This classic debate has only intensified today with the Hamas captive deal
The hidden meaning of that mysterious, heavily laden phrase in Tehillim 2:11, gilu bir’adah, “rejoice in trembling,” has always eluded me.
Until now. With the hostage exchange, I am beginning to perceive a glimmer of understanding. We are joyous at the release of some hostages, while simultaneously trembling with worry about the price we paid, and fearful of the long-term consequences of this pact with the devil.
For Israel, where the value of human life is paramount, there was little choice, even though the pause was totally to Hamas’s advantage, destroying our momentum and enabling them to regroup and rearm. And everyone knows that the freeing of terrorist murderers from Israeli jails will come back to haunt us, as was true of previous exchanges.
Among the more painful aspects of all this is that not only has much of the world forgotten about the hideous slaughter of October 7, but in their eyes there is an equivalency in this exchange: “your prisoners for my prisoners.” World leaders and media, either maliciously or ignorantly, seem unaware that the trade involves “my innocent women and children who were brutally tortured and kidnapped against international law, for your convicted terrorists and murderers.”
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