Q&A: The Pursuer’s Right to Resist Being Neutralized
The Pursuer’s Right to Resist Being Neutralized
Question
Hello Rabbi,
At first glance, if there is a commandment on everyone to neutralize a pursuer, then does the pursuer himself also have a commandment not to resist being neutralized? Or perhaps the pursuer nevertheless has the right to resist being neutralized (even to the point of killing the one neutralizing him)? It seems to me that there is no discussion of this in Mishneh Torah, Laws of Murder and Preservation of Life, chapter 1.
Answer
This issue appears in the case of Zimri. The Talmud says that if he had turned around and killed Pinhas under the law of a pursuer, he would have been exempt. And in Mishneh LaMelekh, chapter 1 of the Laws of Murder, he discusses extensions of this law as well (for example, what about an unintentional killer who kills the blood-avenger, and there is also room to discuss someone who kills an agent of the religious court).
A pursuer has no right to resist being neutralized, just as he has no right to kill. In fact, he himself would be obligated to kill himself under the law of a pursuer (or of course to stop pursuing). That is how I explained here a few weeks ago the rule that in the case of an agent of the religious court there is no permission to kill him, because the defendant himself is obligated to kill himself. The execution of criminals is a commandment incumbent on the public, and the agent of the religious court is everyone’s agent (including the pursued victim).