conflict occurs through negotiations and treaties. In Israel, a blatant example is the manipulation of leaders in the settler movement of the emotional distress of teenagers by sending them to illegal outposts and encouraging them to wreak violence on neighboring Palestinian villages and Bedouin camps. We need responsible professionals to intervene with these youth to constructively address their true psycho-social needs.
We have a rule of law in our country. We must hold our elected leaders accountable to abide by the laws which they were elected. If they want to change, they must work through democratic processes. In every democracy, the improvement of the government is a process of civil debate, not declaring war on the other branches of the government and questioning their legitimacy. If you delegitimize the system, the system won’t work. Furthermore, when ministers in the Israeli government speak publicly about how they abet the circumvention of the law to enable establishing illegal outposts, then the rule of law is meaningless.
When people violently attack citizens because of their politic views and there is not one conviction, the overall sense of personal security decreases.
While the Torah advocated for capital punishment, the Sages throughout the generations were hesitant about its implementation, calling a court that issued a death penalty more than once in every seven years a “bloody” court (Mishnah Makot 1:10). Contemporary research around the globe shows that capital punishment, including the death penalty, does not reduce violent crime. Societies resolve violence when they invest in addressing the social stresses of the populations in which the violence is prevalent.
Religious leaders must equate morality with faith. This must be our banner. I do not understand why Israeli society continues to give such honor and financial support to Orthodox and Ultra- Orthodox rabbis who place the moral commandments of Judaism beneath the ritual observances. When the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel defames the country’s Supreme Court by calling them “wicked” and wishing “that the Holy One Blessed Be He will destroy them”, he is inciting violence.
Defamation and demonization of leaders with whom you share an ideological disagreement is not the way of Torah, and it is certainly the opposite of the Torah teaching “You shall love your fellow as yourself” about which Rabbi Akiva said, “This is a great principle in the Torah” (Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim 9:4)
The Torah teaches us, “And you shall choose life, so that you may live, you and your descendents” (Deuteronomy, 12:19). Our Torah calls us to recognize, resist and overcome the impulse to violence in ourselves and in our societies. It calls for the creation of moral and just laws that are applied equally to all the inhabitants of the land, empathy for the weak or marginalized members of our society. This is the Jewish path to holiness and to getting closer to God.
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Rabbi Stacey Blank is the Director of the Center for Education and Leadership Development of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Her first book of poetry was published in Hebrew in 2025 and her poems and short stories have been published in journals in Israel and the US. Jerusalem is her home.