Q&A: Baruch Goldstein and More
Baruch Goldstein and More
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I would like to clarify the proper attitude toward Baruch Goldstein. On the one hand, he was a doctor who saved many Jews and Arabs, including Arabs who were injured by Jews (only terrorists he refused to treat). And on the other hand, he was a man who cruelly murdered innocent people during prayer, as is well known. It is clear to me that the act was a crime, and if his intention had been known to anyone, that person should have turned him in to the police, etc. Some say that toward the end of his life he really did lose his mind from all the sights he saw and בעקבות the murder of many of his friends. I don’t know…
Elie Wiesel testified that after the liberation of the Buchenwald camp, many of the survivors rushed in furious rage into one of the nearby towns (Weimar, if I remember correctly) and murdered people, raped women, looted, and abused the residents. I have never heard condemnations of those terrible acts, and apparently I never will.
Meir Har-Zion, after his sister was murdered, went on his own initiative and killed innocent people in revenge. But for some reason he is not remembered as a despicable murderer; on the contrary, he is a hero of Israel, received a state funeral attended by senior officers and statesmen, etc.
I have known Meshi-Zahav, the chairman of the ZAKA organization, for years. Until now it is hard for me to believe that such a good person could have harmed so many people.
What is the proper attitude toward a person who did horrible, unforgivable things and also noble things?
Answer
The question is not well defined. One should relate appropriately to the good deeds and appropriately to the bad deeds. Why do you need to reach some general bottom line? Do you need to decide whether to put him in Hell or give him Heaven?
Discussion on Answer
If someone has a clear and consistent line in his personality, you can definitely attach such a label to him. There is no right or wrong here. The question was about judging a person, and here there is no need at all to reach any overall bottom line. Judge him separately for each act.
Rabbi, but the fact is that we do color people’s personalities with certain labels: Bibi the liar, Ben-Gvir the racist, Olmert the corrupt one, Yigal Amir the murderer, Emmanuel Moreno the brave hero (of blessed memory, and not to compare). And in the examples above, Goldstein is a despicable murderer, while the Jews who raped German women out of revenge will forever be remembered as noble Holocaust victims; Meir Har-Zion is a national hero; and as for Meshi-Zahav, apparently his reputation is gone — and all this regardless of their other good/bad deeds. So my question is: on what basis do we do this, and is it right?