Interceptions of Iron Dome over Ashkelon during Swords of Defense, October 20, 23/Reuters
Many times in our daily lives halachic questions arise and topical doubts arise.
Rabbi Shai Tahan, head of the Sha'ari Ezra community and head of Beit Erzi HaLebanon, makes the laws accessible to us and answers questions asked in the Beit Midrash and outside of it.
And this week: Is it permissible according to Halacha to operate the Iron Dome system?
Question
:
Hello.
I have a question regarding the activation of the Iron Dome defense system, and with your permission I will elaborate.
When a hostile missile is fired at a populated area, the Iron Dome operators immediately identify it and give the order to intercept it.
However, many times the missile is already above the skies of a place where there are people, so the remains of the intercepted missile with the iron dome may fall on top of those people and injure them.
Indeed, it is the least evil, since the iron dome neutralized the missile on its way, which was equipped with an explosive and could have caused a greater injury to the soul.
However, according to Halacha, is it permissible to intercept a missile in a way that we know could very well hurt people in order to save others.
Answer
:
Hello and blessing.
In connection with your question, in the words of our rabbis, it is said in several places that one does not slay a soul against a soul, and based on the words of the Gemara, which discusses the law, one should be killed and not be saved by the shedding of the blood of others (Pesachim 2:2): To Kamiya Darba, he said to her: Mary Dorai told me Zil Katalia to Falnia, and no - Katlina to you. - He said to her: Likatloch and not to be taken. Why did you face Ddma Didach Somek Tapi?
That is, if a person was ordered to kill another person or to be killed himself, he must commit himself to the killing and not to kill others since his own blood is not redder than the blood of the other (this saying was said as a metaphorical parable) and therefore it is taken with the attitude of 'it is better to sit back and not do it'.
And we also learned (Tosefta Terumot Paz 23): "A group of people who said to them foreigners, give us one of you and we will be killed, and if not we will kill all of you, let them all be killed and not give them a single soul from Israel."
Here we have before us the rule that one should not cause one to die in order to save a large public, but that the Chazon Ish divided between the ruling of the Tosefta that the extradition of a person from Israel is considered a cruel and forbidden act, in our case that neutralizing the missile while potentially harming others is an act of rescue and permitted.
And the tongue wrote in this (Yod Siman Set Amud Kev): "And one must look at one and see an arrow going to kill many people, and can tilt it to another side and it will kill only one on the other side, and those on that side will be killed, and if he does nothing, many will be killed and one will remain alive.
And it is possible without blood to commit one to murder, the nature of the surrender is a cruel act of killing a soul, and in this act the saving of others was in the nature of the action, but by chance he now caused the saving of others.
Saving the others is also related to what is moral about killing a soul from Israel, but tipping the arrow to another side is primarily an act of rescue, and is not at all related to killing the individual on the other side, only now, by chance, a soul from Israel is found on the other side, and after many souls are killed on this side, and on this one, it is possible It is our duty to try to minimize the loss of Israel whenever possible."
According to these words, we learned that intercepting missiles coming from enemy territory is permissible and appropriate even though it poses a risk to people who were not at risk because of the missiles.
David Berger, in collaboration with Shuba Israel
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