Parshas Shelach 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
ה' ארך אפים ורב חסד נשא עון ופשע ונקה לא ינקה פקד עון אבות על בנים על שלשים ועל רבעים ... (יד-יח)
Rashi explains that when Moshe ascended on high after receiving the Torah on Har Sinai, he found Hakadosh Boruch Hu sitting and writing, “The Lord is slow to anger.” Moshe said to Him, “Towards the righteous?” The Holy One, blessed is He, answered, “Even toward the wicked.” Moshe said, “Why? Let the wicked perish!” Hashem said to him, “By your life, you will have need for this [patience for the wicked]. When Bnei Yisroel sinned at the incident of the golden calf and the meraglim (spies), Moshe davened before Him (making mention of) “slow to anger.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu replied, “Did you not tell me ‘Toward the righteous’? Moshe responded, “But did You not reply to me, ‘Even toward the wicked’?” (Sanhedrin 111a)
A number of years ago, a horrific terrorist attack was perpetrated in the Israeli city of Chadera. A city bus was targeted with a bomb and unfortunately five Jews were killed and many more maimed in the hideous attack. All the while, the Arab terrorist monsters celebrated and vied for the “right” to claim their faction’s responsibility for the treachery. Among the victims of the attack, was a Jewish woman who had converted to Islam and married an Arab man. She happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and when it became known that an Arab woman was among the victims of the terrorist attack, the news quickly became widespread throughout the world.
Not long after, the group that had originally claimed responsibility for the murders issued a press release “regretting” that an Arab woman was among the victims, adding that had they known that one of their kind was on the bus at that time, they would have held off the attack, waiting for a more opportune time to claim as many Jewish victims as they can, רח"ל.
At the same time, the Chevrah Kadisha was faced with an unusual question. What should they do with the body of the Jewish woman who had married an Arab and converted? On the one hand, she was, and according to Jewish law, will always remain a Jew. Therefore, by virtue of the fact that she was killed at the hands of non-Jews, she should have received her penance and should be interred in the Jewish cemetery in a spot worthy of Jews who were killed על קידוש ה'. On the other hand, she had converted out of her faith and severed all her ties with her former Jewish life; in instances like this, the body would be buried in a dishonorable corner of the cemetery, with little or no fanfare. What should they do?
A messenger was dispatched to bring this query before the Posek Hador, R’ Yosef Sholom Elyashiv zt”l. He listened for a few moments and asked a few questions. Then he issued his psak: Since the terrorists made it very clear that they considered her one of them, so much so, that had they known that she was on the bus, they never would have set off the bomb, her entire כפרה - penance, is annuled and canceled, and she must be buried in the dishonorable corner of the cemetery.
A second incident occurred, this time in Europe, whereby a woman turned away from her Jewish heritage and married a non-Jewish man. Not long after the marriage, however, the woman began having second thoughts about her husband and her marriage. He was cruel and abusive and she felt trapped and tortured in her present situation; thoughts of Teshuvah began filling her head. She tried to speak to people and even went to a local synagogue on Yom Kippur for few hours. Unfortunately, she was never able to bring her thoughts to fruition, for within a very short time, she suddenly passed away.
The Chevrah Kadisha in her city was beset with a similar query as the previous one: Where should they bury this woman? Should she be interred in a proper Jewish burial site, as befitting a woman who was in the process of doing Teshuvah? Or in a corner somewhere, since she had married out of her faith?
Once again, the question was brought before Rav Elyashiv, who studied the circumstances of the case. Finally, he issued his ruling: She must be buried as a proper Jewish woman would. Rav Elyashiv received eye-witness testimony that she had truly seemed penitent in shul on her final Yom Kippur and it was obvious that she realized her mistake and was attempting to rectify it. Thus, her כפרה is deemed complete and she should be treated respectfully like a true Bas Yisroel.